RIYADH: Saudi student Huthaifa Mohammed Al-Hamwi won first place in a culinary competition organized by the University of North Alabama in the United States.
Al-Hamwi, a student at the university’s culinary arts department, is enrolled in the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques scholarship program, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
The competition lasted three months and saw 12 students from different nationalities fight for victory.
Al-Hamwi is among the top students in the specialization recently introduced by the Ministry of Education, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which supports promising sectors.
He praised the efforts of the cultural attaché of the Saudi Embassy in the United States for facilitating his registration.
Al-Hamwi graduated from a technical college in the Makkah region with a major in tourism and hotel management, and gained extensive experience in Saudi Arabia before coming to Alabama.
This included work in hotels around the Grand Mosque and training under the King Abdullah Economic City program, supported by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, advisor to King Salman and governor of Mecca.
Al-Hamwi ranked among the top 10 in the program.
He said he convinced Alabama’s culinary arts department to include dishes such as kabsa and moussaka alongside other international cuisines, in an effort to promote Saudi cuisine at the university.
