Record breaking year for Qatar Tourism Authority's "Taste and Fun" Food Festival

DOHA February 12, 2012: The biggest ever Doha Food Festival closed its doors yesterday, marking its most successful year yet with more than 60,000 food lovers sampling culinary delights from 75 stands.

The four-day event organized by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) saw the country's best and most popular restaurants take part as well as a range of activities for visitors including magic shows, Japanese cooking demonstrations, a "mystery box" competition and children's entertainment.

On the final day of the festival, the Gold medal winners of the cooking competition, involving 15 of Qatar's finest hotel chefs, were announced with the Ritz Carlton Doha, the Kempinski Doha, Moevenpick Towers and The TorchDoha taking home the top honors. In other awards, the Intercontinental Doha was honored with the "Best Sales" award and La Cigale won the "Best Design".

QTA Chairman Mr. Ahmed Al Nuami said the food festival brought together the community and showcased the great diversity of Qatar's population. Mr. Al Nuami said the special emphasis on Japanese cuisine, part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of Qatar-Japan relations, proved especially popular.

"The "Taste and Fun" food festival is fast becoming a landmark community event in Doha," Mr. Al Nuami said. "It is important for the QTA to bring these events to the community. Not only did visitors enjoy great food and fun entertainment in record numbers, they also had the opportunity to taste dishes from other cultures which all seek to promote cultural awareness in our amazingly diverse community."

Mr. Al Nuami thanked the festival sponsors including Jungle Zone, Askar Industrial Company and Worldwide Tents and Halls.

For more information go to www.qatartourism.gov.qa

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About Qatar Tourism Authority
Restructured under the Emiri Decree (46) in 2009, Qatar Tourism Authority was given the mandate to organize, enable, and supervise the tourism industry development and to organize exhibitions in Qatar, as well as represent and promote Qatar as a quality tourism destination for leisure, business, education, and sport. Qatar Tourism Authority gets actively involved in organizing events and promotions which positively reflect on the general image of Qatar as an evolving tourism destination combining business with leisure.

For more information contact: Rachel Morris (+974) 7789 8124 or rachel@rachelmorrispr.com

© Press Release 2012