10th Qatar International Food Festival opens

Doha: Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) marked its 10th anniversary with a festive opening ceremony showcasing culinary excellence and cultural performances yesterday at Oxygen Park in Education City.

One of the highlights of the opening day were cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Dominique Ansel and Noora Al Kuwari who are among the 37 top international and local culinary artists from 17 countries — the largest number of celebrity chefs hosted in any one edition.

“QIFF is a celebration of our country’s cultural diversity and has played a key role in enriching our calendar of curated events, giving more reasons for tourists to visit and revisit Qatar. It has also elevated our food and beverage industry by introducing us to flavours and culinary artists from all around the world as well as supporting local entrepreneurs and upcoming businesses,” said Al Baker.

He added: “The recently-established Qatar National Tourism Council is built on collaboration, unity and empowerment.

“This festival, which brings together so many partners from across the public, private and semi-government sectors to curate a unique and diverse tourism experience is exactly what that new governance model is about. This year being the Qatar-India Year of Culture, we also look forward to seeing a special emphasis on the foods and cultural elements of both countries in this edition.”

For the first time, QIFF is taking place at Oxygen Park which has three dedicated areas namely O1 for main course specialities and centre stage; O2 for kids-friendly foods and activities and O3 for cafes and light food.

“We are immensely proud to be the host of the 10th edition of the Qatar International Food Festival, and we thank Qatar National Tourism Council for choosing Education City as the venue for such a key milestone in the history of this great community event,” said Machaille Al-Naimi, President of Community Development, Qatar Foundation.

In addition to over 150 mouthwatering F&B offerings, QIFF offers visitors vibrant cultural shows, roaming entertainment, and month-long side events offering learning opportunities of culinary craft and healthy nutrition to participants of all ages.

Over 30 global social media influencers attending the VisitQatar Inflow Summit ’19 will also attend QIFF and share their first-hand experiences at the multicultural festival with their audiences.

QNTC also launched a marketing campaign to attract visitors from Kuwait, Oman and India to the event which runs until March 30.