Queen meets female artisanal food producers

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday met with a group of female artisanal food producers from various Jordanian governorates to thank them for their efforts in improving the quality of homemade traditional Jordanian foods, and hear about the challenges they face in marketing their products, a statement from Her Majesty’s office said.

During the meeting, 15 women from Irbid, Karak, Zarqa and Salt showcased samples of their food products, including jameed, makmoura, fruit preserves, pickled vegetables, and Arabic sweets. Their products were recently featured at the Jordan Food Week (JFW), where all 15 women participated as home-business owners.

In a discussion with the women, Her Majesty emphasised the unique opportunity that large-scale exhibitions present in uncovering hidden talents, and broadening participants’ horizons, and by exposing them to new ways of developing their work, allowing them to interact with others in the field, the statement said.

Queen Rania expressed her pride in the artisanal producers’ ability to get their home businesses this far, commending their efforts in adhering to food safety and quality standards.

Her Majesty stressed the importance of capitalising on mounting global interest in healthy foods, especially the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, in order to put Jordanian food on the international cuisine map, given the diverse nature of its ethnic produce.

Additionally, Her Majesty encouraged the women to continue creating new recipes, modernising old recipes, and continuously enhancing their products.

USAID Jordan’s Local Enterprise Support Project launched JFW in July as a celebration of Jordanian cuisine and culinary traditions. The exhibition featured over 80 food artisans, chefs, and farmers from across Jordan, who were selling and displaying their locally-made products. JFW aims to help home-based businesses penetrate new markets and increase their revenues, the statement concluded.