Bea Vo

Bea Vo is a Vietnamese American, originally hailing from Washington D.C. Bea began her training at Le Cordon Bleu before going on to work for such culinary luminaries such as Asia de Cuba, Ottolenghi and Nobu. Her signature mix of American baking and quirky style is a direct result of her work and childhood experiences. In May 2007, she was offered, and immediately rejected, a position that would have had her on track to become the head pastry chef for Nobu London, where she had been working since 2006. She told Regis [Cursan, the executive pastry chef for Nobu UK] that she wanted to open her own shop, and Regis was extremely supportive. He encouraged Bea to go for it, despite her protestations that she was not ready and only expected to take such a step in five or ten years' time. By February 2008, Bea's of Bloomsbury was opened. In May 2007, with a friend visiting from New York, Bea began looking for space. She found the current location, which she secured at the end of May after a short bidding war that resulted in a slightly more expensive lease than originally planned. Subsequently, Bea contacted friends and family to raise capital and was fortunate to secure a small business bank loan (right before the financial crisis) and an angel investor who was an old friend from university. She was also attending small business classes at City University and putting in time at Ottolenghi to learn all about the day-to-day operations of a shop because "as customers, we don't know what happens in the back of the house." The business has grown steadily and the second location at the glossy One New Change development in The City, near St. Paul's opened in October 2010. Bea's of Bloomsbury is located at 44 Theobald's Road WC1X 8NW, London, 0207 242 8330 and One New Change, EC4, London.