My Vietnamese name is Lexuan, but to most people, I’m Lily. Funny how nicknames are born. Without trying to age myself, decades ago, one of my very first high school friends (lookin’ at you Myranda!) suggested to call me Lily because she thought it was easier to pronounce, I loved the simplicity of it (Lexy! Lexus! Leshuan!… was getting tiresome to correct) and it stuck ever since!
You might wonder… why digital nerd and why food blogging now? Well, over the years, at (many) home and cottage parties I had hosted, my friends asked me to share recipes of meals I made for them. This immediately sparked an idea for me to create a food blog BUT over time, I didn’t have the motivation (or time) to act on it. After some very significant changes that happened in my life, I finally decided to go for my passion! (Why not? I’ve got 19+ years of IT background combined with 29+ yrs of self-taught experience as a home cook and baker).
Whether at home or a friend’s house, the kitchen is where I spend most of my time cooking, sharing stories and pairing a meal with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Cooking (and baking) is my go-to therapy that gives me the ability to enjoy the creative process of making a dish from scratch with love and laughter. If you think about it, food connects us all on many levels—cultural identity, childhood memories, travel experiences and so much more. In a way, it’s a love language!
When I’m not in the kitchen, I destress at the gym or tire out my sister’s dog Bubba with long walks (much to his excitement),
love to lose track of time in a good book or laugh until my stomach hurts at get-togethers with amazing friends, travel & explore new places to devour delicious food… Ok, I’ll stop here before this sounds like a dating ad!
Sweet2Savoury was born in September 2019, shortly before the pandemic hit. I am the recipe developer, content writer, food photographer and videographer behind this passion project of mine. As my blog name suggests, I share simple, easy-to-follow recipes with you. Some are savoury entreés, and others are delectable baked sweet goods. My recipes range from easy to more sophisticated meals (for the adventurous cook), all made from scratch with mouth-watering pictures and videos! The diversity in my recipes stems from my background and the places I have lived at. You will see a mix of Vietnamese, German and Canadian recipes along with other global flavours that I have learned and loved over the years. I cannot wait to share them with you!
Not sure where to start?
- My Teriyaki Sesame Beef Skewers recipe helped me gain 242,000+ monthly organic views on Pinterest and is my most popular recipe (at the time of this writing).
- My second popular recipe is my Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Rosemary.
- In my ‘how-to’ section, you can read about tips and tricks on kitchen techniques.
- You can browse through all of my recipe categories by going here.
Thank you for spending your time browsing through my blog. If you are trying any of my recipes, send me a picture of your dish, leave me a comment or tag @sweet2savoury on social media with #sweet2savoury. I would love to hear your story, feedback or suggestions! If you want to know more about me and what influenced me to start cooking and baking 28 years ago, click “more about me” below (Warning: it’s a long one!) to learn more about my story.
Happy Cooking! ♥
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My story doesn’t start in Canada but on a boat overflowing with hope. In 1981, my parents fled Vietnam on separate journeys, each escaping the turmoil and uncertainty of a Viet Cong takeover. They left with little but courage, enduring weeks on the open sea, facing dwindling supplies, pirate threats, and the relentless elements.
Salvation arrived in the form of Cap Anamur, a German humanitarian rescue mission led by Christel and Rupert Neudeck. One by one, my parents and other refugees were rescued, finding their way to safety in refugee camps across Southeast Asia. Eventually, both my parents ended up in the Philippines, where their paths crossed, and a new story began.
Freighter named “Cap Anamur” after the French name Cape Anamur. A cape on the Turkish Mediterranean coast near the city of Anamur. 10, 375 boat people were rescued on the open sea.
Love blossomed even in those trying circumstances. They got engaged, boarded their first airplane together, and began a life in Germany, hoping for a brighter future. Adjusting was no easy feat. With no money, they worked hard to rebuild. Dad took on long hours at a factory, while Mom stayed home, pregnant with me, learning German and navigating this unfamiliar new world.
I was the first of four children born into a small, cozy apartment, where Mom’s cooking was the constant that filled our home with warmth and love. Whether she was making a simple spaghetti and meatballs or the more elaborate Vietnamese Pho, her meals reminded us daily of what it meant to appreciate everything we had. Christmas was magical—a time of family and baking experiments. My sister and I, alongside Mom, shaped cookies and “washed” dishes (which she re-washed when we weren’t looking). She made cooking fun, secretly planting a lifelong love for it in both of us.
In 1995, Canada beckoned with new opportunities and a promise of diversity. My parents seized the chance to uproot our lives again, moving us to Windsor, Ontario to start a family business specializing in European Automotive Repair. Culture shock hit hard, but family ties and our shared language helped us adjust. Mom’s insistence that we speak only Vietnamese at home kept our heritage intact, even if it meant a playful “self-smack” if we slipped into German.
Through it all, our parents’ stories of resilience were a steady guide: “Don’t take anything for granted,” they’d remind us. It worked. We did our chores without complaint, valued schoolwork, and never wasted a single scrap of food. Their strength shaped us into hardworking, grateful people.
Adjusting to a new country was no small feat. For my sister and me, it meant quickly becoming “junior parents” to our 12 cousins while managing our own school responsibilities and learning English / French while maintaining our other two languages. From early morning classes to cooking dinner late into the night, we learned resilience. Somewhere in that whirlwind, a passion for cooking began to take root. Mom had prepared meals we could reheat, but we found ourselves experimenting—starting with rice and eggs, then onto pasta, Vietnamese soups, and breakfast pancakes. There were some bumps along the way (like my infamous burnt soup incident), but we embraced it all.
Mom noticed our growing interest and began teaching us traditional Vietnamese recipes, sharing the techniques that brought out the best flavours. With every new dish, our confidence and love for cooking deepened.
Baking took hold a little later, after I moved to London, Ontario for a new full-time IT job. After hours, inspired by shows like Cake Boss, I enrolled in cake-decorating classes and studied techniques, from royal icing to perfecting buttercream. That was the beginning of my custom cake business, where I crafted everything from wedding cakes to edible high heels! Baking became an art I loved, a way to transform simple ingredients into unforgettable memories.
custom cakes I made back in 2009 – 2012
Today, my cooking is a tapestry woven from childhood flavours, places I’ve lived, and traditions I’ve experienced. But it all circles back to Mom’s cooking—the aroma of her kitchen still takes me home. Nothing beats Mama’s meals, the foundation of my passion.
Thank you for being here, and I hope you enjoy the recipes I share, as they carry the spirit of the journey that brought me here.