Dubai Festival to serve culinary delights

The Dubai Food Festival will set the culinary world alight when it returns on 25th February 2016 with a city-wide showcase of the emirate’s gastronomic offering to thousands of people from across the region including visitors from India. The 2016 Festival promises a packed 17-day programme of new events, celebrity chefs, activities and promotions.

Hosted under the new ‘A Taste Celebration’ theme, the 2016 Festival’s stunning city-wide programme of food events and activities will promote the diversity, creativity and multicultural nature of Dubai’s culinary offering.

“The Dubai Food Festival is a unique celebration of the essence of food and its universal ability to connect people, bringing families, friends and communities together,” said Laila Mohammed Suhail, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) that organises the event.

“The Festival provides an experiential element of Dubai’s year-long extraordinary food offering, which aims to engage the entire city and visitors with activities to suit every taste.”

New additions for 2016 include the first ever Dubai Restaurant Week which will have thirty of the city’s most sought after restaurants offering bespoke three-course set menus at the exceptional price of AED 189. Reinforcing Dubai’s emergence as a gastronomic destination, Dubai Restaurant Week will offer an exciting insight into the worldwide palate Dubai caters to. Anticipated to be a sell-out event, residents and foodies from across the region will enjoy an exclusive opportunity to sample the top restaurants on their must-visit list. With something to suit all tastes, Dubai Restaurant Week is ideal whether you are dining with family, friends and loved ones.

The star-studded restaurant line-up includes favourites run by international and Michelin-starred chefs including Gordon Ramsay (Bread Street Kitchen), Atul Kochhar (Rang Mahal), Heinz Beck (Social), Vineet Bhatia (Ashiana) and Alfredo Russo (Vivaldi).

The revamped Beach Canteen will be the Festival’s free to attend, go-to hub destination, featuring 15 delicious home-grown restaurant concepts and celebrity chef appearances, unique beach dining experiences, as well as local bands, DJs, children’s activities, beach sports and an official Festival information kiosk.

Also adding extra spice to the Dubai Food Festival’s line-up is the new ‘Hidden Gems’ celebration, in which local residents and regular regional visitors will be invited to help unveil the ‘undiscovered’ side of Dubai’s thriving restaurant scene. To celebrate the Hidden Gems addition, Dubai Food Festival has launched a competition on the Hidden Gems website enticing people to submit their favourite gem. Entrants will have the chance to win three nights in Dubai with flights* for two people in addition to one luxury restaurant experience from the participating Dubai Restaurant Week List, and one Hidden Gems tour experience for two people with Gulf Photo Plus.

Other highlights of the 2016 Dubai Food Festival will include: the Arabic favourite Fatafeat Kitchen featuring demonstrations from celebrity chefs in Galleries Lafayette, The Dubai Mall Street Nights; the star-studded Taste of Dubai; the family-favourite Kids Dine For Free promotion; and a range of signature restaurant-led events.

Dubai Food Festival runs from 25 February – 12 March 2016.