Cooking soup with crab meat and water melon in the Golden Spoon. Photos: LN
That is what Master Chef Marco Brueschweiler, CEO of service consulting firm of Thai
cuisine and a member of World chefs association, shared. He was interviewed by
Tuoi Tre newspaper about Vietnam cuisine, after judging various food contests
in Vietnam.
 Master Chef Marco Brueschweiler - Photos: LN
I really like the idea of the Golden Spoon contest
because it is aimed to promote and advertise the unique characteristics of
Vietnamese cuisine that are both “delicious and nutritious”. Those are dishes
that combine all elements of fresh and varied vegetables, fresh seafood,
diverse flavors and spices. The spices are very special and are unique to
Vietnam, making authentic Vietnamese dishes that cannot be confused with any
other cuisine.
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* What is your impression
of the cuisine contests organized in Vietnam?
Teams come from various regions and bring
with them delicious, unique and diverse menus using fresh ingredients unique to
those regions.
I like the idea of creating a market of
ingredients that the organizing committee prepared during the contest. At first
glance it seems like simple, rustic food, but if you take a closer look you
will see ingredients have unique characteristics that are only found in
Vietnamese cuisine.
Many of the finest vegetables of Vietnam
were presented beautifully in the market.
As far as I know there is no other country
that has diversify of fresh vegetables and ingredients as Vietnam. Another idea
of keeping ingredients in a black box is also a good idea that not many contest
applied.
How to combine the main ingredients in the black box with other ingredients
found in the market is really a big challenge not only to all chefs, but also
to judges.
* What do you think of the
skills and competency of Vietnamese chefs taking part in these contests?
It could be said that the competency of
Vietnamese chefs has enabled them to travel abroad and promote Vietnamese
cuisine. Chefs respected the rules, and the way in which they presented and
displayed the food on the table was very beautiful and professional.
Some of the chefs know how to prepare food
using modern, logical methods as well as following strict cooking principles,
which most professional chefs apply.
Because they come from different regions,
the chefs have advantages in the way they choose their menus, ingredients,
spices and cooking techniques. These tend to be unique and deliver attractive
meals.
However in my opinion many teams still have many fried and stir-fried dishes at
a time when it is preferable to have food cooked in a way that retains the most
of its original taste and nutrition
* If you rank Vietnam cuisine in the
regional cuisine map which grade do you think Vietnam cuisine will be?
In the Asia area, the foods that are known best around the world are Japan,
China, Thailand then Vietnam. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam will be second to
Thailand as dishes have been promoted for a long time already.
However with Vietnamese cuisine’s background I absolutely believe that it can
rise above Thailand to be at the top position in this area. If is not hard to
choose some typical dishes using vegetables and unique spices, then upgrade it
to become a dish that could represent Vietnam branding.
Actually Vietnam cuisine has well-known in
the world and many people come to Vietnam and enjoy the food here. Many
tourists become ambassadors at promoting Vietnamese cuisine.
Every time I return to Vietnam I enjoy Pho and raw spring rolls served with
sauce which has its typical taste and aroma. The issue is that you have to keep
Vietnamese foods as authentic as possible, and they are only found in Vietnam.
We have to invest in promoting them and only just keeping them in the kitchen.
Nowadays everyone concern more about health
and nutrition of the dish so Vietnamese cuisine has its advantage because there
are many kinds of vegetables, herbs so that as a professional chef I also
surprise.
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Mr Sang Huy Ly (Deputy director of Minh Long I ceramic
company and Deputy of the organizing committee of the Golden Spoon Contest)
Promoting the advantages of spices in Vietnamese
culinary
The contest this year will take place on June 2nd
and December 2nd in Can Tho City, HCM City, Nha Trang, Danang, Lao
Cai and Hanoi. All the teams in the six preliminary rounds will enter. The semi-final rounds then takes place in Hanoi
on October 13th and 14th and in HCM on October 27th
and 28th and 15 teams will qualify for the final, which will be held
in Binh Duong province.
Spices have a key role in creating the uniqueness of
Vietnamese cuisine, compared to other countries. Therefore at each location
there will be an introduction about special and specific spices used by Long
Thanh Chiem and Suong Thi Bui.
All contestants also will be judged about their capacity
of understanding as well as their ability to uses spices in a flexible way, in
order to honor the special features of the cuisine from their region.
The organizing committee will select skilled chefs and
establish a Golden Spoon Chefs Club. They will become ambassadors for
Vietnamese cuisine through parties, social cultural events or international
exhibitions.
Besides
domestic diners (housewives, students etc) Saigontourist Company also will
introduce foreigners to attend the contest as a guest to test the food. They
are invited to provide comments on
presentation and taste. This in turn promotes Vietnamese food to our foreign
guests.
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Le
Nam
Tuoi Tre Newspaper