Why you should head down to Qatar's International Food Festival

The Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) will run until 17 December.

The annual QIFF has officially opened to the public, with the inauguration on Friday bringing in notable figures, including Qatar Airways Group CEO and Chairman of Qatar Tourism Akbar Al Baker and 16 globally renowned chefs.

Located at Al-Bidda Park in the Corniche, the festival hosts a wide variety of food trucks, live cooking shows, masterclasses, and activities for families and kids.

Live firework displays are staged at 8pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

QIFF is Qatar’s longest-running food and beverage festival with impressive growth and engagement through it’s 11-year journey.

This year, the event will host a live cooking theater where chefs will show off their skills and compete in cook-offs with one another as a form of friendly competition.

Some 140 vendors will be showcasing their culinary cuisines, from Jordan to Saudi Arabia.

In an opening speech on Friday Al Baker recognised the festival as a celebration of the cultural diversity present within the country and a key player in intensifying the food and beverage spotlight placed upon Qatar’s culinary scene.

The food festival is deemed to be a vibrant environment for chefs and business owners to test new products and bring new styles of cuisine to the Qatari market.

Al Baker noted it is also a launchpad for local entrepreneurs to bring their products to the public for the first time before transforming them into full-fledged businesses – a crucial element in Qatar’s food and beverage industry.

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