Dubai Food Festival to commence on 2nd May with an appetising agenda

DUBAI, Celebrating Dubai as a global culinary capital, Dubai Food Festival will showcase the city’s most exciting gastronomy offerings and remarkable epicurean experiences with a 14-day city-wide festival of food, from 2 – 15 May 2022.

With 12,000 restaurants and cafes, Dubai entices the most enthusiastic diner with tempting flavours from all over the world – everything from world renowned chefs and global restaurant brands to street food and home-grown restaurants inspired by the over 200 nationalities living in Dubai.

Over two weeks, the 2022 Festival will shine a light on Dubai’s rich culinary diversity, authentic and homegrown cuisine, gastronomic innovation, and exceptional value for money. This year, DFF will be celebrated during the Eid Al Fitr holiday, connecting families and friends through food with special events including Eid Big Breakfast from 2nd – 6th May and Time Out Market’s celebration of its first birthday with three days of festivities on 2nd, 3rd and 4th May.

In partnership with 40 of the city’s best restaurants, Dubai Restaurant Week returns from 6th May with specially curated two-course lunch menus starting from AED95 or three-course dinner menus starting from AED150 per person. Diners will be able to enjoy irresistible dishes made using the freshest ingredients – all at an attractive price that saves customers up to 50 percent when dining out.

Foodie Experiences returns to this year’s Dubai Food Festival offering unique, one-of-a-kind food adventures across Dubai. Running for the entire duration of the Festival (2nd – 15th May), Foodie Experiences features a curated series of Dubai’s most anticipated and prominent chef tables, masterclasses, culinary collaborations as well as out-of-the-box experiential dining concepts that are exclusive to DFF.

Diners across the city are encouraged to become advocates of their favourite Hidden Gem eateries by entering the My Hidden Gems Competition.

By visiting three different restaurants with a maximum budget of AED 100, making a short video of the different feasts and posting it tagging @dubaieats, the best content that follows a theme for their trail (such as by cuisine type, location, etc.) will be in with the chance of winning cash prizes with a pool of AED100,000.

Aimed at uncovering and highlighting Dubai’s gastronomic diversity through unique, independent, budget-eats and homegrown concepts, My Hidden Gems Competition will run throughout DFF from 2nd – 15th May.

Connecting families and friends through food during the special period of Eid Al Fitr, the Festival offers 18 Eid Big Breakfast promotions across the city running from 2nd – 6th May featuring authentic breakfast experiences from various nationalities and cultures. Participating restaurants include Bull and Bear, Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, Hillhouse Brasserie, Mezzerie, Gastro Kitchen and more.

Dubai’s thriving restaurant industry is full of home-grown restaurants, cafés and dining concepts. During DFF 2022, diners in the city will be able to enjoy exclusive menus, price offers, special dishes and masterclasses from a number of the city’s most-loved concepts, including Akiba Dori’s kids pizza classes whereby kids can customise their own pizzas. Diners can get 20 percent off at Tresind during DFF and enjoy an exclusive food menu and special mango dessert for DFF at Orfali Bros.

Dubai is home to 16 restaurants shortlisted in the MENA 50 Best Collection and as part of DFF 2022, a special line-up of experiences will be available at a selection of these famous eateries between 2nd – 15th May. Highlights include curated Dubai Restaurant Week menus at restaurants including LOWE, BB Social Dining and Indochine as well as an exclusive Chef Table experience at Reif Kushiyaki and a delicious vegan menu available at Il Borro Tuscan Bistro.

Dubai Food Festival will be partnering with Comedy Bizarre at Bla Bla Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Residence from 13th – 20th May as part of Dubai Comedy Festival. Bringing diners a dinner and a show, the curated menu will touch on different gastro palettes, offering dishes from cuisines around the world as well as laughs from Dubai’s home-grown talent such as COMEDY JAM, SHE-LARIOUS SHOW, NOTES & ROAST, BEAT THE GONG, and MAGICAL LAUGHTER as well as world-famous comedians.

During DFF 2022, diners in the city will be able to enjoy unique experiences at events across the city including Time Out Market’s celebration of its first birthday with three days of festivities on 2, 3 and 4 May as well as Ripe Market’s calendar of workshops and cooking classes running from 6th – 15th May. Break the Block will also be hosting a street food block party at d3 on 13 and 14 May where foodies will be able to enjoy some of Dubai’s favourite street food concepts such as Birria Tacos, Café Isan, Chiki, Fifth Flavor, High Joint and more.

