Introducing Angel Kitchen: A Seat at My Table

Angel Kitchen's Table

A love of cooking, a season of change, and food made to share.

When I brought bánh tét chuối to church for morning tea, Mum laughed at the idea. To us, banana sticky rice cake was ordinary food, familiar from home. I wondered how it would be received beside my chiffon cake.

Before morning tea, I stood at the table with a cutting board and a knife. As I sliced through the sticky rice and its ruby-red banana centre, people began coming over. They watched, asked questions and took the pieces as I put them on the plate.

The rice clung to the knife. I wiped it and cut again.

I kept cutting. They kept taking.

By the time I looked up properly, the bánh tét was gone. The chiffon was still there.

That small morning has stayed with me. Something so familiar to my family had become a new pleasure for someone else. Food could carry a little of home into a room full of people, without needing much explanation.

Today, I’m delighted to introduce Angel Kitchen.

Cooking has been part of my life for many years. I have cooked for people I love and taught cooking classes to raise funds for my church. Some of you will know me through those classes; others through my books, my websites or the stories I share here.

This year, cooking took on a different place in my days.

When my only seeing eye became unwell, I needed to limit the time I spent at a screen. Writing and web development had given me so much purpose, and stepping back was difficult. I prayed, worried and slowly began finding a different rhythm at home.

I found myself spending longer in the kitchen. I tested recipes, changed ingredients, adjusted techniques and tried again. There were failures, of course. There were also moments when a cake softened just as I hoped, a cream filling came together, or someone tasted something and wanted another bite.

My eye difficulties are part of this beginning, but my love of cooking reaches much further back. Angel Kitchen gives that love a name and a place to grow.

The collection brings together the foods I enjoy making and sharing. There are Surprise Layer Cakes with strawberry, lychee, or watermelon and pistachio hidden inside; golden French cream puffs filled with vanilla, Vietnamese coffee, chocolate or honey kumquat; fragrant orange chiffon; and Angel’s Cloud Cake, a gluten-free cake with its white, finely textured sponge, cream and berry jam.

And there is bánh tét chuối, with its sticky rice, red beans and sweet banana centre. It belongs at this table too.

For everyday meals, Angel’s Pantry includes my pickles, Vietnamese sauces, Berry Velvet jam and phở spice bags. I love a celebration cake, but I also love the small things that make an ordinary meal something to look forward to.

Along the way, there is my husband and a little tasting team of friends have helped me refine the collection. They have shared slices, compared flavours and told me honestly what they enjoyed and what could be better. I’m grateful for their encouragement—and for the care they bring to every tasting.

I am also grateful to the friends and family who have tasted, encouraged and offered honest feedback along the way. Sharing a new recipe means listening as well as cooking. Those conversations help me keep improving what I make.

I don’t know exactly where Angel Kitchen will lead. For now, I want to keep learning, make food with care and share it with people who enjoy it.

You can explore the Angel Kitchen collection (https://www.angeltienle.com/angel-kitchen) here on my website. If something catches your eye, follow the contact link on the page to ask a question or send an enquiry. For celebration cakes, you can also choose a finish from my decoration catalogue.

Thank you for making room for this new part of my story.

Come in gently. There’s a seat at the table.

Angel