Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani opened Hospitality Qatar 2015 yesterday at Doha Exhibition Centre.
The ceremony was attended by Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, senior officials and diplomatic figures.
The exhibition, licensed by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), is hosting 111 exhibitors from 12 countries, including China, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Romania and Lithuania in over 5,000sqm of space and is likely to attract over 10,000 visitors.
“The hospitality sector is one of the main and fastest growing in Qatar, especially with the increase of local companies and investments in it. Qatar is also appearing as a major host and organiser of regional and international events, in particular the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” said Sheikh Ahmed.
Rawad Sleem, Project Manager of the show, said, “The expo is expected to have a great turnover, especially that trade visitors started flowing as soon as it opened its doors. Also, activities, including B2B matchmaking, Salon Culinaire, Mocktail competition and certified training workshops have featured massive participation of local and regional professionals. We expect an even larger audience through the next two days.”
Yesterday’s events started with Salon Culinaire which brings together the country’s leading chefs to compete in 15 categories. It is co-organised by Qatar Culinary Professionals association (QCP) and supervised by World Association of Chefs Societies for Africa & the Middle East. The contest is judged by 10 regional and international judges.
“QCP is proud to take part in the first approved World Chef Salon Culinaire competition. Our support for it reinforces our mission to provide chefs with tools to develop their careers while creating a network of chefs from across multi-unit food service operations in the Middle East,” said David Sosson, QCP President.
A main feature of the show is Business-to-Business matchmaking platform, as part of which 14 top hotels in Qatar were hosted as buyers, with over 320 meetings with exhibitors.
The first day also included a certified safety training workshop conducted by Boecker, entitled ‘Induction to HACCP’. QCP also held a seminar conducted by Chef Gilles Refloch which included sugar and flower theme: Technics, Sugar Cooking and Flower Making. The Mocktail competition attracted a large audience who saw amazing skills of Doha’s most talented bartenders. The expo is open from 3pm to 9pm until tomorrow.
The Peninsula
14 October
