A quick convergence of a culinary scene

Benefitting Agent Orange victims, the International Wine Challenge Gala Dinner is not to be missed, featuring over nine courses with wine pairings.

For many, the perception of a country and the perception of its cuisine are inextricably linked, and cuisines, like countries, are prone to change.

The Great Chefs of Viet Nam Gala Dinner of the International Viet Nam Wine Challenge 2007 offers a chance to taste those changes, with nine of Ha Noi's finest chefs and many of its best restaurants converging in one location to show the extent of the country's culinary repertoire.

The first event of its kind since 2004, the event will be held at 6pm at the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel on November 13.

There will be a nine course gala dinner of dishes prepared specially for the event with wine pairings. A smorgasbord of appetisers precede this, and all of it is to raise money for victims of Agent Orange.

For many of those participating, the relationship between food and culture is extremely important.

Verticale Restaurant's Didier Corlou, the renowned Hanoian chef of 15 years says, "The culture is very, very important to gastronomy… the food is the culture."

Boris Cuzon, the present executive chef of the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, says, "You can understand part of a country through its cuisine becait is almost always connected to the country's history."

And Vine's Vietnamese Chef Nguyen Van Tu suggests that you are not only what you eat but how you eat, stating, "Viet Nam is still about family, and most meals are still with the family."

So though most people may never have the opportunity to experience Viet Nam firsthand, one way they may likely become acquainted with the country is by tasting its food – albeit in exported form, subtly learning the differences in what Chef Yann Chretien of the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi calls the "more quiet" food of the North and the spicier food of the South.

In this sense, cuisine is a subtle and effective form of national advertisement, a way for a country to show its history, complexity and personality in a literally palatable form.

All of this originates from within.

The scene

Though not as well known as culinary epicentres such as Paris and New York, Viet Nam's cities have seen their own small culinary renaissance in recent years.

Ha Noi Chef Fosto Psora of Bleu de Thuy states, "The food is becoming better and better… with more space for fine dining, more and more chefs, lots of new hotels and restaurants opening with higher standards." Indeed, the Intercontinental in Ha Noi is gearing up to bring its own culinary options to the scene.

Concurrently, there has been a rise in the number of free-standing restaurants. Sen Ha Thanh opened its doors only last month, and Bleu de Thuy only recently reopened in its new location.

Chefs have also noticed changes in the sophistication and spending power of their clientele.

However, Chef Sven Neuert of the Sheraton Hanoi Hotel fears another culinary development. His concern is that much of what makes Vietnamese cuisine so healthy, fresh and delicious, may soon be "spoiled" by the approaching proliferation of corporate fast-food enterprises like McDonalds.

With Starbucks edging into the country and KFC well in place, the concern appears substantial.

Yet, even what has emerged in fine restaurants across the nation so far is by no means purely Vietnamese. The food is a unique amalgam – the freshness and immediacy of regional dishes paired with cuisines from across the globe, served in increasingly lavish French-Vietnamese-influenced surroundings.

The event

The gala dinner will embody this blend of international influences, foregrounding Vietnamese flavours and ingredients and pairing dishes with award-winning wines from all over the world.

Diners will begin the evening with the bubbly, and as the effervescent buzz begins to kick in, they are invited to nibble on a Chinn, Sen Xanh Restaurant and Foodshop 45 are just some of the featured tables.

Prawn and banana fried spring rolls; a black olive, anchovy and basil tart; sticky rice lings with mung bean puree; grilled beef on lemongrass; and chicken tikka are likely to make appearances, representing the range of options offered by the pre-course alone.

So even if one never plans on making it to Bobby Chinn's luxurious lounge, Wild Rice's gleaming white exterior and blonde wood environs or Koto's patio with its sweeping view of the city, one can still now sample their food – at a fraction of the price, all told.

Then the showcased chefs arrive. The Hanoi Daewoo Hotel team with Chef Nguyen Xuan Minh will provide the meal with what he calls a Vietnamese introduction – fresh shrimp and herb spring rolls.

Sa Pa duck and foie gras feature in both the main hot appetiser and the entree.

There will be a two-part soup course, a hot and sour soup rendition and a chilled white tomato and banana consomme with young basil and Bermudan rum, followed by a fish course and an autumnal cepe risotto course.

The post-entree treats involve a cheese course and Chef Corlou's mother's chocolate cake recipe, highlighting what Corlou suggests are the under-appreciated spices, namely cinnamon, of Viet Nam. Post-dessert sweets finish off the meal, followed by drinks and cigars.

The wine

No meal is complete without an accompanying beverage and one of the primary reasons for attending the event is the wine. The purpose of such a dinner is to allow people to taste and appreciate for themselves what Chef Tu calls the "yin and yang" of wine and food flavour pairings.

The involved chefs acknowledge wine's larger role in the Viet Nam restaurant scene.

Chef Theo Rudiferia of Hilton Hanoi Opera says, "Viet Nam is a very dynamic country, and many suppliers want to enter the market. More and more Vietnamese people are gaining wine knowledge."

Donald Berger of Vine and the mastermind and creator behind the event says that Viet Nam is not only appreciating wine more, but is now producing some very drinkable wines, particularly the Vang Da Lat Premier Cabernet Merlot of 2004 and Romantic Wine –both from Da Lat.

For the greater good

Viet Nam's food and wine scene is definitely growing, and it's doing so in two directions: outward, as more Vietnamese restaurants open abroad, and inward, becoming internationalised at the same time that it is going international.

Thus with cuisine arguably playing some role in how people perceive Viet Nam, the Gala Dinner emerges not only as a way to enjoy oneself while benefiting those suffering from the tragic effects of Agent Orange, but also as an opportunity to understand the various ways in which a country comes to be.

Chef Jurgen Kauz of the Melia Hotel states that many of us are visitors in this culture and we would do well to learn as much about it as possible.

Even for those not "visiting", the country offers new experiences at every turn. It seems, at the very least, we can sample its shifting cuisine. And this event, with its chefs representing too many places to name, doesn't look like a bad place to begin.

Source VietnamNews