This is the ‘Win with Stories’ newsletter. Every week I send an email with a message wrapped in a short story. I also share one actionable tip and a few content recommendations to help you enhance your business storytelling skills.
Hope you enjoyed the long weekend, and also the Indian Independence Day. I did for sure, camping amidst the mountains and forests of Kabbala. We camped at a 15 acre raw and rustic private campsite called Camper’s Creek.
Equidistant from Bengaluru and Mysuru(the city where I live), this place is run by a young couple Nithin and Wilma. They are passionate about nature, animals and simple living.
Do check them out if you are into camping or would like to try it out someday soon. Here’s the Google Maps link.
Now with today’s story.
Why Netflix’s Street Food is a revelation.
I don’t watch much TV or OTT these days, but there is one docu-series I never miss on Netflix. It’s called ‘Street Food’. The show has had three installments already focused on ‘Asia’, ‘Latin America and the latest edition, ‘USA’.
Streetfood USA has an episode dedicated on Portland, and the star of the episode is a tiny Vietnamese restaurant ‘Mama Dut’. The name translates to ‘mama feeds you’. Thuy Pham, a hairstylist-turned-chef, runs this quirky restaurant.
What made the episode interesting was Thuy’s life story. She migrated to the US by escaping on a boat with her mother after spending time in a refugee camp. Her childhood was a difficult one, and she never felt like she fit in.
She would throw away the lunch packed by her mother. Why? Because other kids at school would make fun of how awful her Vietnamese food would smell.
In a way this underlined her struggle to feel like she belonged in the US. This continued for many years as she made a career as a hair stylist.
She was vegan and loved Vietnamese food. One day she decided to embrace these two incompatible food choices and made Vegan Pork Belly. Her kid daughter asked her to go live on Instagram while preparing the dish.
Thuy even in her wildest dreams hadn’t expected the kind of response the Insta live generated. Many people reached out wanting to taste this quirky dish.
Thuy started delivering and expanded her culinary repertoire until she realised the need for a real restaurant. That’s how ‘Mama Dut’ was born.
Since then there has been no looking back for Thuy, or the restaurant. The Netflix episode is an important milestone, but her dishes were already in Portland’s gourmet hall of fame.
ONE communication tip for today.
While watching this episode, I exclaimed, “This episode is all about people, and not so much about food.”
I was wrong.
Not just that episode, the entire series is about people. The creators of the series David Gelb and Brian McGinn shed light about their approach in an interview with Eater.
’We discovered and enjoyed so much amazing food from — there’s no other way to say it — these local heroes in each of these places who are not necessarily on the radar of the food awards scene. But they’re cooking these innovative dishes that are defining their cultural heritage, that are defining their family heritage, and that’s taking them on these journeys that are really amazing, beautiful stories.’
Local heroes. Stories. Heritage. Sounds familiar?
So even a series that can rely on food-porn, chooses stories instead. Now if we all had a Gelb-McGinn duo to excavate and narrate our business’s stories. But we don’t, and that does not mean that we cannot narrate great stories of our business, brand or company.
If Netflix’s Street Food teaches us anything, it is this.
‘It’s all about the people.’
So whether it’s strategy, marketing or sales; it is stories that make us connect. And stories are always about people. So find Thuy Pams of your brand or in your team. Then, narrate stories of their trials, tribulations and victories. Watch how people get drawn towards you like they get tempted with a delicious Vegan Pork Belly.
Since this edition was about food, let me share some of my food journalism articles from the past(don’t blame me if they induce hunger pangs):
- Udaipur’s Emperor of Eggs – Roads and Kingdoms
- The Glutton’s Train: Mandovi Express’ Secret Recipe – DNA India
- A Quest For Authentic ‘Jaffna’ Cuisine – Roar Life
- When The Breakfast Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts – Roads and Kingdoms
That’s it from me this week. Tell me one thing that will make you share this newsletter with friends and colleagues 🙂
If it’s already share-worthy, then please forward this to your network right away. Let’s all win with stories.
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