Pictures | “Today” monitors the stories of creators in the world of cooking in the Biennial of Islamic Arts

Today, “today” experiences of creators in the world of cooking and food arts, were monitored, as they stood inspiring stories of Saudi chefs and researchers during their participation in the opening version of the “search space”, which came this year under the title “Roads, flavors, and paths” within the activities of Islamic arts.
This event witnessed the meeting of art with food and research with taste, through rich workshops and performances that combined creativity and popular heritage.

From medical sciences to the prescriptions of the grandmothers

The Saudi sweets chef Maria Kayal presented a workshop entitled “Makkawi’s breakfast of my grandmother’s recipes”, in which I talked about the importance of archiving and documenting traditional cooking recipes as a way to maintain the original taste and heritage cooking arts.
Kayal explained that her professional path started in the field of neighborhoods and medical sciences during her studies in Canada, but her passion for baked goods and sweets led her to training courses and then to an opportunity to send in France, where she began exploring civilizations through home cooking and tales of popular food.

During her participation, Kayal presented heritage dishes such as quince jam with cardamom and some spices, and the veins, which discovered during the workshop that her local name is “Damika”, and it differs slightly in its components as it is made of millet, dates and municipal ghee. She pointed out that some fatty folk foods may be heavy on the taste of the tourist, and need time to get used to its unique flavor.

Cooking from the angle of design

As for the food designer Abdul Rahman Al -Arifaj, he revealed how he was able to integrate his studies in urban design with his passion for cooking, a passion he inherited from his parents who documented more than 50 recipes through drawing and writing. The corporal explained that this passion prompted him to harness his design skills in multiple fields, not only in cooking but in his tools and design as well.

Al -Arifaj participated in two workshops within the activities of the Biennial of Islamic Arts, where the first workshop dealt with Saudi baked goods and sweets inspired by cooking books in the eighties and 1990s, such as “Diamond Cake”, “Talali”, “Parents’ Sweets”, and “Mabraniya”. As for the second workshop, it was eaten by the foods that the people of the Arabian Peninsula were invented and its reputation was internationally, on top of which is the “porridge”, which is an authentic Meccan food consisting of bread drunk with meat and vegetables, its origins return to the Quraysh tribe, and the first to make it to Hashem is attributed to Hashem, the grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.

Taste the culture through the screen

On the other hand, the technical resident and the researcher in popular culture, Hafsa Al -Khudairi, spoke about her research journey in the field of saving food and understanding her relationship with popular cultures.
Al -Khudairi explained that her passion for eating led her to study how foods contribute to understanding cultures, citing a famous scene from one of the American films in which the hero asked the shawarma, which prompted a large number of fans to their experience, in reference to the impact of food in the mass culture.

Al -Khudairi emphasized that the Arab cuisine is distinguished by its diversity and richness, as well as being healthy in the most way, which attracts tourists and raises their curiosity to experience the various flavors provided by the region.