Luke Nguyen
🇻🇳 Vietnam · Vietnamese cuisine · b. 1978
Australia's most prominent Vietnamese chef and television presenter.
Biography
Luke Nguyen is an Australian-Vietnamese chef, restaurateur and TV presenter. Born in a Thai refugee camp to Vietnamese parents who fled the war, he grew up in Sydney and opened Red Lantern in 2002, which became one of Sydney's most acclaimed Vietnamese restaurants and the longest-running Vietnamese restaurant in the city.
His SBS travel-cookery series — 'Luke Nguyen's Vietnam,' 'Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong,' 'Luke Nguyen's France' and 'Luke Nguyen's Food Trail' — have won multiple awards and brought Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian and Thai cuisines to mainstream Australian audiences. He has also been a recurring judge on MasterChef Vietnam.
His cooking style is rooted in southern Vietnamese tradition (his family is from the Mekong Delta) but engages broadly with Mekong region cuisines — the food of the rivers, herbs and rice paddies that connect Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
Cooking Philosophy
Mekong cuisine as a single tradition. Nguyen argues that the cuisines of the lower Mekong — Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, parts of Thailand — share more than they differ: rice, river fish, fresh herbs, the same fish sauces, the same tropical fruits. His travel series trace those connections.
Restaurants
- Red LanternSydney
His flagship — opened 2002, longest-running Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney.
- Fat NoodleBrisbane / Queensland
Casual Asian noodle bar at The Star casinos.
- Vietnam HouseHo Chi Minh City
Modern Vietnamese fine dining in District 1.
Awards & Recognition
- AACTA Logie nominations
- Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide chef hat
- Vietnamese Government Gold Medal for Cuisine
Iconic Dishes
Cookbooks
- The Songs of Sapa: Stories and Recipes from Vietnam
- Indochine: Baguettes and Banh Mi
- My Vietnam
Signature Recipes Inspired by Luke
Original recipes we created as homages to Luke's cooking style and signature dishes. Not direct reproductions of any copyrighted material — these are our interpretations of the traditions Luke has worked with throughout their career.
Recipes in Luke's Style
These recipes from our database reflect the vietnamese cooking tradition that Luke works in. They are not direct reproductions of Luke's copyrighted recipes, but traditional dishes inspired by the same culinary heritage.
Career Timeline
Born in a Thai refugee camp after his Vietnamese parents flee Saigon by boat; family resettled in Sydney.
Opens Red Lantern in Surry Hills, Sydney, with his sister Pauline Nguyen and her partner Mark Jensen.
First series of 'Luke Nguyen's Vietnam' broadcasts on SBS Australia — wins international travel-cookery awards.
Launches 'Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong,' filmed across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, China and Myanmar.
Opens Fat Noodle at The Star casinos in Sydney and Brisbane.
Opens Vietnam House in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 — his first restaurant in Vietnam.
Recurring judge on MasterChef Vietnam.
Frequently Asked Questions about Luke Nguyen
Where is Red Lantern?
Red Lantern is Luke Nguyen's flagship restaurant in Surry Hills, Sydney. Opened in 2002, it is the longest-running Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney and helped establish modern Vietnamese cuisine in Australia.
What is the Greater Mekong region?
The Greater Mekong is the region of mainland Southeast Asia drained by the Mekong River — covering Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and the Chinese province of Yunnan. Nguyen argues the region shares a common culinary heritage of rice, river fish, fermented sauces and fresh herbs that pre-dates modern national borders.
Where was Luke Nguyen born?
Nguyen was born in a Thai refugee camp after his parents fled Saigon by boat following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. His family was eventually resettled in Cabramatta, the Vietnamese-Australian neighbourhood in western Sydney, where his parents ran a small restaurant.
Has Luke Nguyen written cookbooks about places outside Vietnam?
Yes — alongside his Vietnamese books, his 'Indochine: Baguettes and Banh Mi' explores the French colonial heritage in Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian food, and 'Luke Nguyen's France' (companion to the SBS series) traces the Vietnamese diaspora's reverse influence on contemporary French cooking, particularly in Paris's 13th arrondissement.
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