Some days, a mother’s kitchen feels less like the heart of the home and more like its complaints department. Someone is hungry. Someone else has suddenly decided they don’t like what you’re cooking. And the question “What’s for dinner?” arrives before you’ve even finished lunch.
Then there are the lovely moments: the fragrance of lemongrass in a warm pan, a child reaching for a second helping, the laughter that keeps everyone at the table a little longer. Those are the moments I hold on to.
Cooking has given me a business, a creative outlet, and a way to keep my Vietnamese heritage close. It has also given me something I never expected: a friendship with Melissa Trapani.
We first connected through Thermomix. But the machine didn’t make us friends. It was feeling understood.
A friend who understands
Melissa is the woman behind Thermomixing with Melissa. She began her journey in 2013, hoping to earn extra income from something she enjoyed. Thirteen years later, she’s still sharing recipes, showing families how to cook and building a business around her passion.
What touches me most is the life behind that work.
Melissa is a single mum raising Ethan and Isaac. I have two boys of my own, Hunter and Jonah. We know what it’s like to love your children so fiercely that their happiness feels like it sits in your chest alongside your own. We also know how tiring ordinary days can be.
Nobody hands you a quiet afternoon because you’ve packed school lunches, finished your work and remembered every appointment. More often, someone needs a clean uniform just as you think you can sit down.
I admire Melissa because she keeps making room for her own ambitions while still being there for her boys. That takes determination. Not the loud, look-at-me kind. The kind that gets up the next morning and does it all again.
And I love that we can celebrate one another’s dreams without comparing whose day was harder. There’s already enough of that in the world.
The flavours I carry with me
My own cooking story began with the Vietnamese food I grew up loving. Fresh herbs. Garlic. Fragrant broths. The little adjustments you make by taste rather than by measuring spoons. Food that feels familiar before the first mouthful.
Those flavours mean home to me. They remind me that recipes are more than instructions; they keep family traditions alive.
That love eventually became Vera’s Restaurant, my pop-up dining experience. When I prepare crispy bánh xèo, homemade nem or a bowl of bún bò Huế, I’m sharing something personal. I want guests to discover the flavours I love, but I also want them to feel welcome, relaxed and well fed.
Serving food you’ve put your heart into can feel vulnerable. You watch people take that first bite and hope they understand what you were trying to give them. Then someone smiles, and the nerves ease.
I also love making cakes, arranging flowers and writing about food and travel. My interests have a habit of taking over the house. I call it creativity. I’m not sure the kitchen bench would agree.
Watching Hunter find his own way
Thermomix TM7
Of everything cooking has brought into my life, nothing moves me quite like watching my eldest boy, Hunter, find his own place in the kitchen.
He began cooking at five. He’s eleven now, and through PJ Chef Hunter he’s tackling tomahawk steak, lamb chops, Vietnamese nem nướng, burrata salad and even pistachio tiramisu.
Sometimes I look at what he’s making and remember the little boy who was only just beginning. It happens so quickly, doesn’t it? One minute you’re showing them how to do something; the next, they’re teaching you what they’ve discovered.
Hunter dreams of competing on Junior MasterChef. I don’t know where his cooking will take him, and that’s perfectly all right. What matters to me is that he feels brave enough to try, and knows I’ll be cheering him on.
Jonah has his own place in my heart and in our family’s story. My boys don’t have to share the same interests to receive the same love.
Melissa understands that. Between us are four boys growing, changing and needing us in different ways. We can’t stop time, but we can try to be present for the little moments we’d give anything to revisit one day.
A little help in a busy kitchen
Melissa has introduced me to the Thermomix TM7 and Cookidoo, its digital recipe platform. The TM7 brings together tasks such as chopping, blending, weighing, kneading and steaming; Cookidoo offers guided recipes and meal-planning inspiration.
I can see why that appeals to busy households. Some evenings, even deciding what to make feels like one more job on an already long list.
But I have no intention of trading my Vietnamese cooking traditions for a screen. I love preparing ingredients by hand, tasting as I go and trusting what I’ve learned over the years. For me, a useful appliance should support that pleasure, not replace it.
And no kitchen gadget, however clever, has yet persuaded two children to agree on dinner. If Melissa discovers one that can, I’d like to be first in line.
What I’ll remember
When I think about Melissa, I don’t think first of recipes or sales. I think of a woman making a life for herself and her children, and a friend who understands why family matters so deeply.
Our paths look different. She has built Thermomixing with Melissa; I’ve created Vera’s Restaurant. She’s raising Ethan and Isaac; I’m raising Hunter and Jonah. But beneath the busy schedules, we want much the same things: to give our children a loving home, to do work we’re proud of, and to have someone in our corner when life feels heavy.
Melissa, I’m grateful that cooking brought us together. I’m even more grateful that friendship gave us a reason to stay connected.
One day, our boys will be older, and our kitchens may be quieter. I imagine I’ll miss the noise more than I expect. For now, I want to treasure the meals, the mess, the laughter and the people sharing it all with us.
Because the best thing we ever make in a kitchen may not be something we can serve on a plate.
Sometimes, it’s a friendship that feels like home.
Follow Our Journey
Melissa Trapani – Thermomixing with Melissa
Thermomix consultant since 2013 | Proud mum of Ethan and Isaac
Instagram: @melissa.jayn3
Vera Lee – Vera’s Restaurant
Founder, Vietnamese home cook and food writer | Proud mum of Hunter and Jonah
Instagram: @official_veralee
PJ Chef Hunter
Young aspiring chef
Instagram: @PJCHEF_Hunter
By: Vera Lee – © 2026.
Read Time: 6 minutes.
Author Bio:
Vera has spent her life making travel happen for other people. Now she gets to write about the best bits, especially when lunch is involved.
She started in aviation at Lauda, working in reception and as personal assistant to Richard Froggart, before spending five years in reservations with Austrian Airlines. LTM Travel and TravelEdge followed, including online consultancy in 2007-08, a London chapter in 2008–09 and a return as TravelEdge’s Online Manager.
From 2009 to 2014, Vera managed travel-and-expense implementations and projects at BCD Travel. Motherhood brought two boys, a new timetable and considerably less predictable departures.
She later owned Royal Aquatics and oversaw the business for more than eight years.
Today, semi-retired but hardly idle, Vera writes about luxury travel and food, combining industry knowledge, an appetite for discovery and a belief that good service is never an accident.
