Setting a record for culinary map of 126 Vietnamese dishes

The first day of the event, October 20, saw the second record-setting program for the Vietnamese culinary map. The program featured chefs from the Ho Chi Minh City Professional Chefs Association and highly skilled chefs from more than 20 provinces and cities across the country.

The chef places the dishes in the correct provinces and cities to complete the culinary map. Photo: Bich Phuong

Ms. Vo Luu Lan Uyen, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Records Organization, read the decision to set a Vietnamese record with the content of "the event of processing and performing special dishes of 63 provinces and cities to create a map of Vietnam with the most dishes".

The map is filled with dishes placed in each province, a total of 126 dishes. The number of dishes on the map this year broke last year's record, more than double, a representative of the Vietnam Record Organization informed.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, establishing a record of 126 dishes of 63 provinces and cities has the meaning of "preserving traditional culinary values". This is also an opportunity for chefs to show their creativity, acting as a "culinary ambassador" to convey the values of the country's cuisine to international friends.

The “special point” of the Vietnamese culinary map is that the dishes displayed are all “directly prepared” by chefs within the framework of the festival. The dishes displayed on the map will be evaluated by a team of culinary experts and awarded to the chefs who made them. On the first day of the festival, the dishes displayed on the map are directly prepared. On the following days, the dishes on the map are displayed in models to serve visitors.

The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association said that the dishes are prepared in sufficient quantity for display, saving on ingredients and spices.

"The organizers only prepare enough food for display, saving spices and ingredients. Dishes that can be reused will be used. However, some dishes, due to their own characteristics, cannot be preserved for long," said Ms. Khanh.

Hai Duong specialty bean cake is shaped like an S-shaped map. Photo: Bich Phuong

The 126 dishes appearing on the map include many familiar dishes associated with the image of Vietnamese cuisine and also unique dishes that are specialties of different regions. These include grilled sand lizards with salt and chili (Binh Thuan), Chumomray grass-fed beef with yellow ant salt (Kon Tum), catfish hotpot (Hau Giang), lam nho (Lai Chau) or bun cha, bun dau mam tom Hanoi, and banh mi Saigon.

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 for the Vietnamese culinary map are "not too complicated in terms of taste" but the chef's "creativity" and the way they use local products in their dishes are important.

These products must bring the public and the judges a new, unique feeling and create new specialties for local cuisine. According to Mr. Vuong, creativity and innovation are also the “current trend” of the culinary industry, playing an important role in the process of “opening up to the world”. Vietnamese chefs have now begun to learn the world’s cooking methods, finding ways to bring new things into old dishes “to both preserve traditional dishes and create modern products”, meeting the needs of domestic and international diners.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said the festival contributes to promoting Vietnamese cuisine to the world, while promoting culinary tourism, making Vietnam an attractive destination to attract international tourists. The Vietnam tourism development strategy to 2030 identifies culinary culture as the main cultural stream.

“To promote Vietnamese cuisine internationally, Vietnam tourism promotion activities need to be linked with promoting the culture and cuisine of regions across the country,” said Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh.

Before the Festival to honor Vietnamese cuisine, Ho Chi Minh City held the first Banh Mi Festival in Vietnam in March with 100,000 visitors. The 3-day culinary festival in October is expected to attract about 50,000 visitors to visit and eat.

The festival is organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, the Saigon Professional Chefs Association, and the Center for Research, Preservation and Development of Vietnamese Cuisine.

Source VNE

Source