Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism: The Golden Spoon Contest – The Reliable Channel to Build National Feasts

Mr. Ngo Hoai Chung

As Deputy Director of VNAT, how would you evaluate the purpose of The Golden Spoon Contest?

Our country has a long historic culinary culture. Many experts and managers have encouraged Viet Nam to be a “kitchen” of the world. That recommendation has come from our diverse culinary resources from street food, folk and traditional dishes, to royal feasts.

Therefore, The Golden Spoon contest’s purpose is to research, to discover, and to create more Vietnamese cuisine, meaning they’re creating more productive cultural products for Vietnamese tourism. Besides collecting and introducing interesting and nutritious dishes, chefs have also varied and garnished them to be attractive art works.

We’ve counted 5 of the bests in The Golden Spoon contest, including the most provinces’ participation, the largest group of great chefs from hotels all over the country, the most new creative dishes, the most noble and professional jury, and the biggest rewards. Minh Long I company’s program has really encouraged and developed Vietnamese tourism.

Have known that recently, VNAT has been ordered to build Tourism up to a key economic industry by Prime Minister. Therefore, advertising tactics for Vietnamese cuisine is much more important. In near future, how VNAT will develop the bests from The Golden Spoon contest, and other general culinary contests?

As we all have known, good sources and good products without advertising and marketing are not good enough. Therefore, VNAT is focusing on following solutions, including:

First, we will have marketing tactics on culinary channels, especially the Internet and proper channels, which can effectively introduce our information to international market.

Second, we will hold introductory programs about Vietnamese tourism at other countries, which are key and potential markets.

Third, we will use public communication channels, especially national ones, to introduce values of Vietnamese tourism and cuisine. To provide qualified and attentive services is the most effective way to advertise. Tourist should memorize their interesting yet comfortable experiences in Viet Nam so they would come back. Our target markets are big traditional populations, who have high expenses and stay long term in Vietnam.

The particular and general TVC channels you have mentioned remind me of the event that The US President Obama had had Bun Cha (grilled pork with fresh rice noodles) in Ha Noi and immediately, it created positive effects. What do you think about that?

International celebrities, including politicians, statesmen, or leading entertainers in showbiz, coming to Viet Nam is a great opportunity for us to introduce spectacular images of the country, the people, the tourism, and especially the abundant cuisine. President Obama having Bun Cha in Le Van Huu street (Ha Noi) is an impressive image to the whole world and a persuasive advertisement for all restaurants, hotels, and brands that were used.

VNAT encourages those units to take advantages of the events, the images of heads of the state and celebrities to expand their reputation. They simply create attraction and enthusiasm to potential tourists, especially in the information blast-out days.

Talented and passionate chefs in The Golden Spoon contest have made beautiful and nutritious dishes.

Some experts have said that there were difficulties in picking a key point to advertise Vietnamese cuisine – whether to use traditional rustic dishes or modern integrative ones. How does VNAT consider this issue?

Different tongues have different tastes; each country has its own distinction. Therefore, the advertising dishes have to suit each target market in tastes, traditions, religions, and cultures of diverse diners. We would introduce our adequate products to international tourists rather than picking some featured dishes.

Of course each region of the country has its own specialties and local people should be able to raise their products to domestic and international visitors. That is the friendliest way to build their brands up, and to help drawing regional culinary maps to tourists. They should have various options and experience Vietnamese cuisine themselves.

Another related key point to culinary culture and also an attentive trend is national feast. Do you think remarkable dishes, which were discovered or created by The Golden Spoon contest, would have a chance to attend at national feast menus?

National feast has been a controversial issue and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been studying how to distribute and who should distribute this scheme. Definitely we would need ideal contribution from the people, especially experts, managers, and researchers.

We can consider many good channels in which The Golden Spoon awards has had widest reputation. This large-scaled contest has gathered all top chefs of Vietnamese Tourism and also stellar culinary experts to be judges. Therefore it brought out the most excellent dishes, which are deserved to be national specialties, in order to introduce to domestic and international tourists.

VNAT once confirmed that The Golden Spoon Awards 2013 was a phenomenon and it has been a reliable brand. Have you personally expected what would happen in the next season?

This is already the forth season. Its scale, quality, and credit are elevating step by step. However, if the contest wants to have its place in important political and cultural events of the nation or international events like APEC, which will be hosted by Viet Nam in 2017, should the Organization let the champions introduce their own winning dishes in those such events, shouldn’t they? By doing that, I think it will contribute to boosting the contest’s influence to larger market, especially international celebrities. At the same time, our dainty and nourishing food should be known by more people.

Thank you for the conversation.

Some impressive dishes from The Golden Spoon Contest:

Truc Linh vegetable rolled calf shank in wild pepper sauce; Crabmeat paste and gras foie served with salted lime fish sauce.

Soup of field crabs, Chinese spinach, and sponge gourd served with Ruoi paste and instand pickled egg plants.

Ngoc Linh chicken and Phyllostachys bamboo, Dit leaves, and Morel mushroom served with fresh rice noodles.

Originally steamed red slipper lobsters in black-garlic wine broth; New Zealand lobster heads served with Couscous and Sung leaves.

Granny Smith apple cake in vanilla sauce and ice cream.

French crème caramel served with Ly Son seaweed.

By Nguyen Trang/Nguoidothi

Photo: Trung Dũng