By Raynald C Rivera
The five-day Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) is a feast for all the senses offering lavish food from all over the world served on land, sea and even in the air alongside a variety of live entertainment.
The highly sought after Dinner in the Sky returns back for the third time offering a unique dining experience for the more adventurous gourmet. Hosted by Qatar Airways, Dinner in the Sky provides diners the national airline’s five-star hospitality and Business Class menu with a spectacular view of Doha’s great landmarks as seen 200ft above the ground.
Those who love the sea may either try ‘Dinner on a Dhow’ or ‘BBQ Donut’. Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels’ ‘Dinner on a Dhow’ provides guests with a light meal and tea aboard a traditional dhow. The floating ‘BBQ Donut’, organised by The Diplomatic Club, can accommodate up to eight people per trip for a chance to enjoy a sumptuous meal and show off their barbeque skills at the grill.
Tea lovers throng the Afternoon Tea – High Tea Tent to sample the exotic flavours of premium English, Chinese and Arabic tea. Offered by the newly opened Marsa Malaz Kempinski, the two-storey panoramic venue features an open terrace where tea fans can drink hot tea while enjoying the cool breeze.
The Food Zone witnesses huge turnout of people availing of affordable food and beverages for as low as QR5 offered by high profile restaurants in five-star hotels in Doha.
For the health conscious, this year’s festival is introducing the Health Truck, an initiative launched by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, as well as a zone to display organic vegetables.
The festival also features a special Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture Zone, in which visitors can enjoy Turkish food and entertainment.
QIFF 2015 never runs out of entertainment from street performers to classical musicians, from singers to dancers, from acrobats to comedians. Doha-based singer-composer Tarek Sidani enthralls festival visitors with songs as he plays his acoustic guitar, while the Maqam Ensemble, a Doha-based quintet, plays classical music with Arabic flavour.
Other notable artistes and performances include Drummers, Ardha dancers, Nilly Nills juggling and comedy show, pizza freestyle show, Chef Orchestra, break dancers, Turkish stiltwalkers and multi-cultural dances.
Capping the spectacular shows is the nightly fireworks display which paints the sky above the Museum of Islamic Art with colours lasting for about five minutes. Entertainment competitions, workshops and live cooking demonstrations are also being held every day as an integral component of the festival.
Guests can visit the Qatar Airways Cooking Theatre to learn culinary arts, meet celebrity chefs and watch as they cook fresh and delicious dishes as they acquire tips on how to prepare their own recipes at home.
Cooking enthusiasts may attend free 30-minute live cooking sessions between 4pm to 9pm hosted by celebrity Chef Vineet Bhatia and Chef Massimo Capra from Qatar Airways. Chef Deema Hijjawi, from Philips; Chef Salma Soliman and Chef Daad Abu Jaber, from pan-Arab culinary television channel Fatafeat; and Chef Frederick from Idam restaurant will also be holding live cooking sessions throughout the festival.
Professional chefs will competed in an ice sculpting contest hosted by Qatar Culinary Professionals tonight at 7pm. Philips is also sponsoring an amateur cooking competition, where visitors over the age of 18 years, will show their cooking and barbequing skills for a chance to win prizes. The amateur cooking contest will be held until tomorrow from 5.30pm to 6pm and from 6.30pm to 7pm.
The Qatar Airways Cooking Theatre is hosting a fusion cookery class inspiring cooking enthusiasts to prepare local and Gulf dishes. Qatari culinary expert Chef Aisha Al Tamimi and Chef Fawwaz Al Amim of Kuwait will host the class daily throughout the festival from 2pm to 4pm. The Doha Film Institute is screening films at the festival. Indian romantic comedy Lunchbox, winner of the Critics Choice award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival which stars renowned Indian actor Irffan Khan, screens tonight at 9pm. Eight short films in the ‘Made in Qatar’ programme some of which were award-winners at the 2014 Ajyal Youth Film Festival will be shown at 9pm tomorrow.
Organised by Qatar Tourism Authority and Qatar Airways, this year’s festival has seen a 15 percent increase in the number of food kiosks compared last year. Launched in 2010, QIFF is part of QTA’s efforts partner with private and public sector stakeholders to promote and develop a sustainable tourism sector that offers unique experience to tourists and visitors, in a bid to turn the state into a top tourist attraction.
The Peninsula
