In its second and much bigger edition, the Filipino Community Family Day & Food Festival of Kulinarya Qatar 2016 brought a wave of hearty cheer and fun to the people of Qatar throughout its three-day celebrations that lasted from Monday to Wednesday at The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa.
Kulinarya Qatar is a movement established by the Philippine Embassy Doha under the leadership of the ambassador of the Philippines to Qatar, Wilfredo C Santos. “I thank the Kulinarya Qatar 2016 core team headed by Ms Layla Bernal for successfully holding the Filipino Family Community Day and Food Festival at the Westin,” Santos told Community. “While the success of this annual event is largely due to the strong support given by the Filipino community, it is also apparent that Kulinarya Qatar – as a brand movement – is fast becoming popular not only among Filipinos but with the other communities in Qatar as well.”
Tied to the theme of ‘Tightening the bond of the Filipino community through food and culture’, the festival packed in a slew of events such as glow zumba with celebrity artistes Joshua Zamora of the famous male dance group The Manoeuvers, and singer-actress and his better half, Jopay Paguia, Little Miss and Mister Kulinarya Qatar Finals, Junior Master Chef finals, Pasiklaban fruit-carving, the best of Kulinarya Qatar menu, celebrities shoot for a cause, celebrities dance workshop, health and fitness activities, Batang Pinoy play area, and other entertaining programmes.
Close to 7,000 visitors attended the festival while more than 30 food and non-food vendors made good business thanks to the variety of food on offer. From around two dozen companies and Filipino entrepreneurs presenting their products and services to visitors, to giving away of awards such as Restaurant of the Year, Best Special Dish/Menu and Best in Service, the festival covered a wide canvas.
Hillside restaurant was the winner of two major awards (Best Dishes/Menu – Balbakwa, and Best Service Award), while Eve House of Catering and Events won the Best Restaurant award. There was also the Pasiklaban fruits and vegetables carving competition that saw a throng of enthusiastic Filipino chefs at work.
Kulinarya Qatar is determined to put Filipino food into the Arab mainstream, promote economic diplomacy through cuisine, and increase appreciation and awareness of the Philippines as a tourist, business, and trade destination. The Philippine Embassy in Doha initiated the start of this movement last year to promote the Philippines as a leading destination for tourism and business in Asia while giving support to Filipino restaurant owners, businesses and entrepreneurs, pointed out Santos.
“I am pleased to note that Kulinarya Qatar has evolved into something concrete and doable as it is now more community-led as compared to last year when the Embassy took the initiative to organise the movement under its aegis. This year’s event as part of the Eid celebration is therefore better planned, better organised and was able to reach out to a larger audience,” he said.
When asked about the bigger purpose of this festival, especially when it coincides with Eid al-Adha, Santos explained, “Eating is a very important social exercise for Filipinos. We eat not just to nourish ourselves, but also to spend more time and strengthen our bonds with families, friends and guests.
Meanwhile, Eid al-Adha, just like Eid al-Fitr, is one of the most significant holidays in Qatar and the rest of the Muslim world, and is even considered as the ‘Greater Eid’. Such holidays give an opportunity for Filipinos to eat and bond with families and friends. Hence, there is a merging of two cultures – the Islamic observance of the Eid and the Filipino style of celebrating holidays.”
Layla Bernal, head of core team of Kulinarya 2016, told Community, “The public response for this year’s Kulinarya has been very overwhelming. All the Filipino entrepreneurs in Qatar who participated in the three-day event enjoyed their time at the vast venue of the hotel, complete with an accommodating staff and due support from the management. While they enjoyed the benefits of good partnership and profit for their sales, everybody spent the rest of the day taking part in lots of fun-filled activities, contests and even winning prizes for the whole family as part of the programme to make this year’s celebration a memorable one.”
Kulinarya Qatar is also in support of the embassy’s economic diplomacy initiatives as this provides opportunities for the many Filipino food entrepreneurs in Qatar, feels Santos, who regards Filipino food entrepreneurs as “our cultural ambassadors in Qatar”.
He said, “In looking forward to another successful Filipino Family Community Day and Food Festival next year, I wish to assure the full support of the Philippine Embassy in Doha to Kulinarya Qatar, which has now become a vehicle to enhance the Philippines’ tourism potential while allowing Filipinos and their families as well as the other communities in Qatar to come together to share in the celebration of the Eid holidays.”
FESTIVE FERVOUR: Tied to the theme of ‘Tightening the bond of the Filipino Community through food and culture’, the festival packed in a slew of events.
