An ISFIRE Report food demonstration area, where expert chefs demonstrated to an enthralled audience how to cook certain dishes. Over the three days, a number of notable chefs presented the culinary arts. The foods they prepared were diverse: Indian, Malaysian, Mauritian, French, Irish plates. Chefs included Shelina Permalloo, winner of BBC’s MasterChef and Jean Christophe Novelli, a Michelin and 5AA Rosette award winner. The ExCel Centre is typically a wide open area for conventions and industry showcases. The combined space of the North and South halls are 888,590m2. The Halal Food Festival did not take up the full space. In fact, it was comparatively quite small, portioning out perhaps a quarter of one hall. Within the hall, there was an area termed “Street Food & Restaurants” where a number of food stalls lined up next to each other in a square. Attempting to convey the organised chaos of Egyptian souks or Thai street markets, the attendee would navigate past, picking up the sights, sounds and smells of a variety of foods. Sweets, pastries, waffles and lemonade stalls stood next to stands selling Argentinean steak, American hot dogs, Moroccan vegetarian pitas and Lebanese shawarmas. Attendees could not claim to be spoilt for choice. The problem, however, was that there were many attendees. After 12pm on each day,
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The food festival gave an excuse for people to at least attend, and then see other aspects of the industry. If consciously done by the organisers, it was an excellent marketing strategy.
flocks of people descended into the hall, and long queues started to form. As stall holders tirelessly cooked, customers stood patiently salivating as they waited. Some stalls were so popular that food ran out leaving disappointed, and hungry, consumers. They did have the opportunity to learn how to cook. One section of the hall was dedicated to teaching willing participants the art of making cakes, guided by a trained chef. But the Halal Food Festival was not only about food. A number of businesses exhibited their services and goods. There were photography and art exhibits, a book stall, alternative medicines based on Prophetic prescriptions along with charity organisations and hijab boutiques. The vibrancy of the halal industry could be seen past the gastronomic delights that the festival was keenly trying to promote. More than this,
In the UK, it is estimated that the industry is worth $4 billion. So with this in mind, the doctor and the dentist founded the Halal Food Festival. Its inauguration took place on the 27-29th September at the London ExCel. Simply on the numbers of people that attended, the event was a resounding success.
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the organisers were not limiting to food, but sought to convey the potential of the overall industry. It appeared, therefore, the purpose of the festival was not to simply promote halal food. It showcased the diversity of the industry and also of the Muslim community. Muslim men and women, whose parents had settled in the UK, gathered to identify themselves as self-consciously Muslim. Religious attire such as the hijab and the thobe adorned the pious minded, but they stood alongside the man with the shirt and trouser, and the woman in the blue dress and high heels. The plurality of clothes and colours reflected a self-conscious Muslim throng who may not have adopted the outward symbols of the religion, but were proud to identify themselves as such. Their presence at the Festival said as much. They, as consumers, have the potential then to drive the halal industry beyond the boundaries of food. The food festival gave an excuse for people to at least attend, and then see other aspects of the industry. If consciously done by the organisers, it was an excellent marketing strategy. That being said, there were not many small businesses present and the range of goods, besides food, on offer was limited, but this was the first festival of its kind in the UK. Certainly, there were things that could have been improved, and undoubtedly, there would be many complaints. However, the foundations have been laid, and the organisers have to be lauded. The only way is forward. The Halal Food Festival represented the next step in the evolution of the Muslim community in the West. It exposed the diversity and potential of the community who are becoming more comfortable of their Muslim identity and their position in society. It showed that Islamic proscriptions and promotions can sit comfortably with mainstream thinking and actions. If that is the aim of multiculturalism, then the Festival achieved more than it bargained for.