This two-day special festival is part of the India International Food and Hospitality Exhibition (IHE) 2024.

On the first day of the festival, chefs prepared and presented typical Vietnamese dishes such as chicken pho and spring rolls. These dishes are not only famous for their unique flavors but also reflect the rich heritage and flavors of Vietnamese cuisine.

The event is organized by the Trade Office - Embassy of Vietnam in India, in collaboration with the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association, Vietnam Airlines, Vietravel and Uniben Food Joint Stock Company. With the support of these prestigious units, the Vietnam Food Festival promises to bring a professional event, imbued with cultural identity.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Bui Trung Thuong - Vietnam Trade Counselor in India said that this is the first time Vietnam has participated in IHE with a very diverse and rich scale and content, and it is also the first time Vietnam has been chosen as a partner country of IHE. With a scale of about 1,000 booths and expected to attract about 20,000-25,000 visitors, IHE 2024 is a good opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to promote cuisine and promote Vietnam as a destination. Therefore, the Vietnamese co-organizers invited Indian filmmakers, travel agencies, and businessmen to enjoy Vietnamese dishes directly prepared by famous chef Nguyen Van Thong. Mr. Bui Trung Thuong hopes that through this fair, Vietnamese enterprises will actively participate in trade promotion programs organized by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in India or by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, thereby promoting trade activities between the two countries.

Besides, Counselor Bui Trung Thuong said that India is a big market, through fairs and culinary programs like this, Indian people will know more about Vietnam, and at the same time it is an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to affirm their brands and product quality.

In an interview with a VNA reporter in New Delhi, Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Chairman of the India Fair and Exhibition Centre, said that Vietnamese culinary culture was brought to IHE this year by artisans and chefs. The participation of the Vietnamese delegation has received many positive responses from Indian exhibitors and visitors. In addition, the Indian people are also very happy to know about this Food Festival because Vietnam is currently a country attracting many Indian tourists, partly because of Vietnamese cuisine and now the Indian people will know more about this through the participation of the Vietnamese delegation at IHE. He emphasized: "I am quite sure that your participation will bring more cultural relations between India and Vietnam".

The central figure of the Vietnam Food Festival is chef Nguyen Van Thong. In an interview with a VNA reporter about the reason for demonstrating how to cook chicken pho at the festival, Mr. Thong said that chicken is a popular dish on the menu of Indian people. In this performance, he used popular spices in India, except for fish sauce of the three regions and Vietnamese pepper, to demonstrate the exchange and closeness in culinary culture between Vietnam and India. In addition, chef Nguyen Van Thong was also very sophisticated when bringing vegetarian spring rolls to satisfy the taste of the majority of Indian people. This once again shows that he understands the needs and eating preferences of people in a country of more than 1.4 billion people.

Participating in the Food Festival, UNIBEN - Vietnam's leading food company, also introduced products that have affirmed their brands domestically such as 3 Mien Noodles, Reeva Noodles, Boncha Tea, Joco Fruit Juice, Abben Energy Drink... Through these products, Indian people in particular and international friends in general will better understand Vietnamese culinary culture.

It is expected that on the last day of the festival, the Vietnamese organizing committee will continue to introduce the country's cuisine to businesses in the hotel and restaurant industry; travel agencies, event organizers and traders in the food and beverage sector in India at Paprika Restaurant, ExpoInn Suites & Convention Hotel. This will be an opportunity for guests to directly experience high-class dishes, prepared by talented chefs from Vietnam.

According to VNA