The ultimate guide to the 2024 Taste of Dubai Food Festival

The Taste of Dubai culinary event is all set to take place from February 23 to 25 at Skydive Dubai. The event is expected to attract over 25,000 enthusiastic foodies, who will indulge in a wide range of culinary delights from the best chefs and restaurants in the city. It will have a star-studded lineup of celebrity chefs, including the original trio of MasterChef Australia: Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston, and George Calombaris, who will participate in the Philips Cook School, Waterfront Market BBQ School, and Kibsons Mystery Box Challenge.

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Taste Organisers MENA Live Events teamed up with Skydive Dubai, the event’s new venue, to pull off the ultimate culinary stunt in preparation for the festival. Watch as Taste’s Skydiving Chef makes his grand entrance, not by land or sea, but by air!

Meet the trio of MasterChef Australia

George Calombaris

George Calombaris is a world-renowned Australian chef with successful restaurants and 12 years of experience as a head judge on MasterChef Australia. He is the co-founder of Culinary Wonderland, a digital platform dedicated to chefs, cooks, sommeliers, mixologists, baristas, and culinary curators from all over the globe to deliver a fully immersive user experience for food enthusiasts.

Gary Mehigan

Gary Mehigan has been a part of the television industry since he first appeared as a co-host on Good Chef Bad Chef on Channel Seven in 2007. Over the years, he has been an essential part of various shows, including Boys Weekend and MasterChef Australia, Junior MasterChef, MasterChef All-Stars, and Celebrity MasterChef, with over 16 series in total. Mehigan's TV audience extends worldwide, and his shows Mega Festivals, Far Flung with Gary Mehigan, and Masters of Taste have made him one of Australia's most beloved and watched TV presenters. Mehigan is also an author and a prolific traveller, working on several new projects in Australia and India.

Matt Preston

An award-winning journalist, Matt Preston is a beloved food personality in Australia. He is also a best-selling cookbook author, radio presenter, and a renowned international TV personality. Matt has appeared on several seasons of MasterChef Australia and various MasterChef variants, including MasterChef Italia, MasterChef Holland, MasterChef India, MasterChef Poland, MasterChef New Zealand, Plate of Origin, and My Kitchen Rules. He was also a judge for The Food Networks USA, Taste Race, which marked his most recent TV appearance. He has also appeared in The Masked Singer, Celebrity Gogglebox, and Dancing with the Stars. 'Big Mouth,' his memoir, was released in November 2023, with the audiobook narrated by Matt available on Audible.

Preston will attend the Taste of Dubai event, which is being hosted in partnership with Conosh. It is a community of food lovers that offers online culinary classes, home-cooked meal deliveries, and pop-up events. Conosh is teaming up with legendary chefs to curate world-class culinary experiences.

Introducing the Dibba Bay Oyster Shuck-Off

For the first time, Taste of Dubai will host a new feature, the Dibba Bay Oyster Shuck Off. The shuck-off marks the culmination of the Dibba Bay Oyster Festival, an annual festival bringing the UAE community together to celebrate the local oyster through education and entertainment.

The feature will include shucking competitions with chefs battling it out for the 'UAE Shucking Champion' title.

For those who don't know, oyster shucking is the culinary skill required to open the oyster before you can slurp it down. Guests will also meet World Shucking Champion and Guinness World Record holder Patrick McMurray, who will host the competitions. There will also be an amateur shucking competition where the guests can register on-site.

At the event, guests will get a chance to learn about oyster shucking and tasting from experts in the industry. There are also prizes up for grabs. Dibba Bay will also host special chargeable masterclasses such as 'How to Shuck 101' and 'Oyster Beverage Pairings'.

Taste-goers can purchase oyster dishes at Dibba Bay's restaurant pop-up using food vouchers included in select Taste of Dubai ticket packages or credit and debit cards.

Philips Cook School

Guests can now sign up for complimentary workshops at the Philips Cook School. Accompanied by chefs, participants will be guided through specially crafted recipes. At the Cook School, discover the convenience of cooking without a stovetop or relying on a manual pressure cooker yet still enjoying the comfort of a home-cooked meal.

Join for a special Mommy and Me session, a first-ever initiative by Philips, where you can craft beautiful moments cooking with your family.

Restaurant Pop-Ups:

Taste of Dubai in Partnership with Philips will showcase 16 of the very best restaurants in the region, world-famous chefs as well some of the hottest up-and-coming culinary talent. Each restaurant will feature a menu of three dishes, served in taster-size portions, so that festival visitors can create their own tasting menu from their favourite restaurants in the line-up.

The list of participating restaurants:

Explore top UAE homegrown bands

Live entertainment from the UAE's best bands and DJs will add to three days of festival vibes – from acoustic performances to lively DJ sets across multiple festival areas.

Event Timings:

Friday, February 23, from 3pm to midnight

Saturday, February 24, from 12pm to midnight

Sunday, February 25, from 12pm to 11pm

Early bird tickets on sale

Take advantage of Early Bird tickets until January 31 for Taste of Dubai in Partnership with Philips.

Early Bird ticket prices are as follows:

Individual Tickets

Early Bird Price

Standard ticket (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) - entry only

AED 55

Taster ticket (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) - 2 drinks and 2 food

AED 165

VIP - 3 drinks and 3 food plus VIP Lounge Access

AED 250

Packages:

General Admission

Includes: 1 day entry to the event, exclusive Taste cooking workshops.

Taster Package

Includes: 1 day entry to the event, 2 food vouchers, 2 drinks vouchers, exclusive Taste cooking workshops.

*Vouchers are distributed at the time of entry into the event.

VIP Package

Includes: 1 day entry to the event, 3 food vouchers, 3 drinks vouchers, access to the VisitBritain and Wego VIP Lounge, exclusive Taste workshops.

*Vouchers are distributed at the time of entry into the event.

Tickets can be purchased at: https://dubai.platinumlist.net/event-tickets/90175/taste-of-dubai-2024

For more information and to stay updated on event details, visit https://tasteofdubaifestival.com