With the aim to build around an idea of creating common platform for people who love food, the colorful Pakistan Food Festival opened at Galadari Hotel on 10 January for the third consecutive year after huge success in 2016 and 2017.

The Food Festival was formally opened by the Minister for Tourism John Amaratunga along with the High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat by cutting the ribbon in an impressive ceremony. The Food Festival will remain open from 10 to 14 January.

The five-day Food Festival is showcasing a wide range of authentic Pakistani cuisine. Pakistan’s celebrity chef Asad Latif is the center stage of this spectacular food festivity. Known for his tasty cuisines, Chef Asad Latif is a television personality and one of the most well-known professional chefs of Pakistan.

On the occasion, Dr. Hashmat said that Pakistani cuisine is known for its taste, variety and richness, which is a refined blend of local culinary traditions and finds roots in the wider South Asia, Middle East, and Central Asia. He said that Pakistani food diversity is staggering and has a vibrant and unique amalgam of the rich, spicy and highly seasoned cuisine from its various regions, like Punjab, Kashmir and Sindh, with the mildly spicy and aromatic recipes from Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The opening ceremony was attended by the people from different walks of life including diplomats, Sri Lankan Parliamentarians, government functionaries, members of Pakistani community in Sri Lanka, prominent personalities and a large influx of media.

Source: http://www.ft.lk/dining/Pakistan-Food-Festival-opens-in-Colombo/39-647093