With the aim of honoring Hanoi’s culinary culture, turning gastronomy into an attractive cultural tourism product, and contributing to the development of the Capital’s cultural industry, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports will organize the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025 from December 19 to 21 at Thong Nhat Park, under the theme “Hanoi – A Culinary Journey Connecting Creativity.” The festival is expected to become a culturally rich weekend destination, where culinary artisans share their stories and connect with younger generations, creating a dialogue between traditional cuisine and new creative trends.
The Hanoi Food and Culture Festival is an annual event assigned by the City People’s Committee to the Department of Culture and Sports, in coordination with relevant agencies. 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 2021-2025 period, with orientations toward 2030 and a vision to 2045, in which cuisine is identified as one of the key sectors driving cultural industry development.
Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, shares insights on the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025.
At the press conference on the afternoon of December 16 in Hanoi, Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, stated that from the “36 guild streets” to an administratively expanded Hanoi enriched by the cultural essence of Xu Doai, Hanoi’s culture in general and its cuisine in particular have become increasingly diverse and abundant. Since 2014, the city has conducted inventories of intangible cultural heritage, identifying and cataloging hundreds of culinary heritages.
“The inclusion of intangible cultural heritage in the National List is not only an act of recognition, but also an effective measure for protection, promotion, and transformation of heritage into assets and resources for sustainable cultural industry development, contributing to improved local livelihoods,” Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai emphasized.
According to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, Hanoi currently has seven culinary heritages inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, including: Hanoi Pho; Me Tri green rice flakes; Quang An lotus tea; Phu Thuong sticky rice; Thanh Tri steamed rice rolls; and the knowledge of preparing Bat Trang ceremonial feasts.
At the opening ceremony on the evening of December 19, the Organizing Committee will announce the decision by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to inscribe “The Knowledge of Preparing and Enjoying Cha Ca La Vong (Hanoi)” on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet members of the Doan family and listen to the six-generation story behind this iconic dish that has left a deep imprint on the collective memory of Hanoians.
Assessing the potential of culinary heritage in cultural industry development, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, 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 distinctive tourism product that plays a vital role in driving the development of Hanoi’s cultural industries and shaping national cultural identity.
According to the Organizing Committee, the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025 will not only offer a creative cultural space that honors the essence of Hanoi’s cuisine, but also serve as a platform for culinary artisans to tell their stories and connect with younger generations. The festival will feature 60 exhibition spaces showcasing Hanoi cuisine and regional specialties, enabling residents and visitors to enjoy a wide array of signature dishes while celebrating traditional culinary heritage and reinforcing the brand of “Hanoi Cuisine” associated with elegance and refinement.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, shares his perspectives.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, shared that cuisine is not only a means of survival but has become a form of cultural heritage, contributing to shaping local identity and national branding in the context of tourism and cultural industry development. With Cha Ca La Vong, the heritage value lies not only in cooking techniques or ways of enjoyment, but also in the historical narrative, collective memory, and family traditions associated with the formation of the dish. Dr. Dang Van Bai noted that Cha Ca La Vong is a representative example of how a dish can become an urban symbol, when its name is attached to a street name, leaving a deep imprint in Hanoi’s physical space and cultural memory. The inscription of the heritage is not only meant to honor traditional values, but also to create a foundation for safeguarding, transmission, and sustainable utilization of the heritage as a tourism and cultural resource.
According to Pham Thi Lan Anh, Head of the Heritage Management Division (Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports), in addition to exhibition and introduction spaces for culture and cuisine, the festival also features a thematic seminar entitled “Exchange on Improving Human Resource Quality – Developing Culinary Culture.” Within the festival framework, there will also be numerous artisan demonstrations and quick competitions among students from various schools in the field of food preparation.
Visitors to the festival will also be able to enjoy artistic performances such as circus acts, hat van, hat xam, street performances, and traditional–modern fusion arts; a photo exhibition featuring 40–50 works promoting Vietnamese culture, tourism, and cuisine; a mobile book exhibition introducing 200 titles on culture, arts, tourism, and gastronomy; as well as live demonstrations of culinary heritage including making banh chung, preparing Bat Trang ceremonial feasts, scenting West Lake lotus tea, demonstrating the process of making green rice flakes, cooking Phu Thuong sticky rice, cold snail noodle soup, guiding the making of candied fruits and preserves, and cooking chao se.
Providing information on new highlights of the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025, Mr. Shimamura Masafumi, Marketing Director of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company, said that the key attraction is the check-in space “A Thousand Words of Pride,” where residents and visitors can share their thoughts 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 pride, preserved and promoted by the community to the world,” he said.
With many new features, the Hanoi Food and Culture Festival 2025 is expected to become a culturally rich weekend destination. Creative connection activities will help enhance the appeal of heritage, enabling cuisine to become a driving resource for the development of the Capital’s cultural industry.
H.N