On October 27 and 28, 2015 the contest took place with an attendance of 93 excellent chefs in 31 contestant teams from the Mekong Delta, Southeast, South Central, Central Highlands and Ho Chi Minh City.
Press release for Media
SEMI-FINAL ROUND-SOUTHERN REGION, 2015 GOLDEN SPOON CONTEST
October 27th 2015 Ho Chi Minh City -- Competing to the theme of “Golden Dish” the semi-final round - southern region, 2015 Golden Spoon contest took place with an attendance of 93 excellent chefs in 31 contestant teams from the Mekong Delta, Southeast, South Central, Central Highlands and Ho Chi Minh City.
The round was promised to be a dramatic competition because it was the final opportunity for the teams to get the last tickets into the final round. It would bring them one step closer to the grand prize of VND 1 billion and the grand honor of the Chef Cup. The other semi-final round - northern region, was held on October 13, 2015, where teams from the Central region, North Highlands, Red River Delta and Hanoi created wrote a colorful story about Vietnamese cuisine through their inspiring fusion style and upgrades of traditionally used ingredients. Surprising many, some of the teams already promised a spot in the final have entered the contest for only the first time.
Adding to the general excitement of this semi-final round is the diverse mix of chefs from many different provinces. Each will serve as a representative from his or her own region and will supply typical ingredients and spices. The cuisine of the South is abundant and flexible with its vegetables, farmed foods and harvests from the flooding season. The Highlands is known for its delicious dishes with unique spices and cooking techniques, often combined with the seafood of the South Central region. Modified tastes and dishes from the fruits of the Southeast region will also be highlighted, and the contest expected to see much harmonization, creativity and refinement like the styles of Ho Chi Minh City. Each will be uniquely highlighted through the theme of “Golden Dish”, whereby chefs will select and present their most favorite dishes to compete against one another.
It was predicted that the contest would be very competitive and dramatic because all contestants are winners from the preliminary round. When they won a spot in the semi-final round all of them immediately researched a menu and began practicing their dishes. Besides the nerve while waiting until the official day of the contest, chefs also shared their dedication and confidence that their dishes would impress the food artisans and judges. Coming from the West, chefs of Cung Long River restaurant introduced their menu, which featured food of the Mekong Delta, including salad with goat meat cooked in the taste of Mekong Delta people, five color crab, hot spot with garden chicken, sweet soup with coconut. Out of them the hot spot with chicken was a refined combination of many new spices, such as liana flower, arrow leaf pondweed flower and melon flower. Another representative was Thang Loi restaurant, An Giang province, that brought an alternative of their specialty which is a spiny eel fish cooked with curry and fish sauce paste, duck cooked with water chestnut and served with bread. Out of them the hot spot that the spiny eel fish and sauce paste made of Snakeskin gourami fish was noted for its nutrition and protein. It is not only a unique dish but also had an unforgettable taste.
Representing the South Central region, chef of Au Lac Thinh from Wedding Center, Nha Trang City, also had a menu that addressed the local cuisine with dishes that tasted of the ocean. The dish “a gift from ocean” was squid cake and soup made of sea urchin, plus their grilled fish with salt and basil served with cottonii (seaweed) salad and their grilled beef with wild honey served with steamed rice. Novotel Nha Trang stayed true to a fusion style of cooking and created dishes such as avocado salad, coconut with tuna served with coconut sauce, lobster stewed with butter and tofu mixed with egg served with caviar and garlic and butter sauce. Meanwhile, a representative from Binh Dinh, Muong Thanh, Quy Nhon Hotel, did their own research on recipes and new cooking techniques to make a specialty of the central region: “Ngọc trầm biển Đông”, which means a pearl hidden in the sea. They also presented “Huynh Đe” - crab fried with salt and lemongrass, along with pork stewed in wine.
