LuLu, the region’s largest hypermarket chain, has launched its annual food festival, “World Food,” across its stores in Saudi Arabia. The event, which runs from Feb. 26 to March 10, is “a celebration of flavors and culture, bringing together foodies, families and friends for a gastronomic experience of global cuisines from more than 25 countries.”
The festival features live cooking competitions, around 20 cooking demos by celebrity chefs and personalities, in-store product offers and a chance for customers to win 1,500 trolleys of food during the promotion period.
Participating chefs include: Chef El-Sherbini, a popular celebrity chef in the Arab world with a culinary journey of more than 45 years (Feb. 26 to 29); Chef Hisham Baeshen, a star in the Saudi food world with a following of 5 million on social media (Feb. 27 to 29); and Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, an Indian celebrity chef known for his entertaining style of cooking (March 5 to 7).
The cooking competition for local productive families will take place on Feb. 28 from 7 p.m. at Riyadh’s Atyaf Mall. The cooks will be judged by at least four famous chefs, as they prepare the dishes and are cheered on by the audience.
Other themed competitions include: Bake Challenge, a search for the best-tasting and beautifully designed pastries; Cook with Mom, a cooking competition with the little ones; and a competition exclusively for men.
World Food 2020 is divided into many themes, such as “Akla Arabia,” featuring Arabic delights; Olives & Salads; Organic Fest; Pagkaing Pinoy for Filipino classics; desserts; barbecue treats; and much more targeting different nationalities and communities.
Shehim Mohammed, director of LuLu Saudi Hypermarkets, said: “We have been organizing our food festival for more than 10 years now, but this is our biggest celebration yet. This year, we have received extensive support from different embassies, trade promotion councils, various community organizations, hotel and tourism sector, celebrity chefs, and social media influencers. Our aim is to offer something unique and a more experiential and engaging shopping experience for our diverse shoppers.”
