Dubai Food Festival Reveals Citywide Feast Of Events

Dubai set for a culinary takeover as Festival introduces its widest ever line-up of new activities and promotions, including the first ever Dubai Restaurant Week

Popular Beach Canteen will be the hub of the Festival, offering amazing entertainment and delicious home-grown restaurant concepts

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 visitors from across the region. 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 UAE with activities to suit every taste.”

New additions for 2016 include the first ever Dubai Restaurant Week, while the city’s tucked-away ‘Hidden Gems’ will be hand-picked by the residents and repeat visitors to the emirate that know – and love – them the best. For the first time, the widely popular Beach Canteen will become the Festival’s central hub with a new look, having stood out amongst the city’s residents and visitors as a Festival favourite over the past two years.

First-ever Dubai Restaurant Week

Launching on the first day of the Festival for 10 days, the all-new Dubai Restaurant Week will see 30 of the city’s best fine-dining restaurants offer a three-course set menu at the exceptional price of AED189 per person.

Offering an eclectic mix of cuisines and flavours, Restaurant Week participants include: Alta Badia, Ashiana by Vineet, Atelier M, Boca, Bread Street Kitchen, Café Belge, Fogueira, Fume, Garden, Hoi An, Junoon, JW’s Steakhouse, Kiku, Mint Leaf of London, Okku, Pai Thai, Positano, Qbara, Rang Mahal, Rivington Grill, Sea Fu, Seven Sands, Social By Heinz Beck, The Croft, The Hide, The Ivy, Thiptara, Vivaldi by Alfredo Russo, Yuan and Zheng He's.

Ms Suhail added: “Restaurant Week is a global phenomenon that is celebrated in the best cities across the world. As the region’s leading food festival, we cannot wait to introduce the concept to Dubai in 2016. The city’s residents, foodies and visitors are encouraged to book early to avoid missing out on this unique experience.”

Bookings for Dubai Restaurant Week, running from 25 February until 5 March 2016, are now available in partnership with our official booking partner Round Menu at www.dubaifoodfestival.com.

The Festival hub

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 chefappearances, unique beach dining experiences, as well as local bands, DJs, children’s activities, beach sports and an official Festival information kiosk.

Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “Over the years, Dubai has established its position as the culinary capital of the Middle East and one of the world’s leading gastronomy destinations. The Dubai Food Festival is the perfect opportunity to showcase and celebrate the city’s offering within the UAE and beyond.”

Hidden Gems

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.

These are the ‘unsung heroes’ of the food scene in Dubai, the hidden treasures that locals know and love to visit. 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.

And there’s more…

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. For more information on the Festival’s schedule and details on how to register for or buy tickets for events, visit www.dubaifoodfestival.com.