Srinagar, J&K Tourism: The two day Ethnic Food Festival organised by Department of Tourism concluded yesterday with distribution of prizes and commendations among the winning and participating women.
The prizes were distributed among the winners by Director Tourism, Kashmir Nisar Ahmad Wani, at a colourful event.
Shameema Akhtar, Sakina Tariq and Toyyibah Ayoub bagged the first, second and third cash prize worth Rs 25,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
The festival cum cooking competition saw participation of around 50 women from different parts of Kashmir.
The first round of the Ethnic Food Competition was held day before yesterday at the Institute of Hotel Management, Raj Bagh, Srinagar in which 16 out of 50 female participants were selected by a panel of experts for the final round of a live cooking demonstration held here yesterday.
The second and final round of the competition was held yesterday at IHM and Kongposh Restaurant, Zero Bridge, Srinagar followed by a session of showcasing of ethic food, local craft and culture besides distribution of prizes among the winner participants.
Many women participants on the occasion appreciated the Department for holding the competition and hoped many more such events would be conducted in future also. Several Departments like Handicrafts, Horticulture, Sericulture Departments had put up their stalls at the venue.
The festival was aimed at popularizing the local ethnic cuisine and foods to give the tourists a feel of local culture and ethos besides keeping alive the fast disappearing recipes.
Pertinently, the Ethnic Food Festival was held by the Department in collaboration with JKTDC, Handicrafts Department, Institute of Hotel Management, Srinagar and a local FM radio station (Red FM).
Earlier, the Department of Tourism welcomed a Group of 80 tourists from Maharashtra who are on a visit to various tourist destinations here.
Welcoming the tourists, Director Tourism informed that the Department has worked out a plan for reaching out to the tourists ever since the sector was opened up in the COVID unlocking process in J&K. He said since then the Department has taken up many promotional steps like celebration of World Tourism Day, reaching out to the travel fraternity of West Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra and other events. He appealed the visiting tourists to convey the message of their visit and comfort to the people in their localities and become ambassadors of J&K tourism.
