The admirable story of making cakes and growing trees of a young man from Nghe An

Surprise behind the cakes

I accidentally learned about Been-Ton's cakes a long time ago and was extremely impressed because the cakes here look completely different from the cakes commonly sold on the market. The luxurious, creative birthday cakes, the aesthetic cupcakes, the flawless photos posted on her Facebook made me imagine an experienced craftsman, an extremely professional studio. And because of that thought, I was almost shocked when I learned that the author of these products was a high school student.

Curious to learn more about this special teenager, Been-Ton always politely refused because he was in the process of reviewing for the high school graduation exam. It was only later, when he was afreshmanMath teacher of Vinh University, Been - Ton just met, and her story continues to take me from one surprise to another.

Been-Ton believes that it is perseverance and perfectionism that have helped him gradually conquer his small goals. Photo: Diep Thanh.

“My full name is Nguyen Been-Ton. All the cake recipes and designs are self-taught, learned on the internet, in free cake forums, without any training course” - Been-Ton shared.

My next surprise about this freshman was the kitchen - where he made the cakes. Not a luxurious kitchen in a professional studio with expensive baking tools, stone islands with no dead corners... The birthplace of the cakes is a very familiar kitchen in a very ordinary house. Furthermore, the professional camera that I thought Been-Ton used to take pictures of the cakes was actually an Iphone 8 that he borrowed from his mother.

Another surprise comes from the impressive achievements that this young baker has achieved. In primary school, Been-Ton won 2 medals in aerobics at the National Phu Dong Sports Festival. Throughout 12 years of schooling, Been-Ton always maintained good academic performance. Been-Ton's parents and teachers tried to convince him to pursue an artistic career because of his singing and dancing abilities. Been-Ton also loves painting and has taught himself to draw and has created many impressive works to give to friends and relatives.

Been-Ton's parents always created conditions for him to pursue his interests and respected his decisions. In the photo, his friends were invited to a Christmas party that Been-Ton prepared himself at his house. Photo: NVCC.

Talented and actively participating in cultural and artistic movements of the school and class, Been-Ton admits that he lives like an “old man” - limiting time on social networks, always going to bed before 10pm, and having the habit of waking up early to take care of plants and garden. From his hobby of taking care of plants, in 11th grade, Been-Ton appeared in many newspapers to share the secret of transforming his rooftop into a Japanese strawberry garden full of fruit.

The series of surprises I received while learning about Been-Ton made me even more curious about this interesting 18-year-old boy.

The perfect launch pad

Although I am not sure how high Been-Ton's career will fly in the future, I believe that she has a perfect spiritual launch pad from her own perseverance and the support of her family.

Sharing the secret to creating surprises, Been-Ton confided: “I have a humble starting point, but in return, I have trained myself with the necessary perseverance to conquer my goals. I realized this when I started to develop my hobby of growing plants.” In the early days of learning to grow plants, Been-Ton experienced a period of frustration when every plant he planted died, even the simple, easy-to-grow ones. Feeling that growing plants based on intuition was not good, Been-Ton applied the knowledge he learned from Biology, researched online about the characteristics of each type of plant, each stage of development, the role of each nutrient... to apply in practice. When the seedlings began to sprout and recover, Been-Ton decided to challenge himself with more difficult varieties such as orchids, American figs, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and apples...

Ever since he was a high school student, Been-Ton's strawberry garden has been very famous on social networks. Photo: NVCC

“Participating in tree planting forums at home and abroad, many people told me that growing difficult-to-please plants on a small, roofless terrace was impossible. Even when they saw me installing a trellis to grow strawberries, my family thought it was wasteful and useless,” Been-Tơn said. To prove the opposite, the 10th grader with his strange perseverance at that time studied trees like an agricultural engineer, patiently translating and reading lengthy documents in specialized English. Finally, the growth and development of the rooftop garden became a true “sweet fruit” for Been-Tơn. After Been-Tơn’s strawberry garden appeared in many forums and newspapers.

The strawberry trellis with juicy, heavy fruits indirectly brought Been-Ton to his passion for cakes. Been-Ton said: “There were so many strawberries, I couldn’t eat them all, I thought about making cakes and continued to explore from the simplest recipes. And like planting trees, I can’t remember how many cakes I silently threw away, even though I regretted the cost of ingredients.” In the early days of his passion for baking, without any supporting tools, Been-Ton had to beat eggs, knead dough and often finished the job with stiff hands and hot legs. After doing it over and over again, he gained a lot of experience, and Been-Ton began to have delicious finished products, even delicious enough for his friends to order after tasting them.

Not stopping at simple cake recipes, Been-Tôn "engaged" in baking like a professional with countless new recipes and experiments. He successively conquered all the cake models he saw with tireless enthusiasm. Been-Tôn confided: "It took me a long time to find a complete recipe, suitable for the taste and weather characteristics in Nghe An. I also spent a lot of ingredients to make and redo an idea. Self-study will take a lot of time, but in return, I will understand the problem more deeply and accidentally find more suitable experiences, more flexible recipes". With delicious cakes and beautiful designs, Been-Tôn boldly accepts online cake orders and has extra income to serve his passion.

An elaborate cake set by Been-Ton. Photo: Diep Thanh

Seeing Been-Ton meticulously mix and match the cake colors, being careful with every detail, cherishing every slice of fruit... one can understand how patient this freshman is. He can stand for hours, running back and forth dozens of times just to make sure all the details on the cake reach the desired perfection. While meticulously working, Been-Ton confided: "Although they don't have the means to financially support me, my parents always support and believe in my passions and decisions. For me, that is both motivation and luck."

“After experiencing planting trees and baking, I realized thatfluent in Englishis a huge advantage, it is like a priority door leading me to the world's treasure trove of priceless, quintessential knowledge. And I believe that English and perseverance will also help me a lot on any path, in anyselect"Which" - Been-Ton shared.