Between 12th and 14th May, there will also be a dedicated Chocolate Show at Galeries Lafayette where chocolate fans will be able to enjoy chocolate stalls, cooking workshops, classes and more.

To celebrate the annual festival, malls and attractions around the city will be offering exclusive dining deals, offers and fun for the whole family. Retail promotions available throughout DFF include Share Rewards programmes at Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif and City Centre Deira, a dedicated food photography workshop at City Centre Deira and a number of promotions at stores across the city including Marks and Spencer, Nespresso and Starbucks.

The Beach, La Mer and City Walk will also be offering exclusive dine and win promotions as well as live bands and entertainment. Diners will be able to enjoy Festival City’s ‘spend and win’ promotion as well as exclusive photo opportunities and cooking classes for kids, whilst Bluewaters will be offering bespoke masterclasses at select restaurants, kids cooking classes and special breakfast deals.

Source: Emirates News Agency

flydubai adds Izmir to its network

DUBAI, flydubai, the Dubai-based airline, announced today the launch of flights to Izmir in Turkey starting from 26th June with a three-times weekly service. Flights to Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB) will operate from Terminal 2 at Dubai International (DXB) on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

With the start of flights to Izmir, flydubai’s network in Turkey will grow to four points including Ankara (ESB), Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) and Istanbul Airport (IST). flydubai will also operate summer seasonal routes to Bodrum (BJV) and Trabzon (TZX) from 23rd June to offer passengers more options to travel this summer.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said, “We are pleased to see our network in Turkey further grow with the start of flights to Izmir. During the busy summer period, we will operate 24 flights a week to Turkey, providing passengers with more opportunities to experience different cities in the country whether they are travelling for a city break or beach holiday. The new direct flights will help stimulate trade links between Dubai and one of the busiest cities in Turkey.”

Commenting on the launch of flights, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said, “we are committed to making travel more accessible and providing more choice for our passengers. We are confident that Izmir will be a popular choice for passengers from the UAE and GCC. We look forward to welcoming our passengers on board and we hope they enjoy the flydubai experience whether they are travelling in Business Class or Economy Class.”

Source: Emirates News Agency

NYUAD’s Art Gallery announces 2022 spring programme

ABU DHABI, The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery has announced its public programme throughout May and June as part of its ongoing exhibition, Parthenogenesis: Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian.

The free events include family gallery visits, a film series titled Cinema RRH, and an artist talk on the nature of collaboration and the origination of new works across the artists’ different disciplines.

The programme will allow participants and visitors to engage in conversations around ideas of refuge, art creation, and collaboration across disciplines. Each event encourages different points of entry through speech, listening, viewing, and action. Events will kick off with a curatorial tour guided by The NYUAD Art Gallery Executive Director Maya Allison, and following events include a family day tour, an event organised by The Art Gallery’s Teen Advisory Council, an artist talk, and a film series titled Cinema RRH, to screen works that have played a meaningful role in the artists’ creative development.

Commenting on the programme, Allison said, “A big factor in the ongoing success of Parthenogenesis is the way Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian have brought to life the inspiration they find in the UAE art community. For these artists, art is a living, breathing conversation with the audience. Their work contains profoundly serious elements integrated with playful ones, in a landscape that evolves with time. We are delighted to introduce a raft of events that invite visitors into this landscape and this evolution, to become collaborators themselves, with the art, the artists, and to share in their diverse influences.”

A green status on the Al Hosn App is required to participate in the events, which are free and open to the public upon registration. Guests are requested to arrive 15 minutes before start time. Parthenogenesis: Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian runs until 12th June.

Parthenogenesis features the artist trio, originally from Iran, who have adopted the UAE as their home. They are known for their immersive, surreal projects, performances, paintings, and animations, which have exhibited internationally, at multiple biennials and major museums. In their first institutional solo exhibition in the UAE, the artists create a landscape in the gallery that traces how an artwork grows itself through an artist’s relationships with others. Parthenogenesis is a testament to their 13 years in Dubai as artists living and working together, creating a landscape and tapestry of continuously evolving ideas and dialogues with collaborators, artists, and visitors to their home.

Source: Emirates News Agency