The chefs from Ho Chi Minh City had a home court advantage and selected their own favorite dishes for the competition. They continued with their strength utilized in the previous round, which was the use of liana as a main ingredient by Kim Do Hotel. They also used a wild fruit called “Trái bình bát” - custard apple. The custard apple was used to cook many dishes such as a salad, rolled cake with baby shrimp, freshwater crab stir-fried with custard apple and served with grilled rice paper, or hot pot made of custard apple and fish sauce paste. Boomarang Bistro Saigon created recipes that combined traditional ingredients with more expensive ingredients such as: appetizer with foie gras, salmon and blue globe thistle. Also following suit with more expensive ingredients was Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers made a salad of crab meat mixed with Vietnamese herbs, served with snail stuffed with pork, fish sauce and ginger; Wagyu beef tenderloin rolled with mushroom and cheese served with soya sauce mixed with honey and mashed pumpkin. Continental Hotel brought forth smoked salmon mixed with crab meat and fish eggs, lobster stir-fried with spinach and shrimp soup. All of them showed strong passion and excelled in their performance. Each wanted to keep their recipes and techniques secret up until the last minute so as to surprise the judges and the audience.
Based on her experiences from the previous season’s semi-final rounds, Cuisine Artisan Suong Thi Bui offered advice to the candidates as a consultant and specialized judge of the contest: “A seemingly simple task is to make a menu with a reasonable structure of all dishes, but it often eludes chefs. I remember in the previous season and even the preliminary round we had menus presented without soup or starch. Can you imagine a Vietnamese meal without either of these? Many teams chose a safe menu, which meant most of the dishes were very normal and common, even a little bit boring. Maybe the dishes can be cooked well because they are very familiar, but they will lack attraction. So chefs should choose innovative and breakthrough dishes to impress the audience. It will also define the competency and talent of the chefs. The most impressive part of this round is that all contestants come from various provinces. Maybe the contestants from the Highland Areas will have an advantage on new and interesting spices, but it doesn’t mean that it will be better or more effective for the chefs. It is important that you need to know how to use these spices effectively and support the taste of the dish.”
Regarding the structure of the menus, Judge Bui Thi Suong suggested that, “The appetizer should have both cold and hot dishes. In a menu the appetizer should normally be attractive and inspire diners, stimulate their appetite and make them want to eat it. It is usually easy to decorate an appetizer because it is normally served with vegetables or seafood so they should be eye-catching. Chefs normally expect to have hot and cold dishes in their appetizer to have a balance and make their menu special. Soup is not an authentic dish in Vietnamese foods, as it was adopted from Western cuisine. Vietnamese normally eat vegetable soup, not a cream-based soup, but they can still add it into the menu. However the soup is easy to cook but isn’t easy to make it appealing. If we just cook soup as usual then it will be nothing special. Chefs should consider choosing ingredients and spices when cooking the soup to give it a new look and taste.
“Seafood is always a top choice on the menus. Seafood in Vietnam is fresh and abundant so chef should choose seafood so that it responds to standards of party tables. They also have to choose cooking techniques that are suitable with these ingredients, and it also has to be presented in a convenient way to eat. For instance, fish should be served only as a filet without bones; shrimp or prawns should be peeled. Appetizers are normally cooked quickly, but it still requires a lot of experience. If the chef is good then the dish could be more attractive, because if the flame is too high or it is cooked too long then the meat will be too dry. It is also very important when seasoning seafood because we have to ensure any smell is eliminated, but also balance the taste and keep its unique aroma. Seafood is usually served while it is still hot, so it is necessary to calculate the time reasonably. Serving it too soon or late also influences the taste and quality of the seafood.
“With the meat, we can choose poultry or cattle meat. Compared with seafood, cooking meat should be easier, but it should also be accompanied with a starch. Dessert ends the menu, and it must also be chosen perfectly so that it adds to the taste of the previous dishes and leaves diners with a good impression of the meal. If dessert isn’t good, then the final impression to the diners can be sour. Most of the desserts are allowed to be prepared in advance for the competition, but the judges still care how the chefs have chosen and made them.
The 2015 Golden Spoon contest started in June, 2015, with the preliminary rounds with a theme of “Hometown taste, a journey of Vietnamese spices” took place in six locations, including: Mekong Delta; Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast; South Central and the Central Highlands; the Central and Northern Highlands; Hanoi and the Red River Delta. Almost 320 chefs on 106 teams came from hotels, restaurant and tourist areas in 25 provinces, and brought more than 400 delicious and local dishes. Based on traditional dishes and common ingredients the chefs had to use new techniques to process foods, and with these new techniques combine new spices (such as odd and wild leaves, fruits and seeds). Some included mangrove apple, “trái chay” fruit, bitter tomato, leaves of Thai lemon tree, Japanese pepper, “gai xưng” leaf, “lá sang” leaf, “lá su siêng” leaf, “hoa cơm nếp” flower and many more were combined with modern presentation styles. This innovation and creativity convinced the judges to give 43 teams entry into the semi-final rounds. In the semi-final round - northern region, there were five teams that advanced to the final round: Lotte Hanoi Hotel (top prize); Sofitel Plaza Hanoi; Flamingo Dai Lai, Vinh Phuc province; Novotel Danang Premier Han River, Danang province; and Palm Garden Resort & Spa, Quang Nam province all received second prizes.
The Golden Spoon contest with total prize up to VND 3 billion is jointly organized by Minh Long I Co.Ltd in coordination with Center of Business Study and Assistance and financed by Ly’s Horeca with support of two national units Chamber of Commerce - Industry of Vietnam (VCCI) and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Mr.Sang Huy Ly - Deputy Organizing Committee; Deputy General Director of Minh Long I; Director Ly 's Horeca brands shared that, “We are very excited with the new opportunities and challenges of the 2015 Golden Spoon contest. After the two previous seasons, especially in 2014 the Golden Spoon contest has defined its brand has become a professional game show for talented, passionate and creative chefs. The key achievement of the Golden Spoon contest is that the contest was extended to more provinces and has already explored more traditional folk cuisines, which still haven’t been discovered. One of the most meaningful achievements is that the contest has introduced almost 1,000 dishes to the audience. They are out-standing dishes with delicious and nutritious standards. In 2015, changes were aimed at making the contest is more professional, and the contest has taken place at more important areas so that candidates from remote areas are still be able to access and exchange with urban area candidates. This allows them to access one another and diversifies the contest. The organizing committee expects the Golden Spoon contest to contribute to building a bridge that connects various cuisines, not only within the country, but also with the intent to lift it up to an international level. Vietnamese cuisine will, together with tourism, become an important economic sector. In addition, Vietnamese cuisine can also enrich the country’s travel messages through promoting the nutrition of the food.
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Information about Golden Spoon contest
The first season of the Golden Spoon contest was organized in October, 2013 with 103 contestant teams. The second season was organized in May, 2014 with 140 teams. Out of them there were 43 restaurants and 4 and 5-star hotels located throughout the country, and the contest was organized at 10 different locations. Also in the same season, 77 outlets from 26 provinces attended the “My Hometown Flavor” festival offering traditional dishes and flavors.
The Golden Spoon Contest takes place over three rounds: Premilinary rounds at six locations spread along the country; semi-final and final rounds. The third edition of the Golden Spoon contest has the theme “Traditional Vietnamese cuisine goes international- Vietnam Spices Journey” with five criteria:
1. Searching traditional and rustic dishes with ingredients and spices that are typical and have regional culture features from throughout the country with the message: “Every single dish will promote culture for its own region.”
2. Find talented chefs who have knowledge about nutrition and local or healthy eating, ensure the cooking is done properly and address creation, refined display and art in presentation to lift Vietnamese cuisine up to an international level.
3. The dish has to promote the existing value of Vietnam’s cuisine; “not only delicious but also nutritious.”
4. Honoring excellent chefs and restaurants that have developed and enriched Vietnamese cuisine and culture.
5. Build an advanced culinary industry. Accelerate the movement of "culinary tourism" in Vietnam by gradually building a brand of national culinary tourism to attracting increasingly large numbers of international tourists.
* About the Golden Spoon 2015:
In 2015, Golden Spoon contest predicted there will be 180 teams with 540 chefs from 64 provinces and cities from over the country. Searching and drawing a Vietnam spices map is the highlighted point of the contest this year. Mr. Chiem Thanh Long, expert in searching and doing research on Vietnam’s spices and also one of the specialized judges of the 2015 Golden Spoon contest shared that, “We often use fresh spices and haven’t thought about how to process these spices and ingredients so that we can keep it in use longer and maximize its commercial value. Many special and local typical spices still haven’t been utilized to their full potential. Hence all stories told by candidates that relate to how they store and protect their spice will receive special concern from the judges. From there we will study and do research to find out its resource/origin as well as formulate to process and store them for longer use. Drawing a map of Vietnamese means that we find out a common road for exchanging our cuisine culture and develop it to become a professional cuisine able to compete in the international market.”
In this season, the organizing committee will proceed to establish a Club called the “Golden Spoon Chef Club” to connect chefs who won the prizes in previous seasons together and to have them becomes a team of professional chefs. They can then continue to share their passion and promote Vietnamese cuisine which is already diverse and refined, and will be welcomed by many international diners from all over the world. The Organizing Committee will also issue certificat for restaurants and hotels that win prizes in the contest. In the menu of these restaurants and hotels there will be a symbol of the Golden Spoon contest beside awarded dishes. This is a way to help customers recognize authentic Vietnamese dishes that were cooked and prepared carefully. These dishes were also modified to be adapted with various demands of diners at both the national and international levels.
* Consultant and judging board
Judges are master chefs inside the country as well as international experts, cuisine artisans, cuisine experts, elite teachers and nutritional experts.
Consulting and judging board
- Mrs.Suong Thi Bui: Vietnam product ambassador, folk artisan and Vietnamese cuisine culture ambassador
- Mr.Long Thanh Chiem: Vietnamese folk cuisine expert
Specialized judges
- Mrs.Choi Thi Trieu: Vietnamese product ambassador, elite teacher, author of 100 cooking books, cuisine culture expert, Vietnamese cuisine ambassador
Vietnamese product ambassador, folk artisan, Vietnamese cuisine culture ambassador
- Mr.Sanh Ly: food expert, chairman of Saigon Professional Chef Association
-Paul Le: general secretary of Escoffier Vietnam Association
- Mr. Sakal Phoeung: chairman of Escoffier Vietnam Chef Association
Guest judges:
- Mr. Sang Huy Ly: deputy of general director of Minh Long Co. Ltd
- Mrs.Tuyet Bach Thi Van: director of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism
- Vietnamese product ambassador, elite artist
Additional information
* About Ly’s Horeca products
Ly’s Horeca products of Minh Long Co. Ltd have more than 250 product codes, provide a wide range of products that are specialized for the Horeca channel to serve retail customers, elite or group customers, wedding or party customers and follow both Asian and European style with many various art forms. Products are produced with high quality ceramic material that are heated in a high temperature and covered by delicate enamel applied by nano technology to effectively get its solid, durability and scratch resistance. In addition, Ly 's Horeca also undergoes testing for the most discerning standards of Europe to ensure the system is compatible with oven, microwave , dishwasher and restaurants.
The designers of the German - French collaboration with Minh Long I chose an ivory white uniform for this product according to the general trend of high-end restaurants in the world. Ivory coordinates with subdued light of the restaurant, the hotel offers warm, friendly and closer feeling for the competition’s banquet.
As a sole sponsor of the national Golden Spoon contest, Ly's Horeca is very proud to facilitate talented and excellent chefs of Vietnamese cuisine to have better conditions to flourish. It could be said that this is a cooperation of the elite between Vietnam cuisine and products made of ceramic formed through the sophisticated creativity of Minh Long I artisans.
* About Minh Long I Co. Ltd
Minh Long I Co., was established in 1970, but in fact until now it was the 4th successor of the Li family in Vietnam; a tradition of pottery that began from the time of Mr. Ngoc Minh Ly’s grandfather (founders) as of now has more than 100 years. In addition to the first standard for high quality of products, Minh Long I also invests in research on both artistic expression through individual product designs and floral motifs. The cultural beauty, the hometown image bearing deep Vietnamese cultural traditions as well as the cultures of the countries in the world are portrayed by the company and integrated into each product so that the design retains the characteristics of that culture, but still have the modern style at international level. It is now present throughout the country, alongside other leading ceramic brands.
Minh Long I ceramics company always saw his product as his baby so all must be taken care, educated and take exams. The company has four “no” criteria: no time, no borders, no gender, no age. Likewise they keep four “yes” criteria: culture, art, style and soul. The product of Minh Long I ever-deserving to be called one of the top manufacturers of ceramics in the world.
For further information please contact:
Mr Quang Linh
HP: 0918 23 89 85
Email:linh@minhlong.com