With less than one week to go until the launch of the second edition of the Dubai Food Festival, the line-up for two of its highlights, the ever-popular Beach Canteen and region’s first Food & Film, have been announced today. Joining the news that two tasty new events will join the Festival’s flavoursome line-up, 2015 Middle East Food & Travel Blogger Conference and Ripe Food & Craft Market – Deli Section Launch, organisers have also confirmed the dates for other unique Festival dining experiences.
Beach Canteen
Launching this Friday, 6 February, the Dubai Food Festival 2015 will kick off with the immensely successful Beach Canteen, which will run throughout its duration (6 – 28 February). Alongside 11 home-grown and one celebrity chef pop up restaurant, the Beach Canteen will welcome the Denver-based The Inventing Room and its Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory-inspired culinary creations (13 – 14 February), as well as a talk from award-winning street food photographer, Penny De Los Santos (21 February). The extensive and fun-for-all-the-family programme also includes local DJ sets, urban yoga and open mic sessions for foodies who love a sing-along.
Food & Film
Filmgoers and foodies of all ages can look forward to Food & Film, which for the first time in the Middle East will fuse the longstanding link between food and storytelling, pairing culinary-inspired movies with the food upon which their plots are based. Launching on 8 February at Jumeirah Lakes Towers Park, Food & Film will screen 11 food-inspired free to view films, starting with 2014 American comedy drama, Chef. Highlighting the adventures of Carl (Jon Favreau) as he becomes the fully fledged chef of his own food truck, viewers can expect an accompaniment of All-American dishes. Further screenings include The Indian-inspired, The Hundred-Foot Journey (11 February at Beach Canteen) and Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s comedic, The Trip (18 February at Beach Canteen).
The Festival’s Dine On The Creek will delight diners as international celebrity chefs bring their renowned cuisines aboard the Emirate’s iconic dhows. Saudi Arabian super chef, Yousef Khumayes, will be serving up traditional delights aboard the Rustar Restaurant Dhow on 10 February (90AED per head), while award-winning Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor (18 February, 185AED per head) and Queen of the Arabic Kitchen, Manal Al-Alem (23 February, 185AED per head), will serve up sensational dishes aboard the Al Mansour Restaurant Dhow.
New Events
Another first for the region comes in the form of the Festival’s 2015 Middle East Food & Travel Blogger Conference. A one-day interactive event and platform for bloggers to network and share experiences, invitees will have the opportunity to hear from the biggest names in the social media industry including Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, as well as come together to discuss the blogging industry and their lifestyle, food and travel interests (20 February, A4 Space and Gulf Photo Plus, Alserkal Avenue).
The inaugural day of the Dubai Food Festival (6 February) will also see the new addition of the popular Ripe Food & Craft Market, as it launches its Deli Section at Zabeel Park. Offering organic food, arts, crafts and fashion, the farmers market’s new Deli Section will showcase fresh bread, local cheese, olive oils, vinegars and more.
All Dubai Food Festival ticketing, timing and programming information can viewed on the Dubai Food Festival website at www.dubaifoodfestival.com.
Enjoy & Bon Appétit!
