I was born in Vietnam and came to America as a young refugee after a journey that changed my life forever.

At twelve years old, I arrived in the United States unable to speak English. I had very little, but I learned early that hard work, humility, and perseverance could take me places I could not yet imagine.

My first restaurant job was washing dishes. Within months, I was working on the line. That kitchen became the beginning of a journey that would span more than three decades.

Many years later, that journey brought me to Germany — and eventually to this little red container in Kronach.

It wasn’t beautiful. It wasn’t fancy. We called it the Red Ugly Container.

But inside that little container, something beautiful began.