DOHA: The thirteenth edition of the Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) concluded on Saturday after a successful 11-day run at the Family Zone Doha Expo 2023 at Al Bidda Park. This year, QIFF saw record-breaking numbers, with the highest number of visitors on a single day in its history – 24, 000 on Qatar National Sports Day (February 13) and the total number of attendees throughout the festival was an impressive 266,698 visitors.
The closing day was attended by Saad bin Ali AlKharji, Chairman of Qatar Tourism, and EngAbdulaziz Ali AlMawlawi, Chief Marketing and Promotion Officer of Qatar Tourism, among other dignitaries who took a tour at the festival.
During its course, the festival provided visitors ample opportunities to experience gastronomic activations, such as F&B stalls, live cooking shows, and children’s entertainment. QIFF 2024 hosted over 100 cuisines with a variety of different kinds of foods.
Hessa Al-Thani, Head of Marketing Planning at Qatar Tourism, said: “The Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) is one of the longest-running events and the longest-running food festival in Qatar’s event calendar. QIFF 2024 has witnessed a large number of visitors from all ages, genders, and nationalities. In its 13th edition, the festival has proven once again how important and loved it is. For such legacy events, we strive to annually upgrade our programs, and introduce new attractions, and themes. We extend our gratitude to all participants, partners, and visitors for contributing to the festival’s triumph, and we remain committed to showcasing Qatar as a premier destination for culinary exploration on the world stage.”
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Dinner in the Sky
The ‘Dinner in the Sky’ program allowed visitors to have meals on a platform 40 meters high in the air three times a day at High Tea, Sunset Flight, and Dinner. Visitors were buckled into their seats, then elevated and served meals with some of the most scenic views of the city.
Paramotor shows
QIFF 2024 displayed paramotor shows daily at night. Visitors enjoyed watching drone shows with fireworks which flew across the sky in various patterns, contrary to conventional fireworks shows.
The Cooking Studio
One of the most popular activations at QIFF this year was the Cooking Studio wherein local and international world-class chefs demonstrated live cooking. Chef Zarmig, owner of Mamig Restaurant, ran the cooking shows alongside renowned chefs from Qatar as well as regional and international. Chef Mohammed Jassem Abdullah demonstrated his signature ‘Shrimp Majboos’ dish. Turkish Chef Dora Nuket presented an artistic cake décor, while Chef Eric Lanlard made special French desserts, to name a few. Three football legends from Paris Saint-Germain, Ronaldinho, Makalele, and Pastore, also assisted a live cooking session with Chef Alexandre Guillo.
Healthy bites
As QIFF coincided with Qatar National Sports Day this year, plenty of healthy options and demonstrations encouraged healthier nutrition to visitors. Chef Hamad Alhajri prepared the ‘Qatari Healthy Majboos’ on Sports Day at the Cooking Studio. The panel discussion ‘Vegan Talk: From Farm to table, nutrition and more”, was hosted by plant-based Chef Gaz Oakley, sustainable entrepreneur Ghanim Al Sulaiti, vegan Chef Lorena Loriato, and health coach Layla Al-Dorani, who discussed veganism and health. Healthier options included Evergreen Organics, Game Changer, Torba Market, and more.
The Lounge
Aura Hospitality & Food Services hosted the ‘Luxury Court’ at this year’s festival. Restaurants included Beef Bar, Viva La Vida Qatar, Sazeli Qatar, Bagatelle Beach Club, and Berenjak, which provided a fine-dining luxury experience to visitors.
Qatar Calendar booth
The Qatar Calendar interactive booth was nestled at QIFF this year as a platform for visitors to engage with representatives of Qatar’s events calendar for 2024. With Qatar hosting over 80 unique events this year catering to people of all ages and tastes, the Qatar Calendar booth was an important part of QIFF to raise awareness about the touristic landscape of the country.
Popular kiosks
QIFF saw a large number of visitors every day with a few kiosks being the most popular. ‘Koshari Abou Tarek’, one of the international stalls this year from Egypt, saw one of the longest lines at QIFF, with over 40 people in line at a time. ‘Milky Ice’ sold Qatar’s tallest ice cream and had one of the longest waiting lines due to its popularity amongst children.
A multitude of entertainment
QIFF 2024 was packed with various entertainment shows suitable for families and people of different tastes. There were live musical performances by bands on the main stage, as well as individual performers embedded throughout the kiosk area. Several parades ran throughout QIFF’s open space, with an opportunity for visitors to take pictures with lively costumed characters. Other entertainment included cooking workshops, documentary and film screenings, as well as AFC Asian Cup 2023 screenings.
