Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic, Hussein Shobokshi, inaugurated the Czech Food Festival at the Jeddah Intercontinental Hotel Saturday. The festival runs from March 9 to 14. Shobokshi said: “It is the first time in the history of the Czech-Saudi relations that such an event is being organized in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” Three renowned executive chefs from the Prague Intercontinental are taking part in the event here. The event also highlights the famous Czechs who contributed greatly in various fields. “Czech Republic is the heart of Europe.” Shobokshi mentioned the great culture of Czech filled with ancient civilizations. Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. Prague is the capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants. “13,000 tourist visas were issued to Czech from Saudi Arabia last year and more than 200 Saudi students were granted scholarships to Czech,” he said. Czech Republic has a lot of cultural and economic programs that attract Saudis. Shobokshi praised the technological advancement of Czech Republic and said they are best known in the field for physiotherapy. He said one of the many reasons Saudis visit Czech Republic is for medical treatments, as it is known to have the best facilities in the world. Czech Republic's rich cuisine is inspired by Mid-Europe's heritage and is influenced by the Austrian, German and Hungarian cuisine. New dishes will be prepared every day during the festival and none will be repeated to maintain diversity so guests can indulge in the richness of Czech cuisine. Turkey medallions with mushroom, roasted beef with cream sauce, beef goulash, potato dumplings, red cabbage and roasted duck were among the main dishes at the festival. Shobokshi added that the festival is a way to build bridges between Saudi and Czech Republic to bring them closer. He said there are ongoing plans on issuing a direct flight from Saudi to Prague, which will serve several countries around Czech Republic as well. Dinner starts from 7.30 pm onwards.
