The Diplomatic Club in Doha played host to a busy gathering of chefs and suppliers as the Qatar Culinary Professionals (QCP) met for their annual roadshow on 6 and 7 March .
The QCP, established in 2014, is a not-for profit organisation representing professional chefs working in the foodservice industry in Qatar and providing them with training, education, support and access to reliable supplies of high quality products and services.
There are currently 750 chefs among the QCP’s growing membership, of whom 350 work at executive level, and 55 corporate members from the local supplier community.
QCP chairman Baran Yucel, who is also head chef of Sukar Pasha, spoke to Hotelier Qatar on day one of the roadshow. “This is the third edition of the QCP roadshow,” he said. “It was our baby, and now our baby is getting bigger. I was so happy not to be able to find any car parking when I came here in the morning. It is clear evidence that the show is successful.
“The most difficult thing for chefs is that they are so busy. Every day is fully occupied by their business. But once a year they have a chance to see, try and taste new products.
“This is also a great opportunity for them, for purchasing managers and general managers, to interact with producers and suppliers.”
This year’s roadshow ran over two days instead of one, as previously, to give more people the chance to attend. And it was an altogether bigger event with 47 exhibitors (up from 35 in 2016). “There were a few other companies which we couldn’t find space for,” said Yucel.
David Sosson, president of the QCP, said: “This is for the corporate partners who have supported us throughout the year. These guys are helping us to develop the QCP, so we organise this roadshow once a year to present their products to all the chefs in Qatar.”
Sosson said he doesn’t like to consider any ‘us and them’ mentality between chefs and suppliers, explaining, “This is a very relaxed and friendly environment and a platform that gives suppliers access to a wide range of chefs’ opinions.”
He added that many of the corporate members are now getting to know each other and sharing best practices — in a spirit of co-operation rather than competition — because of their involvement with the QCP.
Hotelier Qatar spoke to some QCP Corporate Roadshow exhibitors to discover their business objectives.
One of these was Maher Chukir, category manager, Qatar National Import & Export Co, who said: “QNIE has been in Qatar for 53 years. At the roadshow we are exhibiting our foodservice range — for chefs, restaurant and F&B managers. It’s our third time doing this roadshow and we are very happy that this year it will be running over two days, not one.” He continued: “We are the largest exhibitor here and today we have seven stands, with products in the following categories: meat, seafood, bakery, beverages and coffee, organics and healthy eating, dairy and foodservice solutions.”
Chukir added: “We are particularly excited about launching the Starbucks retail range into foodservice. Starbucks RTD cold drinks are being distributed within retail by our sister company Arla Foods, but we are now selling them for foodservice. We have the product listed in the Sealion Beach Resort as a flagship showcase project.”
Chukir concluded: “And you can expect to see it around all the swimming pools this summer.”
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