The Cairo Central Library in Zamalek recently hosted the award ceremony for the "Egyptian Food: Heritage and Identity" competition. The event concluded a project that had been in preparation for about two and a half months. The project aimed to revive Egyptian culinary heritage and highlight Egyptian cuisine as an essential component of cultural and tourist identity. The competition saw the participation of 35 students from 10 Egyptian universities and colleges specializing in tourism and hotels.
The competition, which aimed to promote Egyptian cuisine, had 15 students winning different prizes. The first prize was awarded to Ghardaqa University, while Matruh University's College of Tourism and Hotels and Alexandria's EGYOTH Institute shared the second and third prizes. The awards were given in recognition of the students' dishes and ideas that reflected the diversity and richness of Egyptian cuisine.
The award ceremony began with a speech by Mohamed Hassanin, head of the association, who emphasized the importance of rediscovering Egyptian cuisine and highlighting traditional dishes, especially among new generations and students of tourism and hotel management colleges. This, he said, would help preserve Egyptian identity and present culinary heritage in a modern way.
Dr. Khaled Saad, an archaeological expert, also delivered a speech in which he stressed the importance of Egyptian heritage and the need to document traditional dishes linked to the history and culture of society. He emphasized that food is a vital component of a nation's cultural memory and identity.
The event included a panel discussion on the importance of Egyptian cuisine and its role in supporting identity and promoting Egyptian tourism. The discussion was attended by Dr. Mustafa Khalil, the project's initiator, and Dr. Hend Tah and Dr. Marian Adel from the "Tablia" initiative, along with representatives from participating universities and institutes.
The discussion focused on ways to preserve traditional Egyptian dishes, document them, and utilize Egyptian cuisine as a tourist and cultural attraction. It also highlighted the importance of engaging youth and tourism students in promoting this heritage and developing ways to present it.
The event concluded with the honoring of the competition's judges and participating universities and institutes. The project "Egyptian Food: Heritage and Identity" seeks to transform Egyptian cuisine from a set of traditional dishes into a cultural and tourist element that can be used to promote Egyptian identity and heritage locally and internationally.
Key points
- The competition aimed to promote Egyptian cuisine as a vital component of cultural and tourist identity.
- The project seeks to transform Egyptian cuisine into a cultural and tourist element to promote Egyptian identity and heritage.
- The event included a panel discussion on the importance of Egyptian cuisine and its role in supporting identity and promoting Egyptian tourism.
