To be held for the first time in the city, Italian Cuisine Week will be fully supported
and promoted by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bringing its extraordinary flavours, Italian Cuisine Week officially lands in Doha. To be celebrated for the first time in the city, the Italian Cuisine Week is fully supported and promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At a media event in Westin Hotel and Spa, Italian Ambassador Guido De Sanctis said the Italian Embassy in Qatar in co-operation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and The Luxury Network has scheduled a rich programme for this special week. “Italian food is probably as famous as its artistic and historical treasures and we are proud to celebrate our heritage in Qatar and internationally as everyone shares with Italy a passion for food,” said Ambassador Sanctis.
“Italy, of course, exports its food and our chefs to many countries around the world. I see a lot of Qataris here in Italian restaurants and it is encouraging to see they like Italian food very much,” he added.
The ambassador said the idea of Italian Cuisine Week came up after the worldwide success of Milan Expo, where Qatar had a pavilion. “I came here almost four years ago and I have seen that the number of Italian restaurants have grown with chefs coming from different regions of Italy.”
The opening party is scheduled for November 21 at 8pm and organisers are expecting around 300 participants. Italian companies such as Lavazza, Ferrero-Merch, Fashion Food Luxury, Salini Impregilo, Intesa San Paolo, Westin Hotel and Spa, CKGS and JADU are sponsoring the Italian week. Qatar Airways will be raffling two tickets for any destination in Italy during the party. Qatar Happening will be the media partner.
The week will open with an Italian Festival in LuLu on Shamal Road and another festival at Katara Cultural Village before the cuisine week coming to several Italian restaurants in town.
“I do not know If I will be able to try all of them. Well, I have tried all of them already. Each one of them is a high level restaurant and I would highly recommend you to try them,” said the Italian ambassador, smiling.
Exports, he said, are very important for the economy of the country. Italy exports 37mn Euros per year of food and beverages products. In its exports to Qatar, food comprises less than 4%. However, the big part of food comes to Qatar as consumer goods. A lot of super markets here that might be procuring Italian products from other regional countries which is why that data does not reflect in the trade balance between Qatar and Italy, said Ambassador Sanctis.
“Speaking as a consumer in general I think that condition is very good. It has to be further improved. New malls are opening and there will be opportunities. An Italy chain ‘etaly’ will be coming to the Mall of Qatar and Festival City,” he revealed.
The market for Italian food is expanding in Qatar, said the ambassador, adding that it was good that each restaurant has a different strategy when it comes to attracting customers. The embassy, he said, has already given certification to 12 restaurants. The most important thing that Italy exports is machinery, said the ambassador.
‘We are really good at that. If you take our exports to Qatar which will be around 900mn Euros this year, about 40% is machinery. The companies here in Qatar trust our products. After machinery the most exports items includes furniture and electrical appliances,” he added.
Palma Libotte, Chairperson of the Italian Chamber, added that they have outnumbered by far the expected participants for the opening party, by promoting the event on social media where they reached 45,000 people and engaged 2,000 followers in only 20 days. “The colossal growth of hospitality and food sector in Doha confirms the interest of foreign investors in this fast growing country and the valid opportunities that Qatar 2022 will offer,” said Libotte.
From November 21-27, five prime Italian restaurants, Mercato Antico, La Veranda, Nonna Zanon, Antica Pesa and Italia Mia will offer supreme menu at very accessible prices.
At the grand finale, Italian Chef Gianfranco Pascucci will perform a live cooking lesson to selected guests in Westin Hotel Doha. “Italian fine dining is a significant division of the luxury culinary sector in Qatar. Considering The Luxury Network as a renowned gateway for luxury brands globally, we are delighted to support the Italian embassy on this international event,” said Fares Ghattas, Global CEO of The Luxury Network in his statement.