Sydney [Australia], May 12: Responding to Thanh Nien , Mr. Ciaran Chestnutt , Deputy Consul General of Australia in Ho Chi Minh City, said Taste of Australia has been held in Vietnam since 2016. Unlike other years, this year marks the first time The event was first opened to the public in Ho Chi Minh City. "We want to introduce the best quality foods and drinks directly to consumers in Ho Chi Minh City," Mr. Chestnutt said.
Recreating Australian culture
The Australian Deputy Consul General also shared the reason why the diplomatic mission chose Le Van Tam Park (District 1) to organize the event. "For me, a very unique Australian feature is doing something in the park, and I want to bring that special feature to Ho Chi Minh City. An Australian outdoor entertainment always follows the motif of eating drinking, playing in the park, a kind of mini festival. I want to share a part of that culture with the people of the city," he said.
To organize a 2-day event, the team of the Australian Consulate General started thinking about the idea from October last year. Mr. Chestnutt admitted that everything was not easy, from choosing the location, making a list of participating partners, to inviting the famous First Nations indigenous dance group from the state of Queensland and the 2024 Taste of Australia Ambassador, Chef Tommy Pham from Sydney, capital of New South Wales state.
A total of 20 stalls introduce typical Australian food and drinks, and many active games such as soccer balls, or more entertaining games such as face painting for children.
And at this truly family-friendly weekend festival, the Australian Consulate General also conveys messages related to green and sustainability.
"We seek to minimize waste after the event. I don't want to organize an event that ends with trash everywhere. Australia always prioritizes keeping a clean and tidy environment, which is invaluable." is equally important to us. And an event is only successful when it fulfills the criteria of a clean and beautiful environment. Therefore, we put sustainability as a core element for the 2024 Taste of Australia festival", Deputy Australian consul general said.
The organizers of the 2024 Taste of Australia Festival have chosen a company to serve the waste classification and recycling work during the two days of the organization. There are a total of 7 waste classification and treatment areas.
The Australian Consulate General team also designed a free water refilling station for visitors, to reduce plastic bottle waste at the event. And 5 water stations are arranged in the festival area.
The only requirement is that visitors need to bring their own water bottles, because the organizers do not provide cups to limit waste.
According to Thanh Nien 's observations , food and drink containers at the stalls are made of paper, and food compartments are made of bamboo. Some booths also display containers made from water hyacinths and green products of farmers from Long An province.
At the festival, Mr. Tommy Pham, the Australian MasterChef phenomenon, took charge of the kitchen in the waste-free cooking program.
In front of a large crowd of visitors, chef Tommy Pham cooked a dish of shaking beef - pickled potatoes, using Australian beef and Vietnamese spices. And the unique point of this dish lies in "cooking without waste", whereby the chef uses leftover withered herbs in the refrigerator to make sauce.
"When eating Vietnamese dishes like banh xeo or pho, I can take the leftover vegetables home to cook other dishes and still taste delicious," the Vietnamese-born chef said about the wilted vegetables he used in the show. submit.
The potato skins after making pickled potatoes are also made by Tommy Pham into a snack eaten with shaking beef.
Sharing with Thanh Nien , chef Tommy Pham is very happy to be chosen as the 2024 Australian Taste Ambassador, which is the character that represents the combination to create the magical flavor of the dish, demonstrating the intersection of essence. The best of Vietnamese and Australian cuisine.
As an ambassador, chef Tommy Pham wants to travel around Vietnam, make films to learn about regional dishes, and discover culinary secrets of his homeland that he has always heard through his mother's stories.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
