Dubai Food Festival 2020 starts today – February 26, and ends on March 14.
Organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), the annual 18-day Dubai Food Festival (DFF) is now in its seventh year, and includes the Foodie Experiences Programme, Dubai Restaurant Week, the Etisalat Beach Canteen, Hidden Gems and brand-new to DFF 2020, “Home Edition” and “Tasty Tunes”.
To mark the festival opening, revelers should head to the Etisalat Beach Canteen at 8.30pm on Thursday 27th – for a beachside fireworks display.
For the second year running, a key element of the event is Foodie Experiences, a carefully curated series of incredible, one-off culinary experiences designed to stimulate all the senses. There are more than 80 opportunities to take part in either a MasterClass, a Chef’s Table or an Experiential dining experience – some of which are exclusive events for one night only.
The Foodie Experience Chef’s Table series brings guests up close and personal with some of the city’s top chefs. Indulge in a one-off Japanese Italian fusion night; a unique sustainable tapas experience or a 14-course journey into modernist, molecular Indian cuisine. For an even more Experiential occasion, why not try Bedouin desert dining; Emirati dining under the stars atop a traditional coral house in Al Bastakiya.
Tickets for all Foodie Experience events are available exclusively via PlatinumList.net.
Dubai Restaurant Week (DRW), which runs from March 5 to March 14 is offering the chance to indulge in gourmet global food at very special festival prices.
The 2020 edition of Dubai Restaurant Week (DRW) features 36 outlets, and exclusive menus at Dubai’s best restaurants, including five associated with celebrity chefs – Gordon Ramsay, Vikas Khanna, Akira Back, Greg Malouf and Mathieu Viannay.
Two-course lunches are being offered from as little as AED75, while three course dinner experiences start from just AED 150. All Dubai Restaurant Week dining experiences must be booked in advance, exclusively through official booking partner Reserve Out via its app and website.
Etisalat Beach Canteen, behind Sunset Mall on Jumeirah Beach brings together some of the best homegrown and international food concepts at this family-friendly event. Visitors can look forward to food trucks, pop-up shops, talks, events, cooking demonstrations and live music.
Running throughout the festival, the Etisalat Beach Canteen also includes a new-for-2020 gaming park, a Beach Game alley, a kid’s play zone, and the chance to watch and learn from leading chefs and culinary experts including Chef Vinu Raveendran from Carnival by Tresind and representatives of the International Centre for Culinary Arts (ICCA) Dubai training centre.
Dubai Hidden Gems highlights the unsung heroes of Dubai’s ever-evolving food scene. A shortlist of 40 restaurants, cafes and food outlets has already been selected by Dubai Food Festival in collaboration with Zomato – and this year’s list includes truly global cuisine, from Emirati to Japanese, Uzbek to Ethiopian.
Hidden Gems restaurants all offer authentic tasty food at affordable prices – every outlet on the list offers on average, a dining meal for two at no more than AED 165 – with some feeding two people for as little as AED 30.
Finally, Home Edition brings the city’s supermarkets and hypermarkets into the excitement of Dubai Food Festival. For the first time this year, shoppers spending AED 250 or more at a participating outlet – Lulu Hypermarket, Spinneys, Waitrose, Carrefour and Union Co-op – will be placed in a weekly raffle to win vouchers valued at AED50,000 per week during Dubai Food Festival.
Branches of each hypermarket and supermarket across the city are taking part in Home Edition 2020 –where shoppers can also experience food tasting sessions and live cookery demonstrations.
