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| Kitchen staff at Muong Thanh Hue Hotel preparing additional traditional Hue cakes for guests |
Bringing Hue Cuisine into Upscale Hospitality Settings
At several hotels in Hue, local cuisine has become a defining element of the accommodation experience. Alongside familiar Asian and Western dishes, many international visitors opt for local specialties such as Hue beef noodles, beo cakes, nam cakes, loc cakes, and uot cakes right at the breakfast buffet. At Muong Thanh Holiday Hue Hotel, a foreign visitor carefully photographed the spread while she was savoring the dishes. Catching sight of me with a camera, she smiled and said, “Hue cuisine is absolutely attractive.”
According to accommodation providers, travelers today are looking beyond accommodation alone, placing growing importance on authentic local cultural experiences, with cuisine serving as an essential part of that journey. Introducing Hue specialties into hotel restaurants is not simply a way to diversify menus; it also enhances guests’ experiences and contributes to establishing a distinctive identity for each property.
According to Mr. Ho Dang Xuan Lan, Chairman of Hue Hotel Association and General Director of Parkview Hue Hotel, hotel guests can generally be divided into two groups. One prefers to explore local cuisine at traditional eateries and street food stalls, while another - particularly high-spending travelers - opts to dine at hotel restaurants for their professionalism, convenience, and high standards of food hygiene and safety. “For this reason, many hotels have incorporated Hue specialties into their restaurant menus to promote the city’s culinary values while enriching the overall experience for their guests,” said Mr. Lan.
It is no coincidence that executive chefs are often among the highest-paid professionals in a hotel. Widely regarded as the “soul” of a property, the executive chef leads a restaurant that is considered the “heart” of the hotel. Food and beverage (F&B) services play a vital role in a hotel’s revenue structure, typically accounting for around 30% of total revenue. This also serves as a factor to strengthen their competitive edge through all-in-one packages that integrate accommodation, cuisine, and experiences.
Culinary Artisan Le Cong Hung, Dean of the Department of Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts at Hue College of Tourism, stated that introducing Hue specialties into upscale hotel restaurants is a timely approach as experiential tourism continues to gain momentum.
“Hue possesses a rich and diverse culinary heritage with a well-established reputation, making it highly appealing to visitors who are eager to explore local flavors. Creating dedicated spaces for Hue cuisine within the hotels not only enriches tourism offerings but also represents an effective business strategy,” said Mr. Hung.
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| Beo cakes are now featured on the breakfast buffet menu at ParkView Hue Hotel |
Investing in Cuisine to Strengthen Competitive Edge
The statistics by the tourism sector reveal that up to May, 2026, Hue is home to 1,074 accommodation establishments, including 218 hotels. Of these, 34 hotels have been officially star-rated, with 26 classified as three- to five-star properties. This segment is particularly well positioned to generate substantial revenue from food and beverage services, meetings and events, wellness offerings, and premium hospitality experiences.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai, Executive Chef of Parkview Hue Hotel, said that for most travelers, a successful trip revolves around two essentials: dining and experiences. Beyond exploring tourist attractions, visitors to Hue are often eager to discover the city’s distinctive culinary heritage. Many travelers also prefer to save time by dining at their hotels. Therefore, making culinary investment is an important aspect of hotel operations. Such investment extends beyond facilities and restaurant spaces to carefully curated menus, high-quality ingredients, and, above all, authentic local cuisine. Compared with local restaurants and eateries, hotel restaurants often make subtle adjustments to the recipes of traditional dishes to better suit guests’ tastes, while retaining their essential flavors.
According to culinary artisan Ngo Van Tan, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Super Chefs Association and Chairman of Hue Chefs Association, among Vietnam’s culinary repertoire of over 3,000 dishes, Hue possesses around 1,700, representing over 65%. Of these, over 1,300 dishes and beverages have been documented, contributing to Hue’s recognition as the country’s “culinary capital”.
Currently, alongside individual strategies implemented by each hotel, Hue Tourism Association and Hue Hotel Association regularly organize professional training courses for staff and chefs, focusing on professionalism, cultural awareness, and improved service quality.
Mr. Ho Dang Xuan Lan, Chairman of Hue Hotel Association, said that during peak travel seasons, many hotels proactively design dining spaces in the Hue style, blending traditional and modern elements to create new experiences for visitors. He added that regularly updating menus and introducing more Vietnamese dishes - particularly Hue specialties - helps create a difference for hotels catering to tourists when they travel to Hue.
In the context of the rapidly growing experiential tourism trend, cuisine is no longer viewed as a supplementary service but has become an important competitive edge for the tourism industry. Leveraging its brand strength as the “culinary capital”, Hue’s systematic investment in hotel and restaurant services is expected to enhance service quality, extend visitors’ length of stay, and strengthen the attraction for the high-spending tourist segment.