Hanoi honors culinary heritage, inspiring creativity from traditional values

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports Le Thi Anh Mai. (Photo: VGP/Minh Anh)

The press conference was attended by department leaders, representatives of organising units, culinary artisans, accompanying businesses, and a large number of central and Hanoi press agencies.

Culinary arts – A living heritage in the capital's cultural industry strategy

According to information at the press conference, the Hanoi Culinary Culture Festival 2025 will take place from December 19 to 21 at Thong Nhat Park, with the theme "Hanoi – Culinary Journey Connecting Creativity". The festival is organised in the context of Hanoi's vigorous implementation of the Hanoi Party Committee's Resolution 09-NQ/TU on developing the cultural industry, in which culinary arts are identified as a significant pillar linked with tourism, creativity, and urban identity.

Speaking at the press conference, Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, emphasised: “Hanoi's culinary arts are not just familiar dishes in daily life, but a crystallisation of history, folk knowledge, craftsmanship, and the elegant lifestyle of Trang An people. Organising the Hanoi Culinary Culture Festival is a way for the city to preserve, honour, and turn culinary heritage into a sustainable development resource.”

Heritage highlight: Cha Ca La Vong Recognised as national heritage

One of the highlights that garnered significant attention at the press conference was the announcement that the opening ceremony on the evening of December 19 will declare the decision to list "The Knowledge of Preparing and Enjoying Cha Ca La Vong (Hanoi)" in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. This is a significant milestone, further affirming the value of Hanoi's culinary arts as a national cultural heritage treasure.

According to the organisers, Hanoi now has seven culinary heritages recognised at the national level, with many traditional culinary professions becoming exemplary cultural tourism products, contributing to improving the livelihoods of artisan communities and promoting the capital's image in cultural diplomacy activities.

Sharing on the sidelines of the press conference, a culinary artisan participating in the festival remarked: "The heritage recognition is not only the state's acknowledgement but also a motivation for artisans to continue preserving and passing on their craft to younger generations, ensuring Hanoi's cuisine is not lost in the modern lifestyle."

Multidimensional experience space, connecting tradition with creativity

According to the organisers, this year's festival will feature about 60 booths showcasing Hanoi's signature traditional dishes and those from other localities, along with many live performances and direct experiences. The public will be able to participate in activities such as wrapping banh chung, making com, Phu Thuong sticky rice, cooking traditional feasts, marinating West Lake lotus tea, preparing cha ca, and directly interacting with artisans.

Notably, the festival will also host seminars and workshops for students, aiming to connect culinary heritage with the younger generation and foster a spirit of creativity and awareness of preserving traditional crafts in the context of integration.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Van Bai – Vice Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council. (Photo: VGP/Minh Anh)

Businesses Accompany, Spread the Value of Vietnamese Cuisine

At the press conference, Mr. Shimamura Masafumi, Marketing Director of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company, the official partner in protecting and promoting the heritage value of Pho, and developing Hanoi's cultural industry, expressed the company's desire to spread pride in Vietnamese cuisine through interactive experiences and booths at the festival, bringing traditional cuisine closer to young people and international visitors. “We see accompanying the festival not just as a branding activity, but as a social responsibility in preserving and promoting the cultural culinary value of Vietnam,” Mr. Shimamura Masafumi shared.

Affirming Hanoi's Position – A Culinary Culture Destination

According to cultural experts, the Hanoi Culinary Culture Festival 2025 is not just a culinary experience event, but also a message about the capital's development vision: utilising heritage as a foundation, creativity as a driving force, and aiming to build Hanoi into a cultural, creative, and culinary centre with regional appeal.

Through the festival, Hanoi continues to affirm its efforts to transform traditional culinary arts into cultural and economic assets, contributing to enhancing the image of the thousand-year-old capital in the flow of international integration.

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