28 February 2021
The Sixth Edition of “Food Is Culture” Showcase is to be Held Between March-April 2021, Creative duels between artists and chefs, workshops and touring discoveries of Bahrain’s authentic delicious recipes
The most creative experimental showcase, “Food is Culture” which is a key annual festival hosted by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, returns for its sixth consecutive year to bridge the culinary arts with other creative mediums to be held between be held 6 March-3 April 2021. Lovers of this annual cultural event will certainly enjoy this experimental project which aims to bring the concepts and aesthetics of various art forms together by pairing chefs, each from a different culinary backgrounds, with various types of artists, all amounting to a presentation that showcases the outputs of their collaboration. These Creative duels between artists and chefs, workshops and touring discoveries of Bahrain’s authentic delicious recipes will add flavor to the table.
Following the precautionary and preventive measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) approved by the Bahrain Ministry of Health, all the aforementioned events require pre-registration this year via Bahrain Culture Authority’s official website at www.culture.gov.bh
Indeed, every year Food is Culture festival experiment sheds light on creative processes that take place when two individuals (from different creative disciplines) collaborate. A number of pairs of chefs and artists will present their creative work in the culinary, visual arts and music fields and will share their experiences and impressions with the audience.
This year, the chefs lined up are Chef Irvin Martinez from Cantina Kahlo, founder of Mt. Fuji Kakigori and Dessert House Abdullah Bindayna, creator of Isolated Eats Tabea Lutz, sourdough baker Layal Dana, as well as the duo behind Alabaster & Cannoli Lara Al Abbasi and Maria Knowles. The artists this year are the celebrated multimedia artist Ghada Khunji, psychedelic pop band Do You Really Like It?, the two rising fine artists Salman Najem and May Hejiri, and eco-conscious fashion designer Amal Rafie.
Audiences will interactively engage with the topics each pair has explored on their presentation day, as spectators will taste the recipes the chefs have created while marveling at a showcase of original artworks, sounds and more. Unlike previous years, each pair will present their work at different cultural locations across Bahrain, namely the Bahrain National Museum, The Pearling Path Visitors Center, Jasra Handicraft Center, Riffa Fort and the Archaeologies of Green Pavilion. The aim is to display these exquisite cultural sites, and breathe a new life into them by allowing these locations to become the centers of such an experimental project.
Beyond weekly presentations at the various cultural locations across the Kingdom of Bahrain, the entire process will be documented in the form of an e-book and documentary. In addition, there are a number of activities and events adjacent to the Food is Culture festival.
Bahrain Culture Authority is collaborating this year with the local learning platform “Maximize” that will be offering a range of cooking workshops in celebration of Food is Culture. Two previous Food is Culture participants, namely Hessa Al Khalifa who will be hosting her workshop on February 27, 2021, while Lulwa Suwailah will be hosting her workshop on March 15, 2021. Furthermore, Zahraa Alherz will host her virtual cooking workshop on March 20, 2021.
In addition, one of Bahrain’s most prominent food bloggers, Zainab Akbar, will lead food tours, taking those who join these events, which obviously require pre-registration, a trip into the local flavors that make up the nation’s culinary palate. Founder of TheFoodMenu, Akbar, has scheduled two tours adjacent to this year’s Food is Culture — the first if a food tour of Muharraq on March 13, the second is a food tour of Manama on March 19.
Peninsula Farms, a sponsor for this year’s edition, Perfectly Pressed, a previous Food is Culture participant, and local artisanal “café Karmah” will all be offering a selection of seasonal products for the duration of the festival, a celebration of the flavors that characterize Bahrain’s culture.
For more information on the festival and its activities, please visit the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities’ website www.culture.gov.bh or follow the Culture Authority’s accounts on the social media @CultureBah.
