The third annual ‘Chiec Thia Vang' (Golden Spoon) competition to identify the country's best chefs and dishes has been launched by the Binh Duong Province-based Minh Long I Company and the Business Studies and Assistance Centre.

BINH DUONG  (VNS) — The third annual ‘Chiec Thia Vang' (Golden Spoon) competition to identify the country's best chefs and dishes has been launched by the Binh Duong Province-based Minh Long I Company and the Business Studies and Assistance Centre.

The contest aimed to discover traditional dishes and their backgrounds from each region and honour professional chefs who research into nutrition and introduce Vietnamese specialties and healthy dishes, Ly Ngoc Minh, the company's general director and chief organiser, said on Tuesday.

The competition would also help popularise the restaurants and hotels whose staffs make the best food, he said.

"These restaurants and hotels have enriched the country's cuisine, improve people's health and contribute significantly to the nation's economic development.

"These dishes must be ‘delicious' and ‘healthy'."

Some 180 teams with 540 chefs from all 64 provinces and cities are expected to take part in this year's ‘Golden Spoon' contest.

On offer are cash prizes and awards worth VND3 billion (US$138,000).

The contest is supported by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who are seeking to build a Viet Nam "culinary map".

Speaking at the launch of the contest, Nguyen Quoc Hung, VNAT's deputy general director, said: "Eating and drinking must be an art."

Hung said Minh Long I and its ‘Golden Spoon' contests had contributed significantly to Vietnamese cuisine and the development of the culture-tourism industry. — VNS