The Festival, intended to become an annual fixture on Dubai’s calendar, has been developed as an opportunity to further develop the food and restaurant sector and support the tourism and hospitality industry. His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, DTCM, said, “Dubai’s status as a culinary destination is one that has risen considerably in recent years and the creation of a city-wide Food Festival will contribute to enhancing this further. The Festival works on a number of levels. It creates a real reason to visit and to extend a stay in the emirate for the growing number of global travellers seeking food experiences. It is a platform to showcase our leisure and business events sectors, as well as the world-class restaurants and chefs in our city. It allows us to further extend our lead as the region’s leading family destination and it provides a chance for us to share emirati culture, cuisine and hospitality with the world.” 

 

Her Excellency Laila Mohammed Suhail, CEO, DFRE, said, “The packed Festival programme is designed to showcase the wealth of flavours and cuisines on offer in Dubai, and will promote the diversity, creativity and multi-cultural nature of Dubai’s culinary offering – one drawn from traditional emirati cuisine as well as from the cuisines of the 200 nationalities living in the emirate. The programme brings together a number of established events such as Gulfood and Taste of Dubai with a range of new events, including the festival opening, Dubai Food Carnival. In the lead up to the Festival we will be announcing more exciting events and initiatives, all intended to showcase our culinary offering.”

 

Dubai Food Festival will be launched with the Dubai Food Carnival on February 21 and 22 at Dubai Festival City. Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), Dubai Food Carnival will feature celebrity chefs conducting educational culinary master classes and workshops, dozens of international food pavilions, mouth-watering food tastings and a multi-cultural feast of music, comedy and family-themed competitions playing out to tens of thousands of visitors on a blockbuster 360° stage.

 

The Festival will continue with Gulfood 2014, termed as the world’s largest annual food and hospitality trade show, from February 23 to 27. The show will have a host of new features, national pavilions, specialist conferences, high-ranking ministerial summits and pioneering B2B programmes in a segmented format covering the entire foodservice sector. Gulfood will feature more than 20,000 brands, 4,500 exhibitors, 120 country pavilions and 80,000 visitors.

 

The last day of Gulfood will coincide with the first day of The Big Grill. Taking place on February 27 and 28 at Emirates Golf Club, it will be a celebration of meat and music; an event dedicated to anything grilled. The top grill masters, from the high street to the high-end, will serve their delicacies, while a King of the Grill competition will seek and showcase Dubai’s own BBQ masters. Attendees can also expect a fun and lively entertainment lineup featuring international artists, live music, and local DJs. 

 

The Festival finale, Taste of Dubai will be held at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre from March 13 to 15. For the last seven years, visitors to Taste of Dubai enjoy food, drink and music and sample signature dishes from the fine-dining restaurants of Dubai, as well as meet celebrity chefs. 

 

Commenting on the importance of the Indian market for visitor traffic into Dubai, Carl Vaz, Director - DTCM India, said, “India continues to be a top source market for inbound visitors into Dubai with the total number of Indian guests reaching 631,638 for the first nine months of 2013, an increase close to 15 per cent over the corresponding period last year.”