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The culinary map of more than 100 Vietnamese dishes is the highlight of the 2023 Festival of Honoring Vietnamese culinary culture held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 20-22.
On the first day of the event, October 20, the program to set a record on the Vietnamese culinary map for the second time took place. The program has the participation of chefs from the Ho Chi Minh City Professional Chefs Association, highly skilled chefs from more than 20 provinces and cities across the country.
Chefs place dishes in the right provinces and cities to complete the culinary map. Photo: Bich Phuong
Ms. Vo Luu Lan Uyen, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Record Organization, read the decision to establish a Vietnamese record with the content “the event of processing and performing specialty dishes of 63 provinces and cities to create a unique image.” Vietnamese food with the most dishes”.
The map is filled with dishes placed in each province, a total of 126 dishes. The number of dishes on this year’s map breaks last year’s record, more than double, a representative of the Vietnam Records Organization informed.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, setting a record of 126 dishes of 63 provinces and cities means “preserving traditional culinary values”. This is also an opportunity for chefs to demonstrate their creativity, acting as a “culinary ambassador” to convey the values of their country’s cuisine to international friends.
The “special feature” of the Vietnamese culinary map is that the dishes on display are all “prepared directly” by chefs at the festival. The dishes displayed on the map will be evaluated by a team of culinary experts and awarded to the chefs. On the first day of the festival, the dishes displayed on the map are directly prepared dishes. The following days, the dishes on the map are displayed with models to serve visitors.
The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association said the dishes are prepared in quantities just enough for display, saving ingredients and spices.
“The organizers only prepare enough food for display, saving spices and ingredients. Use reusable dishes. However, some dishes, due to their specific characteristics, cannot be preserved for a long time,” Ms. Khanh said.
Hai Duong’s specialty bean curd cake is shaped like an S-shaped map. Photo: Bich Phuong
126 dishes appear on the map, including many familiar dishes associated with the image of Vietnamese cuisine and also unique dishes that are regional specialties. These include grilled sandstorm with chili salt (Binh Thuan), Chumomray grass beef salted with yellow ants (Kon Tum), fish hotpot (Hau Giang), lam noi (Lai Chau) or bun cha, vermicelli with tofu and shrimp paste in Hanoi. , Saigon bread.
Mr. Pham Son Vuong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Professional Chefs Association, said that the criteria for evaluating dishes participating in setting a record on the Vietnamese culinary map are “not too complicated in terms of taste” but important in “the chefs’ creativity, how they use local products in their dishes.
These products must bring to the public and the judges a new and unique feeling and create new specialties for local cuisine. According to Mr. Vuong, creativity and innovation are also “current trends” of the culinary industry, playing an important role in the process of “opening up to the world”. Vietnamese chefs have now begun to learn how to cook from around the world, looking for ways to bring new things into old dishes “to both preserve traditional dishes and create modern products”, meeting the needs of customers. needs of domestic and international diners.
Also at the opening ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, said that the festival contributes to promoting Vietnamese cuisine to the world, while promoting culinary tourism, bringing Vietnam become an attractive destination to attract international tourists. Vietnam’s tourism development strategy until 2030 identifies culinary culture as the main cultural line.
“To promote and introduce Vietnamese cuisine internationally, Vietnamese tourism promotion activities need to be associated with promoting the culture and cuisine of regions across the country,” Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh said.
Before the Festival honoring Vietnamese cuisine, Ho Chi Minh City held the first Bread Festival in Vietnam in March with 100,000 visitors. It is expected that the 3-day food festival will attract about 50,000 visitors to visit, eat and drink.
The festival is organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, the Saigon Professional Chefs Association, and the Center for Research, Conservation and Development of Vietnamese Cuisine.
