The World Class Chefs initiative kicked off yesterday as Michelin Star Chef Julian Roucheteau entertained guests with signature dishes.
The Qatar Tourism initiative in collaboration with Qatar Airways, Qatar Aircraft Catering Company (QACC), and Kings of Kitchen will run for two years, leading up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and beyond.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive and Chairman Qatar Tourism H E Akbar Al Baker said: “We are opening up the approach for Michelin Star chefs to come and start promoting the food festival. At the same time, opening up opportunities for Michelin star chefs to come and open restaurants in Doha, work in hotels and upgrade the food offering that we have always been doing in Qatar.”
With a growing dining scene, the World Class Chef initiative will also attract top culinary hands to Qatar as Doha targets the title of a food hub in the region. “This is a great initiative. We did a lot of research of what people are looking for, and everyone has their interests, but there’s one common thing when people go on vacation ‘food,’” Berthold Trenkel, COO Qatar Tourism, said.
“When you look around the region, no one has established themselves as the food capital in the region, so there’s a chance for Qatar if we step this up, that when people think about the Middle East and food, they think about Qatar,” he added.
Trenkel stressed that there would be business opportunities and partnerships between local chefs to partner with their international colleagues.
“We have started to line up these chefs, and we will bring them to the country one at a time. We can encourage partnership between Qatari and international chefs. There is also a business opportunity because many hotels are being constructed, and they all need chefs. Some will poach local talents, but there’s nothing wrong in bringing a few big names and getting them to move to Qatar and grow our industry,” Trenkel added.
Chef Roucheteau will demonstrate his craft at exclusive Chef’s Table sessions between October 26-30 at IZU restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Msheireb Downtown, from 6 pm to 8 pm and from 8:30 pm to 10 pm.