HP Newsroom

As part of the celebrations for Uzbekistan’s city Shahr-e-Sabz, being designated as ‘ECO Tourism Capital for 2024’, an ‘ECO Member States Cooking Competition’ was organized in Shahr-e-Sabz in which chefs from across the ECO region showcased their culinary expertise by cooking traditional dishes from their respective countries.

The cooking competition highlighted the rich gastronomic diversity within the ECO region, providing an opportunity for cultural exchange and showcasing the potential for culinary tourism. This event is a testament to ECO’s efforts to promote sustainable tourism and celebrate the unique heritage of the member states.

Pakistani chef from College of Tourism & Hotel Management (COTHM) Jahanzaib Babar while representing Pakistan at the ‘ECO Member States Cooking Competition’ cooked delicious and spicy dishes which fully attracted the tourists from ECO member states. Chef Jahanzaib was blue-eyed of the tourists of Central Asian States due to his multiple tasty dishes.

Majority of the audiences at the event including young tourists rushed towards the Pakistani cooking display centre and lauded Pakistani dishes for their unique and spicy tastes. A visitor at the event said that he had no choice to avoid ‘Pakistani Biryani’ though it was spicy.

At the special ceremony to mark the Shahr-e-Sabz as the ‘ECO Tourism Capital for 2024’, Dr Saad S. Khan, the Pakistani historian-diplomat who currently heads the ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) as its President in Iran visited the stalls of all ECO countries as a special guest of the host government.

He lauded the quality and taste of ECO culinary stalls and took keen interest in Pakistan’s food stall. He said that Pakistani chefs had a distinction in the world for their culinary excellence and leading hotels from East Asia to the Middle East prefer to hire Pakistani chefs. He also invited the people to visit Pakistan, experience its rich culture, and taste its cuisines.

The event was also attended by ECO Secretary General Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, and Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov. They congratulated the participating chefs and presented them with certificates and awards.