Lankan food festival held

Islamabad : The Sri Lankan Food Festival was held at the Islamabad Serena Hotel here.

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Noordeen Mohamed Shaheid inaugurated the event, where two top Sri Lankan chefs were present to re-create the extraordinary flavours of their country.

The envoy said there was a saying that the way to a man’s heart was through the stomach.

"I believe food can help bring the people of two countries closer. This is the philosophy that has encouraged us to arrange this festival with Serena,” he said.

The line-up of chefs for the festival was star-studded, as the hotel welcomed Ranaweera senior chef De Partie who has versatile experience by working in many star graded hotels in Sri Lanka as well as abroad.

His expertise was in Sri Lankan cookery and he was very well acknowledged by the guests.

He also participated in the Sri Lankan Food Festival organised by Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Karachi in February last year also attended by Rajpakse Gedara Sumanasena.

General Manager of Islamabad Serena Hotel Michel Galopin said, “We are delighted to be able to bring internationally flavoured delights to Pakistan. Familiarity with other cultures, cuisines and characteristics is a way to experience the rest of the world and Islamabad Serena Hotel is delighted to welcome master chefs from Sri Lanka to bring authentic Sri Lankan cuisine to our guest.”

The chefs said Sri Lankan cuisine was a mix of the historical and cultural factor and influenced from different regions including South India, Indonesian and Dutch cuisines. They said some of the staples of Sri Lankan cuisine was rice, coconut, and spices. Some basic ingredients and cooking techniques make Sri Lankan dishes hearty and spicy, particularly real cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, curry leaves, and chilli peppers. The chefs said all those ingredients were quite the same and mostly used in Pakistani cuisine as well.