Competition in Vietnam Showcases Availability, Versatility of U.S. Pork

To share the availability of U.S. pork in Vietnam and introduce versatile cuts to foodservice chefs in the market, USMEF teamed with the Saigon Professional Chef Guild to organize the 2020 U.S. Pork Cooking Competition in Ho Chi Minh City. A video of the competition can be seen here.

Competition in Vietnam Showcases Availability, Versatility of American Pork

Funded by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the National Pork Board, the June event followed COVID-19 restrictions in Vietnam that limited the number of participants in public events to 30. The event was also livestreamed on Facebook. In all, 36 chefs submitted recipes for two dishes. Rules required each dish to utilize a different cut of U.S. pork provided by USMEF, with options being spareribs, pork cheek, loin and riblet. At least one of the dishes had to be Vietnamese-influenced.

"“It was a great opportunity for Vietnamese chefs to showcase their culinary talents in creating innovative and delicious dishes using U.S. pork cuts, especially cuts that are relatively new to the market,” said Sabrina Yin, USMEF ASEAN director. “USMEF has collected the recipes from the 10 chefs in the final round of the competition and will include them in a U.S. pork recipe book.”

Along with the Facebook presence, the competition received a great deal of media attention. Articles were published online, including one by 24hour Vietnam.

SOURCE: USMEF