Food festivals are the flavor of the season, and one of them — the week-long Saudi Food Festival, which brings the taste of all the regions in the Kingdom under one roof at Jeddah Intercontinental Hotel amid Saudi atmosphere and music, is bound to be a connoisseurs’ delight.

Inaugurating the festival on Saturday, Saud Al-Shakhi, director general at the Ministry of Culture and Information, appreciated the efforts of the Intercontinental and said food is always a source of cultural exchange to strengthen ties between people and countries. Ahmed Mohammed Mangoosh, UAE’s consul general, also participated in the inaugural ceremony along with dignitaries, diplomats and media.

“I am very glad to be here at the Saudi food festival, and I am impressed with the selection of dishes with the chef has bringing out all the tastes of different regions of the Kingdom,” Al-Sakhi said, adding: “We have delicious dishes from Riyadh, Dammam, Tabuk, Baha, Asir and other regions, the traditional and famous dishes which are made only in these regions.”

He said the people and visitors of Jeddah will get a chance to taste the different cuisines of the Kingdom. “They will come to know more about the Kingdom and its culture and traditions which will also help in enhancing domestic tourism,” he said.

Mangoosh also appreciated the efforts of the hotel in bringing the special and traditional tastes of Saudi food. There is not much difference between the UAE and Saudi dishes except in the ways of cooking besides some spices, he said.

Ojvind Leth Karlsen, executive chef of Intercontinental and Hamza Mohamed, sous chef, told Arab News that their endeavor has been to give the guests a taste of almost all the traditional Saudi dishes including vegetarian dishes, salads, lamb, camel meat, seafood and traditional desserts.

Mohamed said that every day, there will be a change in the main course so guests can enjoy different food every day though some of the main dishes will be the same.

He said that three dishes — Mazbi goat meat, Lamb Zurbian, camel roast and Quzi — are equally liked by the people of all the regions of the Kingdom.

“Fish Mifa is a special dish of the coastal city and southern parts of Kingdom which is cooked in a very special way with special herbs and spices,” he said.

Karlsen said that it was important to have traditional dishes once a year for the benefit of the new generation. “For us it’s a very special occasion in Jeddah. Today, the food festival is being held simultaneously with Haya Jeddah festival, and we hope it will leave a great impact on tourists and visitors to Jeddah,” said Salem Shahrani, general manager of Intercontinental.