Pho Festival 2024 opens with a series of exciting activities

Thousands of visitors attended and were eager to learn about Vietnamese pho, traditional spices, techniques to create delicious broth and enjoy pho from 3 regions with their own unique characteristics and sophistication.

The opening ceremony of the Festival was attended by central and local leaders; leaders of departments and branches of Nam Dinh province; representatives of counselors and embassies; artisans; domestic and foreign tourists. In the morning of the same day, ambassadors, guests and tourists were able to experience the space of Van Cu pho village, learn about the formation and development of pho over time; directly experience the stages of making traditional pho and enjoy pho with the famous standard flavor.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Tran Le Doai - Vice Chairman of Nam Dinh Provincial People's Committee - said: "The 2024 Pho Festival is implemented with the aim of preserving the traditional craft villages of the homeland, making Nam Dinh pho in particular and Vietnamese pho in general a national brand that can integrate, affirming culinary values on the world culinary map, honoring pho culinary culture as a national intangible cultural heritage, and proposing to build a dossier to submit to UNESCO to register pho as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity".

At the opening ceremony, Ms. Dinh Hong Van - Senior Marketing Director, Masan Consumer Joint Stock Company (Masan Consumer) - co-organizer of Pho Festival 2024 shared: “As a leading consumer goods company in Vietnam, we always carry a love for Vietnamese cuisine, as well as a responsibility to preserve and promote Vietnamese cuisine to the world. By co-organizing Pho Festival 2024, we want to contribute to honoring Pho as a national intangible cultural heritage; aiming to propose to the competent authority to allow the construction of a dossier to submit to UNESCO for inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage”.

One of the highlights of the 2024 Pho Festival is the work of 20 artisans and 30 people working together to create a giant pot of delicious, flavorful pho. According to the Organizing Committee, the 300-liter broth is simmered from bones and spice powder with ingredients estimated to include 40kg of rare and well-done beef; 20kg of vegetables, chili peppers, and spices with strong Vietnamese flavors such as Chin-Su fish sauce, salt, herbs such as dried cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, cloves, coriander seeds, etc. Through the preparation of the broth, the Organizing Committee also wishes to honor traditional Vietnamese spices. The activity has served thousands of bowls of pho to guests, counselors and tourists attending the program. This is one of the highlights of the 2024 Pho Festival and also defines the flavorings and spices in Vietnamese pho.

Artisan Le Thi Thiet shared that currently, many countries such as Japan, Korea... also cook Vietnamese pho but have not been able to define the standard spices used in cooking pho. Therefore, with the theme of Vietnamese Pho Road, in the 2024 Pho Festival, Vietnamese artisans and chefs will have the opportunity to introduce to domestic and foreign tourists the typical spices of Vietnam in creating the right broth. Tourists will also enjoy typical pho noodles from 3 regions.

During the 3 days (March 15 - 17), the 2024 Pho Festival will organize many activities to promote pho culture such as: The program "Finding the taste of Vietnamese pho" gathering more than 50 booths of businesses and brands participating in the performance, promoting the image and brand; Discussion "Vietnamese pho road and pho noodles"; 2 attractive promotional activities for tourists with the theme "The essence of Vietnamese pho": "Vietnamese pho flavor" promotion, "Vietnamese pho noodles" promotion; youth music night "Pho in me", ...

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