Ngoc Han poses with an áo dài (traditional long robe) inspired by Italian cuisine. She designed the outfit for the True Italian Taste last year. Photo courtesy of the designer

The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (ICHAM) in collaboration with the Italian Embassy yesterday conducted a press conference in Hanoi introducing series of events to be held this year.

ICHAM Chairman Michele D'Ercole said the programme aims to promote Italy – Vietnam exchange in commerce and investment, as well as safeguard authentic and high-quality pasta products.

“ICHAM is honoured to be entrusted by the Italian government to conduct the national culinary promotion project True Italian Taste in Vietnam,” he said.

“It has been operating in 40 countries and territories since 2018. In Vietnam, we invited Miss Vietnam 2010 Ngoc Han to be ambassador of the programme.”

The first event of this year will be held at Caravelle Saigon hotel to provide food-bloggers and food-lovers of Italian cuisine with the most accurate and detailed knowledge as well as information about the world of Italian pasta.

Participants will have a chance to find out about the history of pasta, join a pasta cooking show moderated by leading chefs from Italy and experience the true Italian taste.

“First evidence showed that the consumption of pasta dated back to over 3,000 years ago and pasta was hung to dry for the first time in the 9th century,” D'Ercole said.

“Throughout the history of Italy, pasta has always been present and played a vital role in daily life as well as in areas such as tourism, art and culture. Up until now, pasta still had its own movements and great influence due to the phenomenon of migration in the 19th century.”

Ngoc Han and the pizza made from Vietnamese northern specialities.

Italian Ambassador Antonio Alessandro said the pasta cooking show will be livestreamed on social media to help people become aware of pasta culture in particular and Italian gastronomy in general.

“It is not a strange thing when the world pronounces pasta ‘queen of the table’,” he said.

“Being an Italian traditional cuisine, pasta has been enjoyed by all food lovers around the world and become the world's most favourite food (according to Oxfam's survey). However, legitimate sources of information could not always reach the customers.”

He revealed that leading chefs from Italy will participate in the events scheduled to take place in Hanoi, Hai Phong, HCM City and Da Nang. The events will be accompanied by fairs of Italian products and cultural activities.

“Through this event, we will provide food importers, food distributors, Horeca-related companies as well as customers, the precise and sufficient knowledge on Italian products and food culture,” he said.

“Customers can have a chance to use authentic Italian products instead of falling into the “Italian sounding” trap - a method in which foreign producers take advantage of the Italian-like phrases to name the brand, causing confusion among consumers about its origin and hence, increase product sales.”

In her words, Miss Vietnam Ngoc Han said pasta has always been "a subject of aspiration for artists to create works of art".

“I feel eager to attend the event in HCM City,” she said.

“The popularity of pasta also generates commercial potential for companies and food bloggers on social networks and private companies to reach more users.”

Han said that she loves Italian food. Once, during the lockdown, she made a pizza with ingredients from the northern mountainous region of Vietnam. The interesting fusion made the dish viral on the social network and media.

“Together with popular ingredients like cheese and basil, I added smoked pork and sausages, delicacies of the Vietnamese northern region. The creation received much applause from my family and friends.” VNS

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