The award-winning photo, titled 'Bánh Hỏi Cake' by Vietnamese photographer Đặng Hoài Anh.

HÀ NỘI — A photo titled Bánh Hỏi Cake by Vietnamese photographer Đặng Hoài Anh has won an award at the prestigious World Food Photography Awards 2025.

Anh’s work captures a moment when a shirtless craftsman with a focused gaze lifts steaming trays of bánh hỏi from a large steamer. Bánh hỏi are thin, fresh rice noodles woven into flat, rectangular bundles.

The photograph won in the 'Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration' category at the awards event, which is a leading global celebration of food photography.

In Anh's photo, rays of sunlight pierce through the roof, cutting through the white steam, creating a scene that is both realistic and magical. The delicate, pure white layers of bánh hỏi are neatly stacked, reflecting the craftsmanship and meticulousness of a long-standing traditional trade.

The piece honours the beauty of diligence, labour and tradition in Vietnamese life, while showcasing the photographer's talent in vividly capturing the contrast of light and shadow, smoke and steam, creating a dynamic image.

The World Food Photography Awards describes the photo as follows: “Bánh hỏi is a speciality dish in Việt Nam found in many places such as Bình Thuận, Vũng Tàu, Bến Tre, Phú Yên, Nha Trang and Bình Định. The cake is made from rice flour and has an elaborate and meticulous preparation process. Bánh hỏi is often eaten with scallion oil, roasted meat, grilled meat and pork offal. This is an indispensable dish for holidays, weddings, funerals and ceremonies at communal houses and pagodas. It is a culinary culture of the locality."

Vietnamese photographer Đặng Hoài Anh has won in the 'Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration' category at the World Food Photography Awards 2025. — Photo Hoài Anh Facebook

Among the best-known photography awards internationally, the World Food Photography Awards are judged each year by a stellar panel of global names, guided by Chairman David Loftus, one of the world’s most acclaimed food photographers.

The awards were founded in 2011 by Caroline Kenyon with a small team and was previously known as Food Photographer of the Year. A unique photography competition celebrating the very best in food photography from around the world, the event is open to professional and non-professional photographers alike. Since its founding, the organisers have received over 100,000 entries from almost 100 countries.

This year's competition attracted nearly 10,000 entries from 70 countries. A free exhibition showcasing all 185 finalist images will be held at the Home Museum in Manchester, England, from June 3 to September 7. — VNS