Hanoi Times – Popular cuisines of Vietnamese people like banh cuon, nom, nem etc. were selected to be served to US President Bill Clinton, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spanish Queen Sofia.
Behind diplomatic activities, behind-the-scene stories of feasts for chiefs of state are very interesting. The menus for such feasts not only show the host’s hospitality but also the essence of Vietnamese culinary culture.
Sofitel Metropole Hanoi is perhaps the one that has prepared the most feasts for chiefs of state in Vietnam. The hotel has cooked for US President Bill Clinton, French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi, German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder, Cuban President Fidel Castro, and Spanish Queen Sofia.
Every time they receive an order to prepare a party for a chief of state, all chefs of the hotel have to gather to discuss the menu.
“The cuisine must be special. The menu must make guests feel they are discovering not only food but also the culture of Vietnam. The menu must combine the uniqueness of Vietnamese food and the food of the guests,” said Thanh Van, vice chef at Sofitel Metropole, who participates in cooking all feasts for chiefs of state.
“We can’t select materials that the chief of state is too familiar with at home, but unique materials of Vietnam,” Van added.
Before the official party, all selected cuisines must be cooked experimentally and photographed.
“Staffs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs always come to see whether cuisines meet requirements, otherwise we have to cook again. Some chiefs of state don’t eat shrimp or fish or are allergic to some kinds of food so we have to change dishes. Sometimes we have to prepare several menus to serve different guests,” Kim Hai, chief chef at the reputed SpicesGarden, which has served many chiefs of state, said.
Over ten years ago, Vietnamese cuisine, even the most popular dishes like Pho, was very strange to foreigners, not only chiefs of state.
“When French President Jacques Chirac came to Vietnam in 1997, there were few luxurious hotels and restaurants in Vietnam. Vietnamese cuisine was also not famous so we had to try to advertise Vietnamese cuisine. In my memory, French President Jacques Chirac was the first chief of state that the Metropole served. So we had to choose a menu of the best cuisine of Vietnam at that time,” Van recalled.
Banh cuon, spring roll and Vietnamese salad appear on almost all menus for chiefs of state but they are changed a little under the creativeness of each chef.
Going with main courses is always com nieu (rice cooked in earthen pot) but the rice is cooked in various ways to fit the guests.
Van and her colleagues still remember that French President Jacques Chirac requested a second plate of crab vermicelli. An African King also requested more fried rice with lotus seed.
Hai said several months ago, she was having difficulty preparing cuisines for an African King. The trip to Vietnam was completely personal and secret. The King, his family and his entourage numbered 70 people, including his own chefs. They stayed at the hotel for only three days but the king made the hotel’s chefs tense.
“He didn’t take meals in accordance with Vietnamese time, but the time in his country. The breakfast was at 11am, the lunch at 5pm and the dinner at 1-2am. I had to work the whole night to prepare food for him,” Hai said.
One day he informed the hotel that he would love to eat a whole, roasted lamb the next day. Vice chef of the Sofitel Metropole had to call everywhere to seek a lamb.
The whole hotel was very tense and worried because the King asked for a long menu but nobody knew what cuisine he would choose. The hotel had to prepare all cuisines he asked for but sometime he ordered only one dish.
For chefs at Metropole hotel, the most strenuous time was the APEC Summit 2006. Besides preparing national feasts, they had to prepare menus for some chiefs of state. After each feast, the chefs gave a sigh of relief, as if they had completed a big mission.
“We began to worry when we learned a chief of state would have a meal at our hotel,” Van said.
She said it was okay if they knew about a feast early, otherwise it was very hard for chefs.
While preparing food for chiefs of state, chefs were supervised by security guards.
It is harder if chefs have to move food to another place, for example the Presidential Palace or the Government Guest House.
The most important rule in this case is the car of chefs must always follow the one that carries the food, so whenever the car of chefs catches a red light, they urge the driver to cross the light to catch up with the food car.
Preparing feasts for chiefs of state is not only a great honour but also a great responsibility for chefs.
Foreign chiefs of state and secrets of Vietnamese chefs – Food – Travel Related image(s)
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