The one-day food festival and food tasting exhibition was a big hit for locals and visitors alike yesterday
Held at the Samoa Tourism Authority’s grounds in Apia, some eighty local cooks chosen to be part of the S.I.D.S and the Teuila Food Festival were given the opportunity to show off their skills and their food for visitors to the exhibition.
Members of the public were given the chance to buy food from the food vendors at a very reasonable price.
They were also given a sheet to rate the food and comment on what needs to be done to improve the food before S.I.D.S and the Teuila Food Festival.
So what did some of them think?
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Sina Viole Toamua told the Weekend Observer. “I think they’ve done a wonderful job in lifting the standards in terms of hygiene and how the food is presented.”
Sina added that she does not understand why local food is not presented in such a way every day.
“This kind of setting makes you want to eat and that’s what we want.”
as John, said there was so much to choose from that he couldn’t quite work out what to eat.
“In the end I had a fa’alifu fa’i and some kebabs,” he said. “It was delicious. I hope they keep this up.”
An Australian tourist, Joyce, said she was impressed by the setting, including customer service and the uniforms.
“It has that real festival atmosphere and I enjoyed it.”
What about the food?
“I had palusami and some taro and it was heavenly.”
Later in the afternoon, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, dropped by. He was among a host of Members of Parliament and official guests who sampled the food.
“This initiative is the outcome of close ties and collaboration between the government of Samoa and the government of New Zealand to develop our local foods and recipes,” Tuilaepa said during his keynote address.
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Tuilaepa said the project saw the selected cooks trained at the Australia Pacific Technical College on areas such as proper food preparation up to the presentation of their dishes.
“In addition to food handling, food safety and preparations, they also undertook other training including courses by the Ministry of Health on personal hygiene…” The Samoa Tourism Authority also helped them with customer service skills.
Tuilaepa said such trainings would not have been possible without the active involvement of award-winning Chef and Author, Robert Oliver.
“He is a New Zealander who grew up in Samoa and who has researched and promoted recipes from Samoa, the heart of Polynesia, on the world stage.”
“His book showcases the recipes that we cook for family and community celebration with locally sourced ingredients.”
“These are all a part of the preparations by our government, in not only creating economic opportunities for all, but especially in preparation for the upcoming Teuila Festival and the S.I.D.S Conference in September.”
Tuilaepa then encouraged the cooks to do their best and show the world the best that Samoa has to offer.
“The global community will be visiting Samoa during the S.I.D.S Conference and so Samoa must show the world our best.”
“We therefore have come today to witness the food prepared by our specially trained cooks for our evaluation and hopefully our enjoyment.”
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