The General Secretary's wife and diplomats experience multicultural cuisine

On December 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the 2024 International Gastronomy Festival. With the theme “Gastronomy of Unity - Connecting Cuisine”, the festival had the participation of 40 embassies and international organizations, 18 localities, and units within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with more than 130 booths. This is the 12th time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has organized the festival.

Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly, wife of General Secretary To Lam; Mrs. Mai Thi Hanh, wife of former President Truong Tan Sang, along with many ambassadors and heads of representative agencies of international organizations in Vietnam attended the festival.

On the first day of winter, despite the cold weather, thousands of people still flocked to the festival to experience cuisine from all over the world. The General Secretary's wife, along with delegates and people, visited the booths, experiencing a variety of dishes with aromatic spices from Southeast Asian countries to dishes with a strong European flavor.

As a country with a rich culinary culture, Vietnam is a great place to organize a food festival. Vietnamese dishes with clean ingredients, pure flavors and sophisticated processing techniques are introduced alongside the culinary quintessence of other countries and territories.

Ms. Vu Thi Bich Ngoc, wife of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, said that since 2014, the success of 11 times of organization has created the brand of the festival, becoming an international cultural - culinary - diplomatic exchange event.

"Through each dish and each art performance, we will not only share the quintessence of culinary flavors but also spread stories about history and the beautiful traditional values ​​of peoples around the world," said Ms. Vu Bich Ngoc.

Ms. Ngoc said that the money contributed by benefactors over the past decade of the festival has been used for charitable activities to help orphans, the disabled, poor women and those in difficult circumstances across the country...

Ms. Pauline Tamesis, United Nations Resident Coordinator, affirmed that this annual event connects people from different cultures to enjoy a common language of cuisine.

"Food is essential to every society. It nourishes the body and also motivates work. But the function of food is not limited to simple needs. Preparing and enjoying food awakens artistic souls. Sharing food is a way of social interaction. Combining different flavors is a way to connect cultures," Ms. Tamesis shared her feelings.

She was particularly impressed with the multicultural sandwich presentation, which fully demonstrated the creativity and integration of Vietnamese cuisine.