Whether you want to discover local cuisine, order hot dogs from a food truck or savour a seven-course degustation menu, the inaugural Abu Dhabi Food Festival has it all
Abu Dhabi Food Festival will take over the capital from 5th to 21st February.
The 16-day emirate-wide festival serves up three different courses to take residents on a culinary journey from food on the go to seven-course banquets.
Emirati Kitchen will offer a glimpse into local cuisine through workshops conducted by noteworthy chefs from the UAE from 5th to 7th February.
Gourmet Abu Dhabi, the gastronomic event that began in 2009, will run throughout the festival at select hotels.
Street Feast – a parade of international food trucks serving unique eats at affordable prices – will also run from 5th to 21st February. It will travel around the Western Region and through Al Ain before landing on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi.
EMIRATI KITCHEN
As part of the food festival, some of the UAE’s best chefs will come together to celebrate local cuisine.
Emirati Kitchen runs 4pm-10pm from 5th to 7th February at East Plaza, opposite NBAD on the Corniche.
Guests can sample traditional dishes in workshops led by five Emirati chefs.
Chef Khulood Atiq is the UAE’s only female celebrity chef and a culinary Development specialist for Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).
Khulood will open the event on Thursday 5th February, giving demonstrations and offering advice to foodie fans. She says, “This is a great step forward for the promotion of Emirati cuisine – both traditional and modern.
“It will be a source of engagement for all Emirati and expatriate residents and for overseas visitors who will be able to try types of food they may not have come across before.
“This is a new concept to our annual food festival and one which I’m sure will entertain locals, expats and visitors alike. People can learn where to find ingredients and then prepare delicious Emirati food for themselves or their families at home.
“We will be blending traditional and modern recipes which I’m sure will be a welcome addition to menus.”
Ali Salem Edbowa, a TV chef and executive chef at the Emirati restaurant Mezlai in Emirates Palace, will join Khulood for the three-day event.
Ali wants to bring local cuisine to the forefront of the foodie scene by blending the traditional style of Emirati dishes with western presentation. In Mezlai, diners can experience Emirati dishes such as mandi, a dish of rice, tandoor-cooked meat and spices, and madfoon – slow cooked fish with a modern twist.
Ali tells us, “We have introduced a lot of modifications to the Emirati dishes, both in terms of form and taste.”
Another one of his inventive dishes is rubbed hammour, a spin on the more traditional makbous hammour. “The fish is cooked with camel milk, Parmesan, thyme, mint and parsley.
“I thank God that I have experience and talent to enable me to mix different flavours to make dishes more impressive.
“Most chefs don’t understand the meaning of ‘development’ in cooking. I came across one who made tiramisu the Emirati way by adding saffron. This is a failed experiment. There is no Emirati tiramisu, just as there is no Italian mandi. There are authentic Emirati dishes that can be developed by adding components of the local environment.
“The world has come to know the UAE through its skyscrapers, the economy and massive events,” says Ali. “Now it is time for them to know this country through its local dishes and flavours.”
Emirati Kitchen will also feature a dukan, a souk selling Emirati kitchen equipment and food stuffs. Guests can buy dates, spices, dried and salted fish, pottery, traditional sweets and talbina, a dish made of barley flour, milk and honey.
There will also be areas teaching visitors about Arabic coffee etiquette, how to properly store Emirati spices and how to prepare harees, a porridge-type dish typically served at weddings and feasts.
Sample Emirati dishes from local outlets including Seven Spices, Yadoo’s House and Meylas, which will be selling local dishes during the event.
Emirati Kitchen, adults AED 10, children 12 and under free.
Emirati eats
Before heading to Emirati Kitchen, brush up on your knowledge of
local cuisine.
Balaleet: This breakfast dish is made of sweet vermicelli mixed with eggs, raisins and local spices such as cardamom or