The Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) welcomes, until March 21, 2023, thousands of visitors to the new Lusail Al Sa’ad Plaza, the street that hosted the celebrations of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final, The QIFF is Qatar’s largest and oldest culinary festival.
100 exhibitors will be present
From fireworks and family entertainment to master classes with chefs in the Qatar Airways Culinary Theatre, the festival offers activities for all ages. Food lovers can choose from 100 exhibitors offering cuisines from around the world, from local shawarma to Mexican tacos, or rice breads from Liberia. Every day leftover food is collected and distributed by the festival’s charity partner, Qatar Charity.
Highlights from this year’s QIFF include:
A wide selection of entertainment for the whole family is available every day at QIFF 2023. Visitors can enjoy traveling shows and fireworks every evening, for the duration of the festival. Visitors can even enjoy a custom-made ice rink.
Master classes and workshops with chefs
Culinary theaters feature some of the most dynamic and recognized chefs daily. Gourmet festival-goers can get tickets to master classes where they will have the opportunity to hone their skills with the great masters of the industry. Rachel Allen (Ireland), Dario Cecchini (Italy), Sara Assi (Lebanon), Aisha Al Tamimi (Qatar) and Chef Wan (Malaysia), are just some of the chefs present.
Immersive culinary experiences
QIFF visitors can enjoy a host of unusual dining options, including a unique experience with Le Petit Chef, an interactive dining experience that uses 3D mapping, in collaboration with The Ritz Carlton, Doha.
And the usual plethora of foodtrucks from cuisines around the world are also back at the festival. From Arabian spices to savory Kare Kare from the Philippines, visitors are sure to find a mouth-watering delicacy.
Cultural delights
This year, QIFF offers an area dedicated to Indonesia, home to the Moluccas Islands, also known as the “Spice Islands”, in tribute to the Qatar-Indonesia Year of Culture 2023. QIFF will also house a cultural tent Qatari restaurant offering local treats.
The vegan zone and green desert
A whole section of the festival is dedicated exclusively to vegan cuisine and healthy food.
Additionally, to celebrate the upcoming International Horticultural Expo 2023 Qatar, to be held in October under the theme “Green Desert, Better Environment,” a special booth is offering free plants to festival-goers.
Qatar Tourism COO Berthold Trenkel said:
“The Qatar International Food Festival is a celebration of our country’s unique and diverse melting pot of cultures that, for more than a decade, has been putting Qatar’s fascinating culinary scene in the spotlight. With so many fabulous new restaurant openings, Qatar’s gastronomic landscape is incredibly stimulating, and we are delighted to present all that we can offer to visitors from all over the world. »
Organized by Qatar Tourism in partnership with Qatar Airways, the 12th Qatar International Food Festival is sponsored by Qatar Airways, Talabat, Ooredoo, Askar, and Expo 2023. QIFF 2023 is free to the public and is held daily until 21 March from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends.
To find out more about the event, go to: https://visitqatar.com/intl-en/events-calendar/qatar-international-food-festival
