Two years ago, one year after opening our own restaurant, my brother went to the forest to forage some plants for our special dishes. Unfortunately, the tree he was reaching for was touching an electric tower. Despite using a stick to reach the plants, he received a high-voltage shock and was electrocuted. This incident resulted in him spending more than 52 days in the hospital, losing both his legs and one of his arms. My only wish during that time was to see him out of that hospital; I didn’t expect anything else, just that he survived.

After the 52 days, he immediately started talking about the restaurant. It was our dream, our first independent venture after working under so many talented chefs. He couldn’t imagine himself doing anything else but cooking. His love for the kitchen and the dream of having his own restaurant motivated him to recover.

He acquired wooden prosthetics for his legs and had his friend modify his scooter to place the accelerator on the left side. He gradually began to cook again at our house, learning how to balance on the scooter with the goal of returning to work a shift at the restaurant, just as he always did. When he finally made it back to the kitchen, it was as if nothing had happened. He knew exactly where everything was located, albeit a bit slower than before. Together with synchronization and determination, we started firing order after order. His dream, the kitchen, and his passion made him almost completely forget about the accident.

We are the Cat Ba Brothers, two chefs who utilize local Vietnamese ingredients to create vegetarian and vegan-inspired dishes from different parts of the world. We hope you can visit Vietnam and Cat Ba Island soon and visit us at our restaurant, @casabonita.vn The constant satisfaction of our customers motivates my brother and me to come in every morning and cook.