Borneo Post
Posted on March 4, 2012, SundayKOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu Food Fest opened with sampling of ‘dirt’ and ‘ash’ by visitors at Suria Sabah here, yesterday.Maurizio Ferraiuolo, group executive chef of the English Tea House, demonstrated how molecular cuisine, or ‘food magic’ as coined by festival organizer Elson Kho, could create a wide variety of dishes scientifically.
The ‘dirt’, which is made of olives, and ‘ash’ made of mostly coconut was among several other unique dishes showcased by Maurizio.
Maurizio’s dishes are not the only attraction at the 16-day festival, which features specialities of 30 participating restaurants and 14 fringe events.
Elson said his passion for food inspired him to organize the event.
“During my free time I would just go exploring food around KK city with my friends so after exploring so many places, I decided to put all our explorations together and let people know about them.
“It’s quite surprising that KK, being such an established city, has no dedicated event for food. We have a lot of property shows and beauty pageants but none for food,” said Elson.
Elson is hoping to get KK be recognized as an international hub for not only adventurers, but food lovers as well.
“We believe there is a lot of good stuff in KK — good food, good establishment — we just need more exposure, so,this is where we come in as organizers, to give exposure to these restaurants because some of them are just stand alone restaurants. It’s a challenge for them to create a huge impact all by themselves,” he said.
Elson added that he hoped the impact and efforts made from this festival would garner more participation from the food and beverages industry and especially educational sectors in the years to come.
“We hope to see more from the education sector to come and support us.
“ATI College has been with us since the first edition, so we hope that in the years to come, other colleges will see what we are doing and participate as well.” he said.
This is KK Food Fest’s second edition, with the first one organized just seven months ago.
“I’m glad I was asked by the mayor to replace him today,” said Dorin Datuk Thomas Stuel Galid, head of Internal Audit Unit, Kota Kinabalu City Hall who had a taste of some of Maurizio’s food magic.
“Kota Kinabalu is a land blessed with diverse cultures and people who live harmoniously together, and above all, we are passionate about – wait for it – food!” she added, seemingly excited as she delivered Datuk Abidin Madingkir, Mayor of Kota Kinabalu City’s speech, who was unable to attend due to other official commitments.
Dorin added that the government was in full support of KK Food Fest which is an initiative from the private sector.
“It is because of an event such as this that we can create an impact not just locally, but also out of KK, to tell people that this is a city with a diverse culinary culture,” she said.
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