However, there is little time left for preparation. To meet the deadline for submitting its application to UNESCO in 2027, Hue needs to move quickly from policy direction to a coordinated action program with clearly designated responsibilities, resources and concrete deliverables.
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| An assortment of Hue royal cakes arranged by Meritorious Artisan Phan Ton Gia Hien. Photo: Hoang Hai |
More than simply demonstrating good food
Hue has many notable advantages in developing its application as a Creative City of Gastronomy: systems of rich tradition of royal cuisine, folk cuisine, vegetarian cuisine and ceremonial cuisine; abundant ingredients sourced from its mountains, plains, lagoons and sea; and a longstanding network of traditional markets, craft villages, garden houses, artisans, chefs and food businesses.
Hue cuisine is also closely associated with the history of the Imperial Capital, as well as seasonal cycles, festivals, beliefs, family traditions and knowledge of how to live in harmony with nature. Each dish not only provides a culinary experience but also embodies memories, aesthetics, cooking techniques and the way of life of Hue people.
However, UNESCO does not simply consider how many delicious dishes a city has or how longstanding its culinary traditions are. More importantly, it considers what the city is doing to safeguard culinary knowledge, support practitioners, improve community livelihoods, develop creative industries, promote education, protect the environment and cooperate with other cities.
The application dossier must therefore answer a fundamental question: How will Hue use culinary creativity to address the city’s development challenges, and what will it contribute to the international network?
Immediately establish a team to prepare the application dossier
The first priority is to consolidate a city-level Steering Committee or Working Group responsible for preparing the city-level working group for the UCCN application dossier, under the direct leadership of a Hue City People’s Committee leader.
The coordinating agency must have sufficient authority to bring together the fields of culture, tourism, agriculture, industry and trade, education, science and technology, foreign affairs, planning and communications. At the same time, an expert group need be established comprising cultural researchers, culinary experts, artisans, chefs, businesses, universities, professional associations and community representatives.
The application dossier should not be prepared by having one lead agency draft the document while other agencies merely provide data or sign off on it. UNESCO places strong emphasis on community participation and shared ownership. Those directly involved in preserving, practicing and doing business in the culinary sector should therefore be consulted from the outset.
The city also needs to designate an official liaison with UNESCO who has strong foreign-language skills, understands the technical requirements of the application dossier and is capable of providing long-term coordination after Hue gains recognition.
Mapping Hue’s culinary ecosystem
The next urgent task is to survey, standardize and digitize data on the entire culinary ecosystem.
This map should not merely catalogue food and beverages, but should identify all related components: artisans and those who transmit traditional knowledge; chefs; craft villages and ingredient-producing areas; traditional markets; restaurants, household businesses and enterprises; training institutions; research activities; culinary festivals and events; supply chains; experiential spaces; souvenir products; communications activities; and startups.
In particular, the links between cuisine and ecological agriculture, the Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon system, historic urban quarters, ancient villages, garden houses, royal heritage, Buddhism, traditional festivals and community life need to be clearly demonstrated. Data must be properly sourced, verifiable and consistently updated. This is both a requirement for the UNESCO application and a foundation for the city to formulate long-term policies for developing its culinary economy.
Developing a distinctive narrative for Hue
A strong application dossier needs a clear, distinctive and convincing narrative. Drawing on the experience of other cities and Hue’s own circumstances, the narrative of the application dossier could present Hue as a heritage city pursuing creative and sustainable development through the connection between royal, folk and vegetarian cuisine and a distinctive natural ecosystem stretching from the mountains and plains to the lagoons and sea.
Based on this narrative, the application should highlight three key values.
First, cuisine is an integral component of Hue’s heritage and identity.
Second, cuisine is a means of creating livelihoods and promoting tourism, cultural industries, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Third, Hue’s culinary knowledge can contribute to addressing shared challenges such as healthy nutrition, the use of seasonal ingredients, reducing food waste, adapting to climate change and protecting biodiversity.
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| Vegetarian cuisine - a traditional part of Hue culinary culture. Photo: Minh Anh |
A substantive action plan
The four-year action plan is the most important component of the application dossier. The existing draft rightly recognizes that a UCCN application dossier is not a ‘competition to showcase achievements’, but must demonstrate concrete plans, partnerships, resources and impacts.
Hue should select a number of priority programs rather than proposing too many projects that may prove difficult to implement. The focus might be on the following areas:
Establishing a Hue Culinary Creativity Center or Space combining research, demonstrations, training, transmission of traditional skills and support for startups.
Digitizing culinary heritage and developing a database of dishes, ingredients, artisans, cooking techniques and cultural stories.
Holding a regular Hue Creative Gastronomy Festival with the participation of UCCN member cities.
Establishing a ‘Gastronomy in Schools’ program to help younger generations learn about nutrition, local ingredients and Hue culture.
Supporting artisans, women, households, craft villages and small businesses in participating in the culinary value chain.
Developing green gastronomy models by reducing plastic waste, limiting food waste, and using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients.
Establishing exchange programs for chefs, artisans, students and researchers with Creative Cities of Gastronomy around the world.
Each project must clearly identify the lead agency, partners, funding sources, implementation timeframe and evaluation indicators. After joining the network, member cities are also required to report periodically on the implementation of their commitments and action plans; thus, targets must be substantive and measurable.
At the same time, Hue needs to establish relationships as soon as possible with Creative Cities of Gastronomy in Asia and elsewhere in the world, seeking professional support, exchanges of experience and letters of cooperation.
Such cooperation should go beyond documents expressing goodwill. The city should begin developing concrete joint activities such as culinary weeks, chef exchanges, research on traditional foods, human resource training, digital communications and promotion of local products.
The more substantive partners, projects already underway and committed resources the application dossier can demonstrate, the more persuasive it will be.
Roadmap from now until the 2027 application cycle
From now until the end of 2026, Hue needs to establish its coordination structure, application dossier framework, data criteria system and preliminary map of the culinary ecosystem, while conducting community consultations and establishing domestic and international partnerships.
In the first quarter of 2027, the city should finalize its core narrative, draft a four-year action plan, project portfolio and resource commitments, while arranging for an independent review by experts familiar with the UCCN.
The following months should be devoted to finalizing the application in Vietnamese and the required foreign language, obtaining all necessary letters of support, verifying data, completing national-level nomination procedures and conducting a technical review in accordance with UNESCO’s official guidelines.
At the moment, UNESCO has yet to publicly release the full schedule and guidelines for the 2027 selection cycle. Hue should therefore proactively prepare its application dossier based on the most recent requirements, while updating and adjusting it as soon as UNESCO issues the official rules. According to UNESCO’s website, the 2025 selection cycle has concluded, with the results to be announced on October 31st, 2025.
Create momentum for development
Hue already possesses an exceptional foundation of heritage, landscapes, people and culinary culture. The support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism provides favorable conditions for the city to accelerate the preparation of its application dossier.
However, these advantages can only become strengths when supported by an effective mechanism, reliable data, a feasible plan and meaningful community participation.
The most important objective is not simply to submit the application dossier on time in 2027. Through the application process, Hue should develop a sustainable strategy for culinary development: safeguarding traditional knowledge, enhancing the status of practitioners, expanding livelihoods, encouraging creativity and integrating Hue’s cultural values more deeply into global networks of cooperation.
The designation as a Creative City of Gastronomy would then not be the final destination, but the starting point for a new stage of development in which cuisine truly becomes a source of soft power, an endogenous resource and an important component of the international brand name of Hue City.