Abu Dhabi Under the tagline ‘Your Capital, Your Taste’, an alfresco food, drink and music festival opens in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
The inaugural two-day Taste of Abu Dhabi, to be held till November 8, will begin with a performance by the renowned Four Seasons tribute band.
The festival of food will turn Yas Island’s Du Arena into an open kitchen that serves a tantalising range of dishes from some of the most popular restaurants in the capital.
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The line-up includes 18 signature restaurants like Avasa, Rozanah, Angar, Blue Grill, Sho Cho, Flooka, Belgian Beer Café, Safina, Koi, Ushna, Café d’Alsace, Carluccio’s, Caramel Lounge, Noodle Box, Turqoiz, Villa Toscana, Nolu’s Café and Burlesque Restaurant & Lounge.
Culinary heavyweights including the Food Network’s Reza Mahammad, Jenny Morris and Jonathan Phang will be joined by Jun Tanaka, Eric Lanlard, Steven Edwards, Josh Stanzl and Emirati baking sensation Bader Al Awadhi in offering cooking lessons to visitors.
Chris Fountain, Managing Director of Turret Media that is organising the Taste of Abu Dhabi, told XPRESS the festival will reflect the thriving culinary scene of the capital city.
“Of the 30 taste festivals around the world, Abu Dhabi has the record of having the biggest number of restaurants in the launch year,” said Fountain.
‘It is planned as a family festival with food at its centre. There are live cooking stations, culinary classes by celebrity chefs, raffle draws, music bands and a street theatre with magicians, jugglers and stilt walkers. The festival will showcase the best of Abu Dhabi’s culinary scene and residents will get to taste their way around the city,” said Fountain.
Aspiring chefs can put their cooking skills to the test at the interactive hands-on cookery school. Guests will have the opportunity to prep, cook and sample recipes under the watchful eyes of top chefs.
Furthermore, complementing the gastronomic experience, children can explore a world of fun activities including rides, arts and crafts zone, girl’s spa zone, pizza making, and cookie and cupcake decorating in the Kids Zone. Meanwhile, VOX cinemas will be showing popular family classics, whilst the Land Rover Passport to Adventure will offer a series of challenges and exciting prizes.
One lucky food fanatic will also have the chance to win the ‘Ultimate Dining Experience’, which is a bundled up raffle prize offered by all the participating restaurants. The winner is entitled to a free Dh500 voucher from each of the 18 restaurants. “The lucky winner can spend the best part of a year enjoying free meals from restaurants around Abu Dhabi,” said Fountain.
The festival will run from 4 to 11pm on Thursday, noon to 11pm on Friday and noon to 10pm on Saturday. Tickets are priced at Dh65.
Taste of Abu Dhabi takes place at du Arena from Thursday 6 November to Saturday 8 November 2014. The festival will run from 4 – 11pm on Thursday, 12 – 11pm on Friday and 12 – 10pm on Saturday.
tickets are priced at Dh 65,
For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.tasteabudhabi.com
