Two culinary competitions have turned up the heat at Sharjah Food Festival; the first is between two teams from Sharjah Media Corporation and the second is between Al Khaleej Newspaper Media Staff Team against Social Media Influencers Team. The two activities, which formed part of the 10th edition of SFF, were a prime attraction at the festival’s proceedings taking place at the emirate’s visitor hotspot, Al Qasba.

Organised by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), the 10-day Sharjah Food Festival is being held under the slogan ‘Many Flavours, One Festival.’ The popular culinary event is running until April 9 at the emirate’s four major tourist destinations; Al Qasba, Heart of Sharjah, Al Majaz Waterfront and Al Montazah.

The Sharjah Media Corporation personnel participating in the Sharjah Food Festival’s government employee cooking competition were the Pink Team, comprising Khawla Al Merri and Tamer Mohammed, and the Blue Team, consisting of Sultan Al Shamsi and Maktoum Ahmed.

Expressing her delight at being able to participate, and commenting on the contest, Khawla Al Merri, who holds the honour of being the youngest female professional photographer in the UAE, said; “I enjoyed the cookery challenge

immensely, as I had a great deal of fun with my colleagues. These sorts of activities are perfect for enabling team members to get to know each other away from the formal setting of the workplace. They allow us to find out about each other’s talents and provide a perfect platform for us to meet the community. I hope that the competition would be expanded in the future to involve even more government sector employees.”

For his part, senior Sharjah Media Corporation team member Sultan Al Shamsi said; “I usually follow the news about the Sharjah Food Festival in my capacity as the Director of Production at Sharjah TV, but this is the first time for me to participate after I was nominated by the TV Administration. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as a competition entrant.” He added; “This is an inspired initiative because it brings together professionals in a social setting and helps everyone get to know a new side to people they work with every day. It is pleasantly surprising to find out about your work mates – skills that you never knew they had.”

On the other hand, the second competition was between two other teams. Al Khaleej Newspaper’s female Media Staff Team comprised Hajar Khamees, Sumayah Saad and Maha Adel. Social Media Influencers Team consisted of Ali Al Thikri, Hussein Abusofa and Mahran Kayali who asserted that their participation in the contest was not just about winning, but also about having fun and making the audience laugh.

Maha Adel, media staff member of the Al Khaleej Newspaper, said; “I took part with my colleagues in the cooking contest to break free of our daily work routine, and meet the audience as we have never done before. We would like to thank the organisers of Sharjah Food Festival for offering us this wonderful experience, and for holding these diverse leisure events and activities that cater all family members, residents and visitors to the Emirate of Sharjah.” As per the competition rules, each team was tasked to prepare a meal with rich flavours, taking into account food safety and hygiene rules during the process. The one-hour gourmet–themed contest was hosted by artist Ahmed Mal Allah, who as commentator was able to inspire the two teams to reach their full culinary potential. The Sharjah Media Corporation contest ended with a narrow victory for the Blue Team over the Pink Team, the second competition saw the victory of Al Khaleej Newspaper Media Staff Team over Social Media Influencers Team, with judges praising both sets of contestants for the excellent quality of their offerings.

The 10th edition of the Sharjah Food Festival features a line-up of entertainment activities and live culinary demonstrations by international celebrity and social media influencers. The gourmet-themed event has a range of options and restaurants on offer to visitors at its four premium locations.