For more than a month she has been using a service that hires people to shop for groceries and cook at home.
Since her job requires her to spend long hours in front of a computer, she often used to order quick takeout on mobile apps to save time, but, after a few bouts of food poisoning and recurring stomach issues, she turned to home cooking services.
It costs around VND100,000 ($4) per hour.
She has set a fixed grocery budget of around VND200,000 and demands authentic traditional northern style dishes. This ensures she has enough home-cooked food for two days.
“Ordering food costs VND150,000-200,000 per day, but the quality is inconsistent and you have to wait one or two hours more,” she says.
Minh Thư (left), 31, uses a cooking service with colleagues in Ho Chi Minh City, February 2026. Photo courtesy of Minh Thu
In Ho Chi Minh City, Minh Thu, 31, a creative content writer, uses the service at her office for herself and two colleagues.
For VND188,000 for two to two-and-a-half hours of cooking, the group enjoys a full meal including soup and stir-fried vegetables. Along with the groceries, the total costs come to VND600,000 ($24).
Thu says: “The dishes suit my taste and the portions are enough for five to six people. We can also observe the cooking process, which makes me feel safer.”
Not just office workers but even university students see hiring a cook as a cost saving measure.
Nguyen Khanh An, a third year student at Van Lang University in Ho Chi Minh City, said for over a month she and her five housemates have stopped ordering in food and hired a home cook instead.
Each used to spend around VND150,000 ($6) a day on eating out, but now, at VND300,000 ($12) on groceries and VND90,000 ($3.5) for one hour of cooking, they spend a combined VND400,000 ($16) for three dishes that are enough for two days, typically a savory one, soup and vegetables.
“Each of us only spends a few tens of thousands of dong on a meal,” An says.
A home-cooking service worker booked by Minh Thư through an app. Photo courtesy of the subject
In Vietnam, home cooking services are not new, and were traditionally used by big, busy households or families with children.
But in recent times young singles and couples have become the biggest users.
According to Tu Anh, HR manager at Guvi, a housekeeping service company in Ho Chi Minh City, more than 25,000 monthly users are singles or couples aged 25 to 34. This segment has grown by 27 percent to surpass family households, she says.
“What started as curiosity has become a habit. Many young people now regularly use these services to eat home-cooked meals without spending much time or effort.
“They often prepare ingredients in advance or provide shopping lists to control costs.”
Currently the wage ranges from VND80,000 to VND107,000 per hour. Phuong Thanh of housekeeping services app bTaskee says demand for casual cooks has increased by almost 30 percent since early 2026.
Most users are under 35, singles or couples and live in apartments in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, she says. “Demand is rising because young people prefer to spend time resting or developing themselves rather than doing housework.”
On Taskee, grocery shopping services cost around VND95,000-115,000 per hour, and cooks come at VND150,000-180,000 per hour. “Young customers want personalized diets with less oil, more variety and more experimental dishes,” Thanh adds.
The new trend is creating opportunities for freelance workers.
Nguyen Thu Tu, 38, of Ho Chi Minh City, who has seven years of experience as a housekeeper, recently began to work as a personal home cook for students sharing apartments and young couples aged 26 to 35.
Her clients typically prepare the ingredients in advance and only require about an hour of cooking.
Compared with her previous full time housekeeping job, this hourly model offers greater flexibility.
Tu says: “Now I only work two shifts a day and can return home in the evening to take care of my children. I receive more than a dozen orders per month from young clients. The income is stable and I also have more time for my family.”
Ingredients prepared by a family in Ho Chi Minh City for a hired home cook. Photo by Hoang Huyen
Associate Professor Pham Ngoc Trung, former dean of the faculty of propaganda at the academy of journalism and communication, sees this as a shift in urban labor division.
“In the past domestic workers were hired full time to care for children or the elderly. Now, young single people prefer hourly services to save money and avoid the discomfort of having someone living in their home.”
From a sociological perspective, Hoang Ha, a lecturer at the Vietnam Women’s Academy, says young people who pay for domestic services may be viewed as lazy or wasteful, but this only reflects a move toward work-life balance.
“Household skills should not be the sole measure of happiness. Paying to reduce the burden of cooking allows families to spend more time together and avoid conflicts caused by unequal division of chores.”
