ISLAMABAD: The British High Commission, in partnership with the Marriott Group of Hotels, launched the British Food Festival 2015 at the hotel’s Nadia Restaurant in Islamabad on Thursday. The exciting occassion brought together an experienced chef and two musicians from the UK, to serve signature British dishes, accompanied with live British music.

Executive head chef from the Marriott Leeds, Christopher Ireland, delighted guests with a quintessentially British menu. He said preparation for the event, which included three days at Marriott Karachi and two in Islamabad, had taken months beginning with conversations between himself and the chefs at the Marriott(s) in Pakistan. Given the complexity of the task; bringing hallmark dishes from Britain to Pakistan while keeping in mind the availability of ingredients and variances in taste, this amount of planning was not surprising.

He said, “This was really a wonderful opportunity to showcase British food. So it really wasn’t picking the first five random dishes off the top of my head. Fortunately, it was brilliantly received in Karachi by both the guests and the chefs at the Marriott(s).”

While Christopher was especially proud of the reception his grandmother’s bread-and-butter pudding had received, the best part of the meal was the Yorkshire Pudding – crisp and soft, the perfect accompaniment to the roast.

The comfort food was complemented by the equally delightful music of Simon Thacker and Sarvar Sabri. Simon is a guitar soloist, composer and leader of groundbreaking assembles. His recorded output includes a CD of outstanding especially commissioned guitar concerti and many of his own works, demonstrating his singular musical vision.

Simon forges and explores new genres by combining his knowledge and love of music from every corner of the globe.

He showcased sounds from the subcontinent with Sarwar Sabri, an internationally renowned tabla player, in short, 20-minute sets. He also played a re-imagined version of Dil Dil Pakistan, which he said was prepared in solidarity with the victims of the Peshawar atrocity.

He added, “We are classical musicians, Sarwar is from Delhi, I am from Edinburgh but we are improvising to play a song in my own way to add more harmony and complexity.”

Simon had the opportunity to do a lot of sightseeing in Karachi and said, “I had a chance to go to the Mausoleum and the Palace. People were as friendly as one could hope they would be. Some places are very disingenuous; I didn’t feel that at all in Karachi.”

He added, “My being able to come to Pakistan was the realisation of a dream in some ways. I have been listening to Pakistani music over the years, like Reshma or Iqbal Bano or Tina Sani, but I have not had the chance to work with a Pakistani musician yet and I hope I will be able to collaborate with some of the current classical musicians in Pakistan. My main objective is to find a Pakistani singer who could work with one of my groups.”

As Simon began one of his sets, Abbas Arshad put his fork down and sat riveted for the entire 20 minutes. He said, “I have never heard the depth and range of a sitar from a guitar. The food and the music were both lovely.”

Shireen Omar said, “The whole experience is wonderful. The food is amazing with no spices but full of the real taste of all the ingredients. The setup and the music are also great. We are very lucky to have these sorts of opportunities in Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2015

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