The culinary festival, the second of its kind held at Ici Vietnam so far, aimed to popularise the Vietnamese cuisine’s identities, from street food to the dishes served in restaurants.
It saw the participation of 26 associations, businesses, and restaurants of Vietnamese people in France such as Foyer Vietnam, Ba Noi, Ngoc Xuyen, Thanh Binh Jeune, Tra Art, and France Plumfoot.
They offered many typical foods and beverages nationwide such as “bun bo” (beef noodle soup), “bun tron” (mixed noodles), “nem cuon” (fresh spring rolls), “nem ran” (fried spring rolls), Vietnamese sandwich, sugarcane juice, tea, and coffee.
Local residents were also attracted to this festival by singing and dancing performances by Vietnamese-origin artists, along with folk games and the introduction of some French – Vietnamese books.
Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang spoke highly of the Ici Vietnam Festival, which showed the dynamism of the Vietnamese people in France and created momentum for more activities in 2023, when the two countries will mark the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership.
Florence Berthout, Mayor of the 5th Arrondissement, said the local administration and herself have always supported cultural activities of the Vietnamese community, affirming that Vietnam possesses many special cultural identities, including cuisine, that many French people want to learn about and explore.
Vice Mayor Benjamin Isare expressed his delight at the large number of visitors to the event despite the hot weather, which proved the attractiveness of Vietnamese food.
The Ici Vietnam Festival was an idea of a group of young Vietnamese-French people who wished to organise festive events on different areas, from cinematography, arts to cuisine, to introduce Vietnamese culture to the French. This idea has been supported by the Vietnamese People Association in France and Foyer Vietnam and held annually since 2018.
