Duhok food festival featured a wide variety of traditional Kurdish cuisines

The Duhok food festival began on May 12 and attracted thousands of people over the next three days.

It was held inside Tahseen Taha Park in Duhok city. Traditional Kurdish cuisines adorned the many tables at the event.

Over 30 restaurants and companies participated, according to the director-general of Duhok tourism Khairi Ali Auso. Some even came from Erbil.

The festival lasted three consecutive days. It was organized by the AVI institute and Duhok tourism directorate.

Besides food, attendees enjoyed several games and live music concerts, making it a unique experience for the people of Duhok.

One hundred varieties of food were on offer. Some were offered for free, while others were offered with a 50 percent discount.

Duhok Governor Ali Tatar took a tour inside the festival and told the media that more is needed to introduce Kurdish cuisine to the world and commercialize it will not remain only homemade.

“We can use Kurdish food to attract more tourists and create more job opportunities,” he said.

Chef Reber is a well-known chef in Duhok. He recently won first place for cooking beef in a food competition in Lebanon, where chefs from 54 countries participated.

He explained that Kurds are talented in preparing great food and that it is well worth introducing traditional Kurdish cuisine to the rest of the world. Food festivals will need to be held every month to achieve this.

Kurdistan 24 met several chefs from a traditional Kurdish food restaurant in Duhok. Their spots at the festival were crowded, with many people asking to buy the various food they had on offer.

She added that they are 20 female chefs, all making traditional foods on-demand at their restaurants, including popular deserts like Kada.

Hezha Saeed, a food enthusiast, participated in one of the food-eating competitions. He expressed his joy over all the food there and described Duhok restaurants as very generous.

“I’ve been to many restaurants in different cities and neighboring countries,” he said. “In Duhok restaurants, you sometimes almost eat yourself full during the starter before the main course even arrives. That’s especially true at traditional restaurants.”