ZIMBABWE Tourism Authority (ZTA) acting chief executive Givemore Chidzidzi says they are using the Chef’s Cook-out to promote culinary tourism as well as to showcase the different cuisines in the country.
The Culinary Demos which are part of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo and are happening in Hall 3 will consist of a number of disciplines that include wine-tasting, cake making and dessert making among many others.
Addressing the media Chidzidzi said culinary cook-out demos are following in the step of the Zim Food and Cultural Festival which took place in Harare from the 23rd to the 25th of May this year.
The festival is a brainchild of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.
“We have got the chefs cook-out here, I was hoping before we finish they would have done at least one competition so that we can sample the cooking, so you can look out for that.
“This is our way of promoting culinary tourism because any traveller needs to eat and in most cases, they want to eat what they find in the destination.
“So we are trying to promote in a big way following the Zimbabwe Food Festival that we had in Harare and so here at Sanganai/Hlanganani we are carrying through the theme to showcase what we have in terms of our cuisine and culinary tourism,” he said.
According to the First lady during the launch of the festival in May, Zimbabwe has a lot of cuisines and cultures that need to be exposed and celebrated and that the traditional foods are also good for one’s health.
“The festival will showcase various traditional foods, native languages, arts, crafts, music and musical instruments, fashion, fabric, furniture, traditional healing methods and medicines, cultural practices and social activities among others.
“I have travelled to so many countries and some nations have embraced their cultures and can be easily identified, during this festival I am hoping that many activities that we will be having will be our first step to recollecting our identity.
“I hope that through the festival both the young and old will be reconnected or introduced to a truly Zimbabwean way of life. In addition, the event will afford us an opportunity to embrace our cultural diversity, promote domestic tourism, promote cultural food consumption and healthy eating, promote social cohesion while bridging the cultural divide and more importantly preserve Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage,” she said.