LONDON: Thousands of food fans have been converging on Regent’s Park this week to sample the very best of Saudi cuisine and culture at the Taste of London food festival.
Making its second appearance at the event, the Taste of Saudi Culture pavilion is an initiative backed by the Kingdom’s Culinary Arts Commission.
“Food is the first introduction to culture and it’s how you consume a culture, how you understand the people,” Mayada Badr, the commission’s CEO, told Arab News.
“I love the curiosity I see when we have a stand. People are very curious to try … they want to learn.”
She said the aim of the initiative was “to showcase, as Saudi people, our unique and diverse culinary heritage.”
With more than 4,000 people visiting the event in the first two days, Badr, a former executive chef, said she was delighted with the turnout.
“We were here last year and we loved the feel, we loved how warm and welcoming everyone was.”
After the success of 2023, the Saudi pavilion at this year’s event is larger and since the start of the festival on Wednesday has been serving up all manner of national and regional dishes.
Among the highlights are jareesh, a crushed wheat dish served with stewed onions and black lemon, muttabaq, a spicy filled omelet pancake, and balilah, a chickpea salad.
Visitors to the pavilion can also watch live cooking demonstrations, take part in a Saudi coffee ceremony, or treat themselves to a gift, such as a cookbook, handicraft or tasty snack.
“People come for the coffee ceremony but also the dates,” Badr said. “We’re known for the best quality dates in the world.”
Saudi Arabia is home to about 400 varieties of dates, which are used to make everything from syrup to honey and maamoul, the traditional filled cookie eaten by Hajj pilgrims in Mecca.
The pavilion also aims to educate visitors about the thousands of ingredients that are grown across the Kingdom and how they are being used to change peoples lives.
Yahya Maghrebi, from Kerten Hospitality, is involved an initiative in Saudi Arabia that teaches women how to make ice cream.
“The gelato is a great example of blending traditions with innovation,” she said.
“We did Taste of Paris, now London, and we’re just showcasing what we’re doing in the region. Wherever we go, we care a lot about locality and community and we always try to bring the flavors of the area.”
For the London event, Maghrebi and her team created several new ice cream flavors, including Taif rose water, Jazan mango and the crowd-favorite camel milk with dates.
Badr said: “London is a huge melting pot of a city. People come from different cultures, different backgrounds. And what better backdrop to showcase cuisine and heritage?
“We have so much to offer, from traditional foods to all the high-end restaurants, but honestly, the homegrown traditional foods are some of the best in the world.”
She said she hoped people would be inspired by the tastes and flavors the Kingdom had to offer.
“I think it’s nice to always share techniques and flavors with the rest of the world, because you never know what they can do with it.
“It’s just sharing a piece of you and a piece of heritage. And that’s, you know, the Saudi hospitality.”
The Taste of London festival runs until Sunday.
