Baran Yucel (right), Chairman of Qatar Culinary professionals, during the Chef’s table meeting at Diplomatic Club Doha, yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula
DOHA: Salon Culinaire 2016 is set to crown Qatar’s culinary scene’s crème de la crème in an exciting three-day competition at the annual Hospitality Qatar to be held from October 18 to 20 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC).
The Qatar Culinary Professionals (QCP) association is teaming up for the second time with IFP Group, organizers of Hospitality Qatar 2016 for the competition which saw a huge success last year.
“There has been an increase in the number of participants from 235 last year to 260 this year. The competition is open to all culinary professionals whether they work in hotels, restaurants or cafes. Culinary enthusiasts can really expect an exciting competition this year,” QCP Chairman Chef Baran Yucel told The Peninsula yesterday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Chef’s Table which provided a forum for around 100 chefs from various hotels and restaurants in the country to ask questions with regard to the rules prior to the competition.
Among the 17 categories, the most popular which has been attracting the biggest number of participants is Live Cooking.
“Live Cooking is very prestigious and at the same time easy. It does not require much preparations unlike other categories such as showpiece which could take many days to prepare,” said Chef Baran.
Adding to the excitement of Salon Culinaire is a new category which is Qatari Feast.
“This year we included a new category which is Qatari Feast supported by Qatar Tourism Authority. We encourage our colleagues to take part in this new category. We have also invited four Michelin chefs from France who will demonstrate to us cooking by fusing authentic Qatari with international elements to come up with new ideas,” he explained.
Attendees at yesterday’s event have expressed support to in promoting Qatari food through the new category of the competition.
“The reason why Mamig is participating in the Qatari Feast category is in the end we are in Qatar and we have to support Qatari food. I encourage all chefs as well to support Qatari food as our way of supporting the country,” said celebrity Chef Zarmig Halladjian of Mamig.
Salon Culinaire 2016 will also gather luminaries in the culinary world inviting an international panel of judges from World Chefs (formally known as WACS) to determine the winners.
“International judges have been selected across the world, none of whom is based in Doha to ensure impartiality,” said Chef Baran.
