Twenty two teams of chefs will compete in the HCM City region qualifying round of the Chiec Thia Vang (Golden Spoon) contest today.— Photo daubepvietnam

HCM CITY (VNS)  — Twenty two teams of chefs will compete in the HCM City region qualifying round of the Chiec Thia Vang (Golden Spoon) contest today.

Ly Huy Sang, deputy general director of Minh Long I, one of the organisers, said knowledge of nutrition is one of the most important criteria in the contest.

It aims to honour professional chefs who have researched into nutrition and introduced Vietnamese specialties and healthy dishes to tourists, he added.

Organised also by the HCM City Tourism Association and Business Support Agency, the contest takes place at Van Thanh Park, Binh Thanh District, from 7.30am. The results will be announced at 6pm the same day.

The contest attracted a total of 195 teams nationwide. Twenty four teams will qualify for the semi-final and receive a guaranteed VND30 million (US$1,500) each.

The semi-final will be held in Ha Noi on December 20 and HCM City on January 3, 2014.

Ten winners will go through to the final and get an assured VND40 million each.

The winner of the final will get VND1 billion, half each in cash and a Minh Long ceramic line made for hotels and restaurants. There will be three awards worth VND100 million each for the "most impressive," "best decorated," and "most nutritious" dishes. — VNS