Staff Writer
The National Cookout Finals were held over the weekend at Claremont Gold Course in Nyanga where 64 contestants from Zimbabwe and African countries such as Botswana and Malawi took part.
The colourful event was graced by the First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa who is also the patron of Tourism and pioneer in championing Gastronomy tourism.
Also in attendance was Malawian tourism minister, Hon Vera Kamutukule, The UN Tourism officials, Namibian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angolan Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Malawi Charge De Affairs, Cabinet Ministers and several Deputy Ministers.
Zimbabwe will host the first ever UN Tourism Africa Gastronomy Showcase from 26 to 28 July 2024 in Victoria Falls.
This indicates that Zimbabwe has gone levels higher in promoting Gastronomy Tourism as African countries will be invited to showcase their traditional cuisine during the period.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi said through the efforts of First Lady, Amai Auxillia Mnangagawa, Zimbabwe had been given the opportunity to host the first ever UN Tourism Africa Gastronomy Showcase.
In addition to this, UN Tourism also availed scholarships to 100 students in the field of tourism and the country was given the opportunity to build a UN Tourism Academy for the SADC region in Victoria Falls.
This is meant to enhance the tourism and culinary skills for our students.
The Traditional Cookout programme is a concept which was introduced by Her Excellency the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr A. Mnangagwa in 2019.
In 2023, the Programme was elevated further to SADC Regional Gastronomy competitions and this inaugural event was successfully held in Masvingo with 8 countries participating, namely; Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, DRC, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria.
She said the 2024 traditional Cookout Competitions were slightly different from the previous editions in that our contestants were competing in three different categories, namely; Students in Tourism or Culinary programmes, Professional Chefs and Community categories.
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