Muscat: The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) is organizing the Omani Culinary Arts Festival from August 22 to 26 at Al Haffa Beach in Salalah, coinciding with the Dhofar Khareef 2024 events.
Amira Iqbal al Lawati, Head of the Food Tourism and Culinary Arts Program at the MHT, stated that the festival will feature a variety of activities over the five days. These include live cooking demonstrations by top Gulf and Omani chefs (such as Lulwa Altaanak, Nader al Aisari, Ahmed Al Saadi, Mohammed Issa, Faisal Sajoor, Umm Ayman, and Khulood), a children's cooking corner, folk music performances, and various competitions. Additionally, there will be a farmers' corner with local products, restaurants offering authentic Omani cuisine, and a section for gifts and souvenirs.
She added that the Omani Culinary Arts Festival aims to promote and enhance food tourism and culinary arts, particularly Omani cuisine, both locally and internationally. This will be achieved through gatherings, festivals, events, and specialized forums dedicated to food tourism and culinary arts.
Al Lawati explained that the Festival is part of the ‘Food Tourism and Culinary Arts’ program.
Through this initiative, the Ministry aims to showcase Omani cuisine as a means of achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The goal is to position Omani culinary arts on the cultural tourism map, enhance tourism's role in benefiting local communities, provide business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, and create job opportunities in culinary professions.
The Head of the Food Tourism and Culinary Arts Program stated that the MHT places significant importance on developing tourism based on the comparative and competitive advantages of Oman.
She emphasized that the Omani Culinary Arts Festival is one of the most important tourism types, focusing on showcasing and promoting Omani culinary arts. Food and drink, as well as culinary arts, have always been central to any society, reflecting the cultural and civilizational diversity that distinguishes it from others. There is a growing global trend towards this type of tourism.
The Food Tourism and Culinary Arts Program aims to document the heritage, history, and traditions of Omani cuisine.
The program seeks to preserve and sustain this heritage through the development and innovation of recipes and menus to suit the evolving tastes of tourists while maintaining the essential ingredients that define these recipes. It also focuses on innovating products linked to supply chains to enhance competitiveness, benefiting local communities. Additionally, the program aims to foster entrepreneurial opportunities in manufacturing, services, and tourism products, as well as innovative experiences.
The Ministry emphasized that the successful implementation of these initiatives requires the combined efforts of public and private sector stakeholders, tourism sector partners, and the involvement of the local community, enthusiasts, associations, and chefs.
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