The Dubai Food Festival 2015‘s full and flavorsome line-up of new and returning gastronomic consumer and business events, celebrity chefs, activities and promotions, has been announced today by Dubai Festivals and Retails Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). Marking the Festival’s second edition, this year’s Dubai Food Festival will welcome a bursting calendar of delicious and diverse events across four key themes, including Emirati Cuisine, Homegrown restaurants, Multi-cultural Dining and Street Food and International Chefs and Restaurants.

With exclusive and new events set to include the region’s-first foodie film nights, Dubai Food & Film, and nine back-to-back celebrity chef cooking sensations as part of the new-for-2015 and Middle East’s first, Fatafeat Kitchen, the Festival will also welcome a fleet of the city’s favorite food trucks in the Food Truck Convoy. Another highlight comes in the form of celebrity chef’s taking over the kitchens of the Dubai Creek’s iconic floating restaurants as part of Dine On The Creek. The 23-day city-wide extravaganza will also bring back 2014 event favorites, Beach Canteen, Dubai Food Carnival, Taste of Peru, GulFood and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) amongst many more, to satisfy the culinary cravings of Dubai’s visiting and resident foodies.

Celebrity Chefs
Promoting the depth and diversity of the city’s gastronomic offering as it positions Dubai as a leading international hub for world-class food, DFF 2015 headliners include the Michelin-starred Jason Atherton, award-winning Greg Malouf, TV favorite Sanjeev Kapoor, Queen of the Arabic Kitchen, Manal Al Alem, critically-acclaimed chef and best-selling author, Silvena Rowe, and the renowned Saudi Arabian Super Chef Yousef Khumayes, many of whom have restaurants in the Emirate.

Her Excellency Laila Mohammed Suhail Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, said: “This year’s edition of the Dubai Food Festival will incorporate a varied and extensive events calendar, showcasing our Emirate at its culinary best. Along with welcoming a number of internationally-renowned chefs, including those who have established restaurants in Dubai, the Festival will celebrate another key element of Dubai’s gastronomic offering, its most-loved home-grown concepts.

“The Festival program has been designed to both highlight the range of flavors that inspire Dubai’s menus, drawn from the cuisines of the 200 nationalities that live in the city, as well as the traditions of Emirati cuisine and hospitality, an increasingly important element of our tourism offer. We look forward to welcoming residents and visitors from the region and beyond throughout February to experience the depth and diversity of our city’s culinary credentials,” continued H.E Laila Suhail.

Four Key Themes

Emirati Cuisine
The new-for-2015 Made In Dubai event (February 27 – 28 at Zabeel Park) will pay particular homage to Emirati hospitality and culture, as it showcases 96 delicious yet often unknown Emirati dishes through tastings and master-classes with local chefs.

Homegrown
The bigger and better 2015 Beach Canteen, which this year takes residence at Kite Beach for the entirety of the Festival (February 6 – 28), plays host to nine of Dubai’s very best homegrown restaurants and concepts. Offering visitors a unique beach dining experience, the Beach Canteen will also serve up pop-up restaurants from celebrity chefs, Jason Atherton (February 26 – 28), Sanjeev Kapoor (February 21) and Yousef Khamayes (February 6 – 7) and a variety of other entertainment. Similarly, the Urban Bazaar local foodie street market (February 6, The Archive, Safa Park and February 27, Creekside, Bur Dubai) will host stalls showcasing homegrown concepts.

Multi-cultural Dining and Street Food
Celebrating multicultural dining and street food, DFF will welcome homegrown food trucks including local favorites Moti Roti, Raw Coffee and Burger Fuel, to take part in the Food Truck Convoy (Various dates). The trucks will arrive at key locations including Tecom, JLT and Emaar Square throughout the Festival, serving up the very best street food cuisine. DFF will also welcome Street Nights (February 20 – 21), which will pair street art with street food in the city’s up-and-coming arts precinct, Al Quoz. Similarly, a showcase of award-winning street-food photographer Penny De La Santos’ most stunning images of the multicultural dining and street food on offer in Dubai will be on show at Dubai Airport during February.

International Chefs and Restaurants
Regional and international celebrity chefs will appear at Fatafeat Kitchen (February 20 – 21), which will welcome nine in total including Egyptian cuisine expert Chef Salma Soliman to take part in live cooking demonstrations. Another of the Festival’s inaugural events, Dine On The Creek (Various dates, to be announced soon), will see celebrity chefs including Sanjeev Kapoor, Manal Al Alem and Yousef Khumayes serve up their internationally award-winning dishes in traditional Emirati surroundings.

“With a theme of ‘Find your Flavor’, Dubai Food Festival 2015 promises entertainment for the entire family as it challenges festival goers to truly discover Dubai’s unique and growing culinary offer. Along with expanding 2014 event favorites, such as the highly popular Beach Canteen, Dubai Food Festival 2015 will see the addition of some truly memorable events and activities that, while inspired by global foodie trends, will have a distinctly Dubai flavor”, said Dubai Food Festival 2015 Director, Debra Greenwood.

Further Dubai Food Festival 2015 events and details will be announced in the coming weeks as the launch of the Festival approaches. For the most up to date information regarding this year’s DFF, visit www.dubaifoodfestival.com