Attending
the Golden Spoon Contest as one of the Judges I felt both excitement and
trepidation at the same time. I was pleased because it gave me the opportunity
to contribute a small part to the cuisine - a field in which I was trained and
engaged almost all my life. I was worried because Minh Long and SBA were preparing
for such a big competition on a national level with prizes of up to billions.
There were many tasks that needed to be done. To be able to keep up to speed
with the project everyone needed to react rapidly to all situations. Today, the
Golden Spoon has entered its fourth season and has grown in stature year on
year.
Culinary artisans Suong Thi Bui
The Golden Spoon journey has continued to explore, and make
new impressions on the map of Vietnam cuisine. Vietnam culinary images
gradually appear as a beautiful girl: charming, rustic and honest …Stepping
from her village she is spotted by our talented chefs and with their guidance
starts to shine. She becomes refined in her understanding of the culinary
world, whilst at the same time retaining the country soul for which she is so
well loved.
The
chefs brought the freshest ingredients from the sea, lakes, rivers and streams
to the contest and using their skill transformed them into sensational meals.
These rustic dishes were presented in luxurious presentations, more refined yet
still retaining their authentic taste. Looking at the results of their food
presentation one wonders of other raw materials, spices and wonderful recipes
yet to reveal their secrets from the rice fields.
In
the Golden Spoon, we are constantly striving to reach our goal of building a
new generation of professional chefs who possess a modern approach to
integrating techniques and skills. They understand nutrition, have a strong
education background, good practical skills and proficiency and are willing to
learn new things like creativity and environmental protection, moving away from
the use of wildlife which previously was simply viewed as protein. Their
uniform will be professionalized and management of kitchen waste mastered. This
is a new development for the Golden Spoon Contest. With time, professional
cutting boards are coded and regulated: green cutting board for vegetables,
blue for seafood, yellow for poultry, red for meat and brown or white for
cooked foods. Some teams haven’t got enough colored boards and so use colored
stickers to classify them. This has meant a big change in the mind-set of
chefs’
Initially,
menus suffered from limitations such as lack of ingredients used for soups and
a lack of items like bread for example. Some menus were presented using mainly
dried foods. There has though, now been a significant improvement in this area.
Previous dishes were often displayed using whole chickens or fish with little
thought to presentation. This made international customers more than a little
reluctant to try the dishes. Later chefs realized that presenting food in small
portions, removing bones and shaping the food by using Ly's Horeca products
makes the meal look more appetizing and easier to enjoy. The chef has less
trimming waste from vegetables, uses artificial flowers and knows how to
arrange dishes with a clear structure. By using the correct utensils food
presentation is organized and beautiful.
Contestants
are more and more confident in providing their presentations, given an
interesting explanation with better structure and information.
“Golden Spoon Contest
contributes to Vietnamese cuisine development mission through improving
gradually its presentation (as commented by the culinary expert of the World
Association of Chefs) as well as promoting its delicacies, nutrition to be able
to gain its reputation.
The
Golden Spoon Contest acts as a bell to stir Miss “Vietnam Cuisine” into action.
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