Ahead of next month’s Qatar International Food Festival 2016 an exciting ‘Plate Your Nation’ contest has been announced by festival co-organisers Qatar Airways. It is an online competition that helps to bring together a love for food and travel. Members of the public are encouraged to take a closer look at their nation’s flag and then replicate the flag using food!
The ‘Plate Your Nation’ campaign will feed people’s imaginations; conjuring images of Italian flags made of tomato, mozzarella and basil, or the iconic Japanese red sun on a field of white, made entirely of sushi and rice. The rules are simple: create a representation of a national flag using edible materials, post a picture on Qatar Airways’ Twitter, Facebook or Instagram channels using #QIFF2016 and #GoingPlacesTogether by 7 March 2016.
The QIFF 2016 ‘Plate Your Nation’ contest may only be open to international entries, but we think the Qatar flag needs to be represented in food too. Think multi-cultural and we could include anything as long as it is the Qatar maroon! Looks like we are limited to beetroot or aubergines! If you have any ideas or feel inspired then comment below!
For full coverage about QIFF 2016 check out the following Features:
QIFF 2016 Expands to The Pearl and Katara for 7 day Qatar Food Festival!
Food Trucks, International Chefs and More at QIFF 2016!
Your Health First Schools Programme with QIFF 2016
Healthy Eating at QIFF 2016 with Qatar Museums and Alain Ducasse!
Qatar Food Festival 2016
QIFF 2016 has been extended to a seven day festival this year and will be held between 22 – 28 March. There are some very exciting things planned for this year’s edition including an increase in venues, with events occurring at The Pearl and Katara Cultural Village, as well as the usual venue of MIA Park.
Commneting on the contest, Ms. Salam Al Shawa, Qatar Airways Vice President Marketing and Corporate Communications was keen to highlight the importance of the competition to Qatar: “The Qatar International Food Festival has truly become one of the world’s must-experience city-based festivals, encapsulating the very best culinary hospitality that Doha has to offer.
The worldwide trend of ‘eating and tweeting’ has seen social media flooded with images of global ingredients – inspiring more people to take the trip of a lifetime to experience another culture fully, especially their cuisine. What better way to share in this enjoyment than to engage our millions of fans and followers, food lovers and festival goers, in this creative culinary competition, rewarding them with a five-star invitation to join Qatar Airways at what promises to be an extraordinary event.”
You can be inspired by a popular food or dish eaten in your country or region, but think creatively! If you need some inspiration we have some important pieces of advice:
- Think outside the box. If you have a tricky flag then how are you going to represent the shapes or colours?
- Think texture. Although you are constrained by the colours of your flag, be sure to experiement with different textures in order to add some depth and interest to your entry.
- Make sure you provide a description of your entry and include any anecdotes about the process you took to create your flag.
Check out our feature on Foodie Flags for more examples of this food as art concept!
Please note this is an international competition open to residents from other regions, and not Qatar residents.
QIFF 2016 – ‘Plate Your Nation’
If you are interested in entering the competition here are a few things you need to know:
- Make sure to submit your entry by 7th March 2016. You can submit your entry automatically through Instagram or Facebook by using #QIFF2016 and #GoingPlacesTogether. Or through Twitter by posting with #QIFF2016 and @qatarairways. Alternatively, if you don’t have these social media accounts, you can upload your image directly on the Qatar Airways contest page.
- You have to folllow Qatar Airways on their Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
- The flag you make must be made entirely out of edible materials. Be sure to include a desciription of the dish, and provide your own details too.
- Participants can submit their entry as either .jpg/.jpeg/.png in the highest resolution possible, with file-size less than 3MB.
- The competition is open to people aged 18 years and above. You also will need to have a valid passport.
- The winner will be chosen by a panel from a shortlist of entries, and will be announced on 10th March 2016.
- This is an international contest, open for non-Qatar residents. The regions for the promotion include the UAE, Bahrain, Africa and NSW Europe.
- The winner will recieve 2 economy class return Qatar Airway plane tickets to Qatar in order to attend QIFF 2016, and will also receive a 3 nights stay in one of the finest luxury hotels in Doha – Marsa Malaz Kempinksi, The Pearl.
Pic Credits: Qatar Airways