In the current trend of tourism development, cuisine is increasingly viewed as a specific type of resource with the ability to create sustainable attraction for each destination. Not stopping at the need for enjoyment, each dish also contains stories about history, living habits, and indigenous knowledge of the resident community. Điện Biên thus appears as a multi-colored culinary picture where each ethnic group contributes an individual flavor, from processing methods to enjoyment styles. This includes the Thái people with upland sticky rice, stream fish, and dried buffalo meat; the Mông people with mèn mén, thắng cố, and leaf yeast wine; the Khơ Mú people with steamed dishes made from forest vegetables; and the Hà Nhì people with sour pickles and lard-preserved meat.

At the end of 2025, the Northwest culinary space was vividly recreated at the Northwest Culinary Culture Competition with the theme “The Scent and Beauty of Phiêng Lơi,” which took place within the framework of the announcement and launch ceremony for the Phiêng Lơi community tourism product in Phiêng Lơi village, Điện Biên Phủ ward. The event attracted a large number of residents and tourists to visit and experience the atmosphere, creating a bustling mood full of traditional cultural colors. From the scent of mắc khén and wild forest seeds to grilled and steamed dishes, colorful sticky rice, dried buffalo meat, and stream fish, the offerings were skillfully and attractively presented to allow viewers to experience and enjoy Northwestern culinary culture, particularly the culinary essence of the Thái people.

Sharing at the event, Lò Thị Thơm from the Phiêng Lơi village Women’s Association said that the dishes brought to the competition were all processed according to the true traditional flavors of the Thái people using natural ingredients grown and raised by their own families. She noted that each meal conveys the feelings and cultural features of the ethnic group, and through this activity, they hope to introduce their homeland’s cuisine to tourists from near and far, contributing to the promotion of national identity and the step-by-step development of community tourism in the future.

On the journey to conquer the Đà River, if visitors have the opportunity to stop at Huổi Trẳng village in Tủa Thàng commune, they will be welcomed by local people with traditional dishes such as grilled fish, forest vegetable salad, bamboo rice, sour soup, and grilled village chicken. Among the dishes bearing the bold flavors of the mountains and forests, “pork under the armpit” mixed with sour and astringent leaves leaves a deep impression thanks to the sophisticated harmony between the fatty taste of the meat and the light, refreshing sour and astringent taste of the forest leaves. Sharing this experience, Mai Liên, a tourist from Hà Nội, said that during her journey on the Đà River, she enjoyed the dish of “pork under the armpit” salad with sour and astringent leaves. She noted that because the pigs are raised naturally, the meat is very sweet and fragrant, allowing her to feel a nutty, lightly fatty, and sour-astringent taste on the tip of the tongue followed by a sweet aftertaste from the meat. For her, this was a very special experience of the culinary culture of the Thái people (the White Thái branch) in the mountains of Điện Biên.

Reality shows that when placed within the overall development of community tourism, traditional cuisine becomes a “soft bridge” connecting tourists with local life. Each dish not only carries a characteristic flavor but also tells a story about the source of ingredients, processing methods, and living customs of each ethnic community. The culinary experience is expanded into a journey of cultural discovery, which contributes to increasing the value of each destination. The inclusion of traditional cuisine in the chain of tourism products is being implemented professionally by specialized agencies and localities in the province, ranging from standardizing processing procedures and ensuring food safety and hygiene to training storytelling and service skills for the tourism community and connecting cuisine with sightseeing routes and spots. This is considered an appropriate direction in the context where experiential tourism, community tourism, and sustainable tourism are increasingly favored.

On the occasion of the Bính Ngọ Lunar New Year 2026, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism expects to organize the Culinary Festival “27 Flavors of Điện Biên Cuisine” on the morning of February 8 at the Mường Thanh Tourism Market. At the festival, residents and tourists will have the opportunity to visit and experience 27 typical traditional dishes of the ethnic groups in the province, directly watching processing demonstrations and hearing explanations about the cultural values hidden in each dish. The highlight of the program is the free culinary buffet activity after the festival ends, featuring typical meals from restaurants and hotels along with a feast of 27 characteristic dishes, which promises to create a warm and bustling atmosphere in the days leading up to Tet.

In sustainable tourism development, traditional cuisine increasingly affirms its role as an important resource for Điện Biên. When invested in the right direction and associated with cultural preservation and service quality improvement, cuisine becomes a highlight in the province’s tourism product system. Promoting the role of the people as subjects helps create sustainable livelihoods while contributing to building the image of a friendly Điện Biên rich in identity in the hearts of every tourist.