The food festival at MIA park attracted a large number of visitors who were treated to a series of performances on stage and a variety of food offered by dozens of hotels and restaurants in Doha.

Photograph: Shemeer Rasheed

Not just gourmet food, visitors to the food festival enjoyed

dining in the sky and the sea. By Umer Nangiana

Imagine your dining table is pulled up in to the sky. Up there, you have nothing but your favourite food and a bunch of great friends for company. You are on top of the world, exclusively enjoying the purest of the air with no distractions.

One does not get to experience something like this every other day. But it’s possible at Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) right here in the heart of the city. Dozens have already experienced the dining extravaganza set up by Renaissance Hotel Doha at the four-day festival. Today is the last day for all those who have missed it so far.

“You must have this amazing experience. It is fabulous to go up there with friends and eat freshly prepared food,” an official of the restaurant told Community. The restaurant by the size of a giant dining table is pulled 70-80m up in the air with the help of a crane. Two chefs, an executive and a banquet, alongside a manager and a steward board the restaurant with every group of guests. They ensure that you make the best of your money spent and experience all of it.

The guests are served a three-course meal comprising starters, main course and dessert. The dinner time starts at 6pm and goes on to 10pm. You stay up there and eat for an hour. And it is affordable.

Not hungry? You can still go up there for coffee or tea. For a hot mug of coffee, you are elevated right across the beautiful Doha skyline. While you are sipping your drink, the entire festival with all its attractions is spread right under your eyes.

You can have an aerial view of the dance performances, live cooking shows and the activities in the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) park. The time for coffee at the ‘suspended’ restaurant is between 2pm and 5pm.

From up there, you can also see some people floating on the sea in saucer-shaped boats. These are ‘floating doughnuts’ and no, they are not for sale to be eaten. In fact, these are vessels to dine in.

At the QIFF, jointly organised by Qatar Museum Authority (QMA) and Qatar Airways (QA), you can hire one of these ‘doughnuts’ and enjoy live BBQ in the backdrop of the beautiful West Bay.

The visitors to The Diplomatic Club must be familiar with these doughnuts but for everyone else, it would be an all affordable, once-in-a-year opportunity to enjoy a floating dinner. The motor-operated doughnuts can be hired for one-hour at QR230 per person. It can accommodate a group of eight people besides the captain and a chef.

“You have the choice to either prepare your own BBQ or take the assistance of the chef who would prepare it fresh for you,” said a member of the Diplomatic Club’s doughnut team.

In the three-course meal, you can select from a wide range of salads for starters and a BBQ menu containing fillet of beef, chicken breast, sausages and grilled vegetables. Dessert is the third course. In the evenings, they serve tea and coffee at this small floating cafe.

In the same price, the club also gives you the option for private booking of the doughnut in case you do not want to share your dining experience with others.

And if you are a couple looking for a romantic dining experience, the festival has it for you. It is the luxury collection of traditional Arabian dhows, the Lucail 1, 2 and 3 by Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels. They are available at the water zone of the festival.

“Take in Doha’s spectacular skyline while enjoying the music and attentive butler services. Dine in exclusive style with gourmet Arabic and international dishes created by our on-board chef, and a special daily buffet,” boasts the hotel’s attractive offer.

Advance reservations are required for the romantic dinner package which is a 3-hour trip at the cost of QR4,000 for two persons. There are other deals for corporates and special themes are also available on advance bookings.

However, the dhow daily cruise package would cost you only QR125 per person for a 60-minute tour but you need a group of five persons at least. At QIFF, you can avail the dhow special offer and enjoy buffet dinner for only QR75 and no advance reservations are required.

As expected, the international festival attracted a large number of visitors who were treated to a series of performances on stage and a variety of food offered by dozens of hotels and restaurants in Doha.

Qatar-Brazil official logo for the 2014 Year of Culture celebrations was also unveiled at the occasion where a separate court with Brazilian cuisine is set up. Brazilian artists dressed in colourful costumes presented traditional dance and music performances.

At the main stage, among other attractions, it was a tango performance presented by the Tango Neuvo project. The Italian National Pizza Acrobatic team also attracted the visitors. Besides special attractions for children and families, the festival reserved a special zone for live cooking shows.

Expert chefs from around the world prepare special dishes while sharing the recipes live with the audience.

Almost all main hotels, restaurants and coffee shops participated in this year’s festival. It featured 11 general zones, including four food zones, a live cooking zone, 55 food stalls and five kiosks of restaurants and exhibitors.

This year’s special attraction was a health zone which combined healthy food outlets and information on healthy nutrition and a well-balanced diet besides promoting sports.