Efforts to promote the value of Vietnamese bread

The scientific conference “Vietnamese bread - the value of world cuisine, spreading to five continents” is a forum for domestic and international culinary experts, scientists, and researchers to share and discuss the global culinary value of Vietnamese bread. From there, it firmly affirms the contributions of Vietnamese bread to the world culinary map.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Huynh Quoc Thang, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, bread, one of the dishes with a long history dating back to ancient times in Western industrial societies, especially in France. Since the second half of the 19th century, bread has been introduced to Vietnam, especially developing strongly in Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City. Over more than a century, through cultural exchange and acculturation, bread has truly become a special part of Vietnamese culinary culture.

Nowadays, Vietnamese bread has been affirming its value when carrying the unique characteristics of Vietnam and increasingly has a certain position on the world culinary map. Among the dishes introduced to tourists, Vietnamese bread is always the first dish introduced and leaves many impressions on tourists.

Specifically, as of March 24, 2025, “banh mi” has been recorded in the Oxford dictionary for 14 years. Since then, the name of Vietnamese banh mi has continuously risen in rank and has constantly developed to become more and more rich and attractive.

Associate Professor, Dr. Huynh Quoc Thang, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, presented on the formation and development process of Vietnamese bread.

Sharing about the spread of Vietnamese bread in Laos, Mr. Phon Chanh Phengphouvanh, representative of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Vientiane City, Laos, said that Vietnamese bread appeared in Laos early in the 90s and has a fusion with many dishes in Laos. In the capital Vientiane, bread is produced by overseas Vietnamese in Laos. Types of Vietnamese bread in Laos include: pate bread, meat bread... and are quite popular among Lao people.

Mr. Phon Chanh Phengphouvanh added: “Vietnamese bread is contributing to enriching the culinary culture in Laos and to develop Vietnamese bread in Laos, it is necessary to build a model to experience Vietnamese bread in the capital Vientiane; Vietnamese bread must be produced by Vietnamese people to preserve the identity of Vietnamese bread; Vietnamese authorities need to promote and introduce Vietnamese bread in Laos in particular and other countries in general…”.

Speakers discussed promoting and advertising bread to a wide range of tourists.

Meanwhile, Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that first of all, it is necessary to promote communication and promote Vietnamese bread through events and festivals such as the Vietnamese Bread Festival... so that more domestic and foreign tourists will know about bread. The content of the promotion should focus on introducing bread, which is a typical dish of the Vietnamese people, which is a tourism product...

In addition, the Department will also closely coordinate with relevant units to develop specialized bread tours, build bread promotion streets, build experiential spaces at museums to tell unique stories about bread...