Bringing Vietnamese cuisine to the world
The Global Chefs Challenge Finals 2026 recently took place at the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport, Wales, the United Kingdom. The Viet Nam national culinary team won the Silver Medal and ranked eighth in the world in the Global Chefs Challenge category. This is the most prestigious competition category for professional chefs within the competition system of the World Association of Chefs’ Societies, or Worldchefs.
Representing the Viet Nam national culinary team at the Global Chefs Challenge Finals 2026 were chef Trinh Tuan Dung as the main competitor and assistant chef Le Dac Minh Quan, with professional coaching and support from Van Phu Phuong Dung.
All members are affiliated with the Saigon Professional Chefs Association under the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association and are also official members of the Viet Nam Chefs Association.
For this year’s Global Chefs Challenge Finals, the Vietnamese team presented “Viet Nam Essence”, a four-course menu inspired by Viet Nam’s renowned ingredients and spices. The chefs had to balance the competition criteria with compulsory ingredients, while also meeting strict requirements on luggage and food items entering the United Kingdom.
Recalling the preparation process, chef Trinh Tuan Dung said the compulsory ingredients set by the competition were premium products with very high costs, far beyond the team’s normal training conditions. This was also one of the biggest difficulties facing the team in preparing for the competition.
Many of the required ingredients were almost impossible to buy in Viet Nam, especially large halibut and calf offal. Without access to the actual ingredients, the chefs had to teach themselves through videos by international chefs, observing techniques, taking notes and visualising the processing methods in order to practise through simulation.
“During training, the team used pomfret instead of halibut to practise filleting techniques, margarine in place of premium butter, chicken liver and pork liver to simulate the handling of calf offal, and peanuts instead of expensive nuts such as macadamia or cashew,” chef Trinh Tuan Dung said.
Valrhona chocolate, another compulsory ingredient, is very expensive in Viet Nam and is available only in limited supply. As a result, the chefs had little opportunity to practise regularly with the actual product. Instead, chef Trinh Tuan Dung had to use other types of chocolate to test techniques, despite differences in quality and product characteristics.
Indeed, only when he arrived at the Global Chefs Challenge 2026 in Newport did chef Trinh Tuan Dung have his first hands-on experience of preparing calf offal and filleting a whole large halibut.
Despite great pressure and many challenges, the chefs remained committed to their goal of bringing the spirit and identity of Vietnamese cuisine to the largest stage of Worldchefs, leaving a strong mark with a valuable Silver Medal.
Vietnamese spirit in every dish
At the Global Chefs Challenge 2026, each team was required to prepare a four-course set menu comprising one appetiser, two main courses and one dessert within seven hours. They had to produce 12 portions of each dish to international standards. The entries were judged directly by a panel of Worldchefs judges.
“Viet Nam Essence” was a culinary journey honouring the richness, refinement and soul of Vietnamese cuisine. The menu invited diners to discover Viet Nam through iconic ingredients, traditional techniques and signature dishes, distilled into an experience that was both contemporary and deeply imbued with heritage.
Alongside compulsory ingredients such as Norwegian tiger prawns, halibut, veal tenderloin, calf offal, caviar, Valrhona chocolate, Anchor dairy products, Dilmah tea, fresh vanilla, Koppert Cress microgreens, and local Welsh specialities such as Welsh leeks and strawberries, Vietnamese elements were woven harmoniously into each appealing dish.
Trinh Tuan Dung and Le Dac Minh Quan brought to the international culinary arena ST25 rice, Dak Lak macadamia, Hoa Loc mango, Binh Phuoc cashew nuts, Tan Trieu pomelo, Binh Thuan dragon fruit, rice paper, lion’s mane mushroom, Ben Tre coconut milk and many other Vietnamese ingredients.
Distinctive Vietnamese spices and condiments, including Bac Lieu fleur de sel, doi seeds, An Giang palm sugar and Phu Quoc fish sauce, also helped create the unique character of the dishes in the “Viet Nam Essence” menu. The menu also honoured the craftsmanship of Vietnamese culinary tradition through long-standing techniques such as steaming pho sheets, rolling spring rolls and making banh xeo.
Each dish opened a door to an intriguing region of Viet Nam, where local agricultural products, iconic dishes and cultural stories came together to shape the identity of Vietnamese cuisine. “Viet Nam Essence” was not merely a menu, but also an invitation for international friends to embark on a journey of discovery and experience the culinary heritage of the richly distinctive S-shaped country.
The strong performance of the Viet Nam national culinary team at the Global Chefs Challenge Finals 2026 marks a notable milestone for the country’s professional chef community, opening up further opportunities for exchange, learning and deeper participation in international professional activities in the coming time.
The Global Chefs Challenge is an international culinary competition held within the framework of the Worldchefs Congress, bringing together the world’s outstanding chefs after a rigorous selection process from continental regions. It is a platform where teams demonstrate professional competence, cooking techniques, creativity, time management, ingredient handling and food presentation standards in a professional competition environment.
