Working in the diplomatic sector, Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau is a familiar face in the field of culture. Thanks to his creative work, the diplomat has significantly contributed to popularizing Vietnam’s culture to the world. On the occasion of the lunar New Year 2022, the ambassador shared several stories of “culinary diplomacy” through the following interview exclusively granted to the People’s Army Newspaper.
Club of food ambassadors
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Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau |
Reporter: You have introduced Vietnamese cuisine to international friends many times. So which dishes do they like the most?
Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau: Some Vietnamese dishes have become world brands and ranked by famous chefs and major media outlets, such as: Pho, spring rolls, vermicelli and grilled chopped meat, and fish cakes. Many friends tasting Vietnamese cuisine showed their interest in our cultural beauties, especially Tet (lunar New Year) customs.
Working in India, what I like most is the small canteen in the Vietnamese Embassy, where Vietnamese food is served every Friday. A lot of Indian and foreign diplomats in New Delhi stand in a long line to wait for their turns to enjoy Vietnamese cuisine every week. Also, Indian press has run many articles about this canteen.
Reporter: You initiated the establishment of a club of food ambassadors. How did you come to this idea? How do you evaluate the role of food in Vietnam's cultural diplomacy?
Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau: I think that it is possibly easier to connect people via food. I myself think that cultural diplomacy needs “weapons” to implement. Cuisine must play a leading role and be a “trump card” in cultural diplomacy. Apart from the patriotic values and noble moral virtues of the Vietnamese people, Vietnamese cuisine is the easiest way to touch people’s heart and easy to do. Thus, I launched the initiative of establishing a culinary club with about 20 members representing all continents.
This club operates in a rotation form, monthly serving lunch to introduce dishes. This is an opportunity for individual country to introduce not only their cuisine or cooking methods, but also their own culture, customs, and practices. I am lucky to be the founder of embassy's culinary clubs in Brussels, Hanoi, and New Delhi.
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Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau (standing) introduces Vietnamese dishes to Indian billionaires. |
Reporter: From your point of view, which characteristics does Vietnamese cuisine have while that of other countries does not? When brought out to the world, does our cuisine have to be changed to meet the host country’s taste?
Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau: I am not an expert. As food-experiencing person, I realize that Vietnam follows a “healthy” culinary school with mainly boiled, steamed, and blanched dishes, few stew and dishes with sauces, soups and dishes other than soups. Additionally, Vietnamese cuisine often tries to neutralize five tastes (salty, bitter, sour, peppery-hot, and sweet) and to keep the natural flavors of ingredients such as the sweetness of meat, vegetables, tubers and fruits. When bringing them to the world, we need to make adjustment to meet the culinary taste of each country. Having lived in Europe for years, I find it very convenient to popularize Vietnamese cuisine in Europe where it requires few adjustments in dishes.
International friends want Vietnam to become “the world’s kitchen”
Reporter: Philip Kotler once advised Vietnam to become a “kitchen of the world.” This is an over 10-year long story. You have worked in the diplomatic sector for many years, so in your opinion what have we achieved? Would this advice work in the current situation?
Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau: I think that unfortunately over the past decade, we haven’t done what we wanted. However, we have the potential to become “the kitchen of the world.” To do this, we need to set up an association of Vietnamese food-lovers. At present, the most important thing is how to popularize Vietnamese cuisine to the world.
Reporter: With your experience, what Vietnam should focus on to popularize its cuisine to more countries in the world?
Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau: To popularize cuisine, it is best to pay attention to Vietnamese dishes and raise national pride through culinary introduction. Vietnam has a lot of items to introduce such as clothes, footwear, fruits and even “made in Vietnam” cellphones; however, food is the item that foreign friends are interested in the most. So, the most important thing is that we must popularize cuisine, mobilizing resources to promote cuisine, and developing a strategy of “culinary diplomacy” like we have done with Vietnamese fine arts.
To achieve success, Vietnam needs to pay attention to popularizing its cuisine, develop approaches to implement it, and connect the community in the culinary field. Popularizing cuisine should be considered as a regular political task in the campaign to promote Vietnam's image and requires the coordination of agencies, organizations, associations, Vietnamese people at home and abroad.
In my opinion, we need to focus on mobilizing Vietnamese embassies, consulates general and Vietnamese expatriates in the globe to participate in. We need to create an environment for culinary activities and continuous popularization. Apart from dishes, we need to introduce how to eat, where to eat, how to prepare them as well. In Belgium, I realized the idea of gathering all the restaurants to promote Vietnamese cuisine. In India, we focus on popularizing Vietnamese food through the embassy’s canteen.
Reporter: Thanh you very much!
Translated by Mai Huong