Tuesday, Feb 18, 2014
This weekend’s Dubai Food Carnival at Dubai Festival Centre is the kick-off event for the Dubai Food Festival, a 23-day series of food events spanning open-to-the public demonstrations and tastings to business-focused fairs such as Gulfood. Entry to the two-day Carnival, running on Friday and Saturday, is Dh60. Here’s a look at the highlights of this weekend’s food events.
Dubai Food Carnival (Festival Centre, February 21-22)
Meet the chefs: The Chef’s Dome will host international TV chefs, including Sanjeev Kapoor (he’ll also be signing copies of his cookbooks at 1.30pm on Friday), UK Masterchef judge John Torrode, Tarek Ebrahim, Maroun Chedid and Manal Al Alem, as well as local stars such as Hakkasan Dubai chef de cuisine Andy Toh Cyhe Siong and Radisson’s Uwe Michel. They will be doing food demonstrations and answering questions throughout both Friday and Saturday, from 10.30am-10pm. Access is included in the ticket price.
Competitions: There are a number of cooking — and eating — contests running during the Carnival. For the fearless, there’s Beat The Heat (round one starts at 3.30pm on Friday), which involves eating as many chicken wings in ghost chilli sauce as possible. The ghost chilli is so hot, participants have to sign a waiver. For the less insane but just as competitive, there is the Little Green Fingers (a schools competition), My Dad Can Cook (which will see already selected dads and children compete) and Yalla BBQ contests. Yalla BBQ will see 16 teams from different nations compete in four heats to decide the top barbecuing nation in the UAE.
Browse the stalls: Food companies from around the UAE will have stands at the Carnival, from Bikanervala to Pinkberry, Shake Shack and Sheburger.
Fun for the family: The Naughty Corner is a kids entertainment area with a drop off creche, bouncy castle, face painting and gaming consoles, among other activities. For the grown-ups, there’s comedy shows by Dean Obaidallah, and, oddly enough, sumo wrestling.
Grand Kerala Festival (February 20-22, Wonderland): Visit a Keralite village in the centre of Dubai, with entertainment and a food fair showcasing the diverse cuisines of the south Indian state’s regions of Malabar, Kochi and Travancore. Entry is Dh10, Dh50-Dh300 includes evening entertainment.
Win your dinner (February 21-March 1): Spend Dh300 at The Dubai Mall to enter a draw for Dh100,000 of fine dining experiences in Emaar Hospitality restaurants. At Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and Mall of the Emirates, spend Dh150 to enter the weekly draw for Dh10,000 worth of dining vouchers — food outlet receipts double your chances of winning. Draws are held every Tuesday evening, 7pm at each mall. Spend Dh250 at Carrefour, Spinneys, Union Cooperative and Lulu to win Dh50,000 worth of groceries; there will be two raffle draws every week at each company.
Staff Report
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