“Diplomats can cook II - 2018”

On October 27^th 2018, at Van Thanh Park, FOSCO hosted the event “Diplomats can cook II - 2018” under the patronage of Ambassador Nguyễn Nguyệt Nga, Honorary President of the ASEAN Community in Hà Nội, Spouse of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Phạm Bình Minh. The event attracted 30 cooking teams from 27 organisations of Diplomatic Corps, Consular Corps and Departments of Foreign Affairs of Cities and Provinces in the South of Vietnam.
Attending and taking part in the event, President of Consular Club in HCMC, Madam Christine Floreani expressed her joy as living in Việt Nam, a country with such a rich culinary culture. Vietnamese gastronomy can really excite everyone including diplomats as they spend time having meals with friends and family; no matter what occasion, food helps connect everyone from everywhere, despite their different backgrounds or races. Madam President thanked FOSCO for creating this nice event so that diplomats can gather together and enjoy cooking.
On behalf of the City Authority, Mr. Lê Thanh Liêm, First Deputy Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee highly appreciates the idea of organizing this event in HCMC for it helps introduce to international friends a vibrant, creative Ho Chi Minh City in terms of economics and a colourful, lively Ho Chi Minh City in terms of culture.
Ambassador Nguyễn Nguyệt Nga emphasized that “For us, those who work in diplomatic field, activities relating to culinary culture have long been the first and utmost important ones in cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy. We call it culinary diplomacy. Today’s event is really the good occasion for a family reunion of diplomats who come from different continents. This gathering conveys a very meaningful message about cultural bonding, nations-bonding, a mutual hope for peace, prosperity in the region and in the world.”
The Prize announcement ceremony was organised on the same day in the evening with so much joy and friendliness. About 300 guests from both Vietnamese and international sides.
The event was also highly appraised for its prestigious Board of Judges who are experts in cooking and famous for their accurate evalutation.

The Prizes are as following:
*For Main dish:
1.    First prize: Consulate General of France, Chief cook: Mr. Vincent Floreani - Consul General;
2.    Second prize: the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Vietnam, Chief cook: Madam Svetlana Potapova - Spouse of Consular Officer Andrey Potapov;
3.    Third prize: Consulate General of Malaysia, Chief cook: Madam Arni Abdul Jamal - Spouse of Mr. Consul General Sofian Karim;
*For Appetizer:
4.    First prize: Consulate of Estonia, Chief cook: Madam Nguyễn Thị Lan Uyên - Spouse of Mr. Honorary Consul Đỗ Văn Mười;
5.    Second prize: Consulate General of Thailand, Chief cook: Madam Ureerat Ratanaprukse - Consul General;
6.    Third prize: Consulate General of Laos, Chief cook: Madam Lamthien Sanamoune - Spouse of Mr. Consul General Somxay Sanamoune;
*For Dessert:
7.    First prize: Embassy of Italy, Chief cook: Ambassador Cecilia Piccioni;
8.    Second prize: Department of Foreign Affairs of Long An, Chief cook: Mr. Đỗ Thành Sơn, Director;
9.    Third prize: Department of Foreign Affairs of Kiên Giang 1, Chief cook: Mr. Danh Canada, Officer;
*Other prizes:
10.    Best looking meal: Consulate of Greece, Chief cook: Madam Cao Thị Minh Hương - Spouse of Mr. Honorary Consul Napoleon Paterakis;
11.    Most meaningful presentation: Department of Foreign Affairs Tiền Giang 1, Chief cook: Madam Lê Thị Bé Ba, Director of F.A. Service Center;
12.    Best decoration: Service Center of Danang Foreign Affairs, Chief cook: Madam Trà Thị Mỹ Dung, Deputy Director;
13.    Best nutritional value: Department of Foreign Affairs of HCMC, Chief cook: Madam Phạm Trần Thanh Thảo -Assistant to Deputy Director;
14.    Healthiest dish: Embassy of Myanmar, Chief cook: Madam Aye Aye Nwe - Spouse of Ambassdor Kyaw Soe Win;
15.    Best ingredients: Department of Foreign Affairs of Đồng Nai 2, Chief cook: Mr. Nguyễn Viết Thắng, Deputy Director;
16.    Favourite meal: Consulate General of China, Chief cook: Mr. Wu Jun - Consul General;
17.    Best use of spices: Consulate General of India, Chief cook: Madam Prathima Koppula - Spouse of Mr. Consul General Srika Reddy Koppula;
18.    Most traditional dish: Deparment of Foreign Affairs of Đồng Nai 1, Chief cook: Madam Đỗ Mộng Như, Spouse of Deputy Director Nguyễn Viết Thắng;
19.    Best grilled dish:  Department of Foreign Affairs of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu, Chief cook: Madam Lê Thanh An, Spouse of Acting Director of FOSCEN;
20.    Most professionally-cooked dish: Consular Club in HCMC, Chief cook: Madam Christine Floreani  - President of Consular Club;
21.    Best broth: Commitee of the Overseas Vietnamese, Chief cook: Madam Nguyễn Thị Phương Hoa, Spouse of Deputy Chairman Trần Đức Hiển;
22.    Best sauce: HCMC Union of Friendship Organisations, Chief cook: Madam Ngô Thị Thu Hà, Spouse of Deputy Chairman Nguyễn Văn Mạnh;
23.    Best chicken dish: Department of Foreign Affairs of Đồng Tháp, Chief cook: Madam Thái Thị Thu Thủy, Chief Accountant
24.    Best fish dish: Department of Foreign Affairs of Kiên Giang 2, Chief cook: Mr. Trần Hồng Thái, Deputy Chief of Office;
25.    Best seafood dish: Department of Foreign Affairs of Bình Phước, Chief cook: Madam Phạm Thị Anh Thư, Director;
26.    Best meat dish: Consulate of the Philippines, Chief cook: Madam Lê Thị Phụng - Honorary Consul;
27.    Best vegetables dish: Department of Foreign Affairs of Cần Thơ, Chief cook: Mr. Phạm Hoàng Tuấn, Deputy Chief of Office;
28.    Best use of local ingredients: Department of Foreign Affairs of An Giang, Chief cook: Madam Nguyễn Thị Kim Quyên, Officer;
29.    Most talented team: Department of Foreign Affairs of Tiền Giang 2, Chief cook: Madam Lương Ngọc Dung, Head of Office;
30.    Most professional team: Consulate General of Indonesia, Chief cook: Madam Erlina Hanif, Spouse of Mr. Consul General Hanif Salim.

“Diplomats can cook II - 2018” was successfully concluded and left in us many beautiful memories. Thanks to this event, we have another angle to look at our diplomats, those who are not only excellent in external relations but also skillful and good at cooking. Each dish could show how talented, how sophisticated our diplomats can be; also they could introduce to everyone the culture of a country, a nation, a hometown.

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