WASHINGTON: Food critics and citizens of Washington were introduced to Pakistani street food in the US capital this week when the city hosted its International Food Festival after a two-year hiatus.

Flavours of street food from Pakistan — samosas, chicken tikka, gulab jamun, firni, and karak chai — wafted in the air as guests entered the Smithsonian Institute, which hosted the event. Almost two thousand guests, excluding food critics, paid $75 each to taste the food.

The event, Embassy Chef Challenge, formally ended the Covid-19 ban placed in early 2020 to contain the infections that affected 627 million people and killed about 6.58 million across the globe since it was first reported in Wuhan in late 2019.

Chefs from 39 countries competed for the coveted People’s Choice Award and showcased unique flavors, food products, and beverages of their home countries in a culinary showdown.

Events DC, the organisers, said this year’s event was “bigger than before” as they compared attending the event to “traveling the world with taste buds, sampling bites and beverages” from 39 nations.

Chef Muhammad Asghar and Cultural Attaché Maliha Shahid from the Embassy of Pakistan won second place for their chicken tikkas, gulab jamuns, and iced firni in clay pots.

Chef Villarias of the Embassy of the Philippines won first place for his chicken inasal and majin ube whereas the third People’s Choice award went to Boris Ghazarian of Armenia for his seasoned lamb, vegetables over rice, pomegranate sorbet and labneh ice cream with saffron.

The winners of this category were chosen by guest votes, while those of the other category, the Judges’ Choice, were selected by food critics.

Judges’ choice

Chefs Xianlong Yang, Yuechao Zhao, and Song Lin of China took home the first prize in the Judge’s Choice category with their fish-flavoured shrimp balls and mapo tofu. Chef Alam Mendez of Mexico was second with his “tamalitos” with guajillo salsa and nopal (cactus) salad. Chef Trevon Stoute of Barbados was placed third for crispy mille feuille.

The event was part of the 2022 Events DC International City Food Festival organised to celebrate food, culture, and, entertainment highlighting the diverse communities in DC.

“This is the third time that Pakistan has joined the Embassy’s Chef Challenge and it is a great opportunity to celebrate our cuisine, bridge cultural differences, and foster international understanding as well as showcase Pakistani products,” said Ambassador Masood Khan in a comment on the event.

“Winning a place among the top three People’s Choice Awards depicts our cuisine’s strong international appeal to international palates and we hope to bring our culinary diplomacy to even greater heights,” he added.

Announced in 2009, Washington’s Embassy Chef Challenge is a long-standing, friendly competition between embassy chefs from around the world, during which participating embassies showcase the unique flavors of their home countries in a delicious, diplomatic culinary contest.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2022