The four-day festival attracted three highly celebrated French chefs, including Regis Marcon, Dominique Corby and Didier Corlou, who revealed the nuances of their cooking styles, while highlighting Vietnam as a rising culinary destination.
Dishes served at the festival.
The festival menu also drew from other culinary traditions, such as Japan, and used Vietnam’s finest, freshest ingredients. Every day the festival featured unique gastronomy, from Vietnamese to French to Japanese: “the Art and Ethics of Wine Tasting” by Maître sommelier, Franck Massard from Torres Winery; “From the Delta to the Hills of Dalat” by Didier Corlou with the latest creations around Vietnam’s finest products, Dalat greens and other secret culinary discoveries; “Cocktail Creation Workshop” introduced by Raj Nagra, a mixology expert; and “The Sensorial Cuisine” by chef Dominique Corby featuring the magic of French-Japanese innovative cuisine.
The festival also included an “Oyster Brunch” with the great flavour of refined oysters prepared in a variety of ways; a “Gala Dinner” featuring the art of cooking by renowned three star Michelin chef, Régis Marcon and the “All Stars” Brunch presenting creations by all celebrity chefs.
The Arome Festival was also a memorable event for 40 children from the Nguyen Viet Xuan orphan village when they were invited to the opening of the festival. Fifty dreams of these disadvantaged children were hung on the 15 metre high Christmas pipe tree at the hotel. Generosity from guests at the hotel will help make their dreams come true.
For the first time, orphans can enjoy Chrismas at the most luxury hotel in Vietnam
All the chefs gave their views on the variety of Vietnam’s gastronomy and in particularly, its spices. Chef Marcon said that he will definitely return to Vietnam to study more about Vietnam’s spices and incorporate Vietnamese spices into his French cuisine. He said: “Vietnam has an elegant, simple and balanced gastronomy. Preserve it and never westernise your cuisine.”
Meanwhile, chef Corby affirmed that “this trip help me to discover many similarities in cuisine between Vietnam and Japan and I am sure that there will be Vietnamese spices in my dishes in the future.”
While Didier Corlou, who has been living in Vietnam for 15 years said “Vietnamese should respect their own spices and flavours. Mam tom (shrimp paste) may seem normal to you, but I have been proud to introduce Vietnamese fish sauce and pho (noodle) all over the world.”
having been held for three consecutive years in December, the Aroma Festival was a gathering of talented chefs, and all those who love the art of food and culture. Once again, the event affirmed that Hanoi is one of the most important culinary destinations in Asia, as emphasised by Gilles Cretallaz, general director of the Sofitel Métropole Hanoi.