Tourists choose dishes at the Hue Culinary Space 2019.

Effective

The Department of Tourism stated that the industry is developing a project titled "Hue - Culinary Capital"; in which, promoting and building the brand of Hue cuisine is considered a top priority. Participating in activities to introduce and promote Hue cuisine nationwide is a good opportunity to bring Hue cuisine closer to tourists.

Over the past years, most food festivals and events nationwide have featured famous and distinctive dishes from Hue, such as the 6th Vietnam Food Festival at the end of 2018, the Hanoi Food Culture Festival in 2019, the Southern Traditional Cake Festival in 2019, and the 4th Hoi An International Food Festival… Simultaneously, Hue also organizes food festivals within the province, ranging from traditional to royal cuisine and vegetarian dishes.

Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Information and Promotion Center, observed that although there are no precise figures to show the effectiveness of promoting Hue cuisine through participation in festivals and events, it is evident that most trips to introduce and promote Hue's cuisine and its stalls are always very popular, with ingredients running out by the halfway point of the festival. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the number of tourists aware of Hue's cuisine has increased.

From July 17-21, 2019, Hue's tourism industry will continue to participate in showcasing its cuisine at the Nghe An International Food and Culture Festival. The festival is expected to feature approximately 100 stalls and attract tens of thousands of visitors. This presents another opportunity for Hue's culinary scene.

According to the Department of Tourism, at the Nghe An Food Festival, in addition to participating in promotion, the tourism industry will send a number of culinary artisans to participate in a competition organized within the framework of the festival. The participants in the competition are renowned artisans with excellent skills, hoping that their entries will promote and introduce the uniqueness and essence of Hue cuisine.

Hue culinary artisans prepare clam rice to serve tourists at the Hue Culinary Space 2019.

Professionalism is needed.

At the recent Hanoi Food and Culture Festival in 2019, public opinion and experts felt that many participating vendors lacked professionalism and failed to showcase the distinctive culinary characteristics of different regions. Specifically regarding the Hue food section, visitors felt that the dishes on display were not visually appealing and lacked any "Hue charm," from the bowls and chopsticks to the tables, chairs, and spice jars. The food was also prepared very quickly by the vendors and was considered not as delicious as expected.

According to Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, the biggest challenge for Hue cuisine when participating in festivals and events far from home is transportation and the supply of ingredients. While the business profits are considerable, ingredients often run out within a few days. Meanwhile, finding replacement ingredients at the event venues is not easy. As for tableware, even if participants wanted to bring their own, transportation is difficult, so they often choose to rent tableware at the event location.

The Nghe An Food Festival is just a few days away, but as of July 8th, the list of participating units has yet to be finalized. The tourism sector reports that some high-end hotels had previously agreed to participate, but due to the upcoming wedding season and peak domestic tourism season, they have withdrawn their applications.

A hotel owner explained that if there hadn't been an unexpected wedding during the festival, the hotel would have participated. Comparing business efficiency, organizing a wedding would be more profitable than selling food at the festival. Meanwhile, preparing the necessary personnel and resources at the hotel is also easier than going to Nghe An.

I recall that some time ago, in order to create a Hue-themed space in Hanoi, the tourism industry wanted to build traditional Hue-style houses to represent the city's atmosphere. However, due to transportation difficulties, this could not be implemented.

Clearly, bringing Vietnamese cuisine to the international stage requires a skilled and high-quality team. Not only for the upcoming festival in Nghe An, but Hue also needs to establish a dedicated department to promote and introduce its cuisine; otherwise, Hue will always be at a disadvantage when seeking participating organizations.

Tourism industry leaders say that, from a business perspective, participating in festivals and events may not be as profitable as serving an event and guests during peak season at a hotel. However, participating in festivals is an opportunity for promotion, with long-term benefits that may not be immediately apparent. The establishment of a dedicated department to participate in culinary events is being considered by the industry; however, the obstacles lie in the operational mechanisms and funding.

In the coming period, the tourism sector will advise the Provincial People's Committee on support mechanisms. At the same time, consideration will be given to establishing a fund to support businesses participating in joint tourism activities and events.

In the future, the promotion of cuisine will continue. Therefore, aiming for a systematic and professional approach to food promotion must be prioritized.

Famous but little known.

Mr. Vu Hoai Phuong, Principal of Hue Tourism College, expressed his concern that Hue is famous for its cuisine; however, only a few dishes are known to tourists, such as Hue beef noodle soup and clam noodle soup. Many other types of cakes, though very famous, remain unknown to tourists and are often confused with cakes from other regions. Even Hue's royal cuisine, though renowned, has few specific dishes that tourists know about.

Text and photos: Duc Quang

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/danh-lam-thang-canh/quang-ba-am-thuc-chua-chuyen-nghiep-74572.html