Italian chef to serve traditional Vietnamese beef ‘pho’ at Pho Day 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City this weekend

Sponton became known in Vietnamese food media more than three years ago as a professional chef from Italy who ended up staying in Vietnam thanks to his girlfriend, Thu Trang.

With nearly 30 years of experience working in restaurants around the world, in September 2014, Sponton came to Ho Chi Minh City to help open an Italian restaurant in then-District 1.

He enjoyed his time in Vietnam so much that he decided to stay and worked as a consultant for restaurants in Vung Tau and Mui Ne until he met Trang in 2016.

Over the years, the two have become well known for their restaurant, Pho Ong Tay, located in the Thao Dien neighborhood in Ho Chi Minh City.

Sponton has developed a 'three noes' recipe for his broth: no bones, no MSG, and no fish sauce – three ingredients commonly found in traditional pho.

The Italian chef cooks beef for six to seven hours to make his broth. He also adds dried peanut worms before seasoning it only with salt and rock sugar.

In addition to classic Vietnamese pho, Sponton’s menu also offers modern twists on the traditional dish, including pho with Italian pork sausage, Thai-style tom yum pho, pho with salmon, and more.

For Pho Day, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday at the former Tax Trade Center site in District 1, now 135 Nguyen Hue Street in Saigon Ward, Trang said Pho Ong Tay will stick to traditional beef pho.

“I think just seeing a full-blooded Italian man ladling pho is already something quite delightful,” she said.

Pho Day is an annual event supported by the Department of External Relations and Cultural Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, and the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association.

It has been organized for many years in coordination with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper with diamond sponsorship from Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company.

Now in its ninth year, Pho Day has grown beyond a food event, honoring and promoting Vietnamese cuisine while also generating promising outcomes in diplomacy and the economy.