TTTD – The Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025 is not only a space to enjoy culinary delights but also opens a journey of experiencing living heritage, where cuisine becomes a bridge between tradition and creativity, between artisans and the younger generation, contributing to nurturing resources for the Capital’s cultural industry.
Dishes Deeply Embedded in the Minds of Hanoians
On the afternoon of December 16, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports held a press conference to introduce the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025. The festival will take place from December 19 to 21 under the theme “Hanoi – A Culinary Journey Connecting Creativity” at Thong Nhat Park.
The Hanoi Food and Culture Festival is an annual event assigned by the Hanoi People’s Committee to the Department of Culture and Sports, in coordination with relevant units. Notably, since 2022, the Hanoi Party Committee has issued Resolution No. 09-NQ/TU dated February 22, 2022 on developing cultural industries in the Capital for the period 2021–2025, with orientations toward 2030 and a vision to 2045, in which cuisine is identified as one of the fields contributing to the promotion of cultural industry development in the city.
Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, speaks at the press conference.
At the press conference, Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai stated that from the traditional 36 streets of Hanoi to the expanded administrative boundaries infused with the cultural essence of Xu Doai, Hanoi’s culture in general, and its cuisine in particular, has become increasingly rich and diverse. Since 2014, the city has conducted an inventory of intangible cultural heritage, through which hundreds of culinary heritages have been identified and included in the city’s heritage list.
“The inclusion of intangible cultural heritage in the National List is not only a recognition of heritage values, but also an effective solution to safeguard, promote, and transform heritage into assets and resources for the sustainable development of cultural industries, thereby contributing to improving local livelihoods,” Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai emphasized.
Overview of the press conference
To date, Hanoi has seven culinary heritages inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Since their recognition, these culinary heritages have been widely disseminated and have become specialty gifts traveling far and wide. Examples include the Me Tri green rice craft (Tu Liem Ward) and the Quang An lotus tea craft (Tay Ho Ward), which have appeared at international receptions and become gifts bearing a strong Hanoi identity.
The Phu Thuong sticky rice craft (Phu Thuong Ward) has fostered a vibrant professional community with over 300 producing households, with products commonly found on street corners and alleys as everyday breakfast items, yet also present on solemn ceremonial trays where they are indispensable.
The Thanh Tri rice roll craft (Vinh Hung Ward), once facing the risk of decline due to fewer young people entering the trade, has now expanded to 60 households, operating under various business models.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, affirms the value of cuisine within the flow of national culture.
At the opening ceremony on the evening of December 19, the Organizing Committee will announce the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to inscribe “The Knowledge of Preparing and Enjoying Cha Ca La Vong (Hanoi)” on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. On this occasion, residents and visitors will have the opportunity to meet members of the Doan family lineage and hear the story of six generations preserving a dish deeply embedded in the collective memory of Hanoians.
The knowledge of preparing ceremonial feasts in Bat Trang (Bat Trang Commune), after being inscribed, has become more widely recognized among the public, highlighting the history of 19 family lineages, strong community bonds, and festive family feasts where every household knows how to prepare traditional dishes unique to Bat Trang, such as squid bamboo shoots and stir-fried squid with kohlrabi, requiring sophisticated cooking techniques.
Through cooperation between the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, Kinh te & Do thi Newspaper, and the accompaniment of Acecook Vietnam, numerous activities to promote and enhance the value of Hanoi pho heritage have been implemented, including sketch-painting competitions on pho heritage, short promotional videos, and the development of the Hanoi Pho Map, all of which will also be introduced at the festival.
Assessing the potential of culinary heritage in cultural industry development, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Van Bai noted that 81% of tourists are willing to spend money to experience local culinary culture.
This demonstrates that cuisine is not only a cultural resource but also a unique tourism product, playing a significant role in promoting Hanoi’s cultural industry development and shaping national cultural identity.
Connecting with the Younger Generation
According to the Organizing Committee, the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025 not only offers a creative cultural space honoring Hanoi’s culinary essence but also serves as a platform where culinary artisans tell their stories and connect with the younger generation.
The Hanoi Food and Culture Festival will be a place to tell culinary stories and connect with the younger generation (illustrative photo).
The festival features a wide range of activities with 60 culinary spaces showcasing Hanoi cuisine and regional specialties, enabling visitors and residents of the Capital to enjoy numerous distinctive dishes from Hanoi and other localities, honoring traditional culinary heritage values and affirming the “Hanoi Cuisine” brand associated with elegance and refinement.
In addition to exhibition and presentation spaces for culture and cuisine, the festival also includes a thematic seminar titled “Exchange on Enhancing Human Resource Quality – Developing Culinary Culture.” The festival framework also features artisan demonstrations and rapid competitions among students from various schools in the culinary field.
Visitors will further enjoy artistic performances such as circus acts, chau van singing, xam singing, street performances, and art forms blending tradition and modernity; a photo exhibition featuring 40-50 works promoting Vietnamese culture, tourism, and cuisine; a mobile book exhibition presenting 200 titles on culture, arts, tourism, and cuisine; and live demonstrations of culinary heritage such as making banh chung, preparing Bat Trang feasts, scenting West Lake lotus tea, producing green rice, cooking Phu Thuong sticky rice, cold snail noodle soup, making candied fruits, jams, and cooking “chao se.”
With many new highlights, the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025 is expected to become a culturally rich weekend destination. Creative connection activities will enhance the attractiveness of heritage, enabling cuisine to become a driving resource for the development of the Capital’s cultural industry.
Acecook Vietnam is the official accompanying unit in safeguarding and promoting the value of pho culinary heritage, contributing to the development of Hanoi’s cultural industry.
Providing information on new highlights of the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025, Mr. Shimamura Masafumi, Marketing Division Director of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company, stated that a key highlight is the “A Thousand Words of Pride” check-in space, where residents and visitors can share messages and pride in Vietnamese pho.
“We believe that when each person contributes a word of pride, pho will not only remain a familiar dish but will become a shared source of pride, jointly preserved and spread to the world by the community,” Mr. Shimamura Masafumi shared.
Huong Thu
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