Dubai Food Fest to have mystery dining tours

Dubai will be further strengthening its culinary credentials through an expanded 2015 programme for the second edition of the Dubai Food Festival (DFF).

Taking place over 23 days from February 6-28, 2015, organisers say next year’s Dubai Food Festival will include a variety of events, activities, promotions and celebrity chef appearances, which incorporate leading global food trends while celebrating the vibrant and rich cuisines and traditions of the UAE and region.

New to DFF 2015, a series of Mystery Dining Tours will highlight the diversity of Dubai’s dining experiences from local cuisine to street food, celebrity chefs to an ultra-luxurious and exclusive one-of-a-kind “high flying” tour. Tickets for the tour are now available at www.limeandtonic.ae.

Celebrating the multicultural dining and street food theme, DFF will also welcome Al Quoz Street Nights as part of the Festival’s line up. Pairing street art with street food, Street Nights (February 19-20) is set to welcome tens of thousands of residents and visitors for what will be a celebration of urban art, culture and food in the city’s up-and-coming arts precinct.

Similarly, a showcase of award-winning street-food photographer Penny De La Santos’ most stunning images of the multicultural dining and street food on offer in Dubai will be on show at Dubai Airport between February 14-28, and a convoy of food trucks will move throughout the city, making appearances at key destinations.

Previewed at celebrity Chef Silvena Rowe’s Omnia Gourmet café, the 2015 DFF programme, curated by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) – an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) – will see the festival promote the diversity, creativity and multi-cultural nature of Dubai’s culinary offering across four key themes:

• Emirati cuisine: authentic local cuisine and cultural experiences that showcase both traditional as well as up-and-coming Emirati concepts and chefs

• Home-grown: celebrating the emerging scene of independent restaurants and concepts influenced by the diversity of the 200 nationalities in Dubai

• Multicultural dining and street food: showcasing the range of diverse, high quality restaurant and café experiences in Dubai, across all budgets throughout different parts of the city

• International chefs and restaurants in Dubai: highlighting the influx of restaurants conceived or owned by world leading and Michelin-starred chefs who increasingly are choosing to open in Dubai.

“Along with celebrating the diversity, depth and talent of Dubai’s culinary community, Dubai Food Festival 2015 further reinforces the emirate’s position as the gastronomic capital of the region and its emergence on the global scene. Through an expanded 2015 programme, Dubai Food Festival 2015 will draw upon and celebrate home-grown concepts, warm Emirati hospitality and cuisine, global trends as well as international cuisine and identities that have been inspired by Dubai,” said Laila Mohammed Suhail, Chief Executive Officer, DFRE.

“For the 2015 edition we have taken the most successful consumer and business events from the inaugural season and around them built an exciting and dynamic three-week programme of events, activities and promotions. This programme will firmly establish Dubai Food Festival as a core fixture on Dubai’s extensive events calendar and attract increased visitation from across the region and beyond,” she added.

Among the highlights of the festival are a selection of internationally renowned celebrity chefs, who are confirmed to participate in DFF events, including award-winning Silvena Rowe; TV favourite Sanjeev Kapoor; Queen of the Arabic Kitchen, Manal Al Alem; and Michelin-starred chef, Jason Atherton with more due to be announced in the lead up to the Festival.

In addition to 2014 festival events Gulfood, Dubai Food Carnival, Taste of Peru and Global Restaurant Investment Forum, also returning will be the highly popular Beach Canteen, which in 2015 will take residence on Kite Beach. Serving up dishes from some of the Emirate’s most-loved home-grown restaurants and eateries, Beach Canteen will also see a dynamic programme of interactive entertainment keeping visitors entertained for the duration of the Festival, including a series of pop-up concepts from renowned chefs.

Finally, a key thread of the festival will highlight the burgeoning range of Emirati chef talents and both Emirati and non-Emirati chefs innovating new dishes with traditional ingredients. The festival will close with a celebration of Emirati food, taking place on The Palm Jumeirah, which will showcase local culture, chefs and cuisines, and provide visitors with an authentic taste of local flavours.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.