Delicate wrappings for banh goi, a type of candy that was once served only to kings (Photo: VNA) Thua Thien – Hue (VNS/VNA) - Eight months ago, local authoritiesin the central province of Thua Thien-Hue announced a plan to make Hue the foodcapital of Vietnam. On February 19, they carried out the first step.
The province’s Department of Tourism signed a cooperation memorandum with Dai Nam– Thai Y Vien, a local company focusing on areas like food and tourism. Theprovincial People’s Committee, which authorised the department to sign thememorandum, said the signing was the first move towards implementing the plan;however, it did not reveal the actual works of the document.
The parties will start their work in April.
Last April, the province gathered some of the country’s leading gastronomyresearchers at a conference to discuss ways to utilise the food culture of Hue,the former imperial capital of Vietnam, to develop tourism.
They developed a plan designed to make the former royal city the food capitalof the country.
Under the plan, Hue cuisine would have its signature while the city’s specialtydishes would get their own trademarks. Authorities, researchers and businesseswould work closely to develop the brands.
Restaurants and eateries around the city serving authentic Hue dishes would putup signature boards for visitors to recognise them.
The Department of Tourism would brainstorm tour programmes that offer touristsa chance to taste and explore local cuisines. Those visitors would be able tovisit lagoons and farms where ingredients for local dishes are harvested. Then,they could observe the preparation and cooking process.
Some programmes would allow tourists to lend a hand in growing and harvestingvegetables in the farms or go shopping for ingredients in local traditionalmarkets.
They would also get chances to go further in studying Hue’s gastronomy bysampling local folklore-style, royal-style and vegetarian food.
The plan also included an ambitious proposal to construct a food museum, whichwould offer a study space, a display space and an area to watch culinaryperformances and buy food.
As the former capital of thecountry’s last monarchy, the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), Hue is already acentre of Vietnamese gastronomy due to the fact that top chefs from differentregions of the country moved there to serve the royal family. Today, the cityis known as the home of almost 1,700 of the country’s 3,000 dishes.-VNS/VNA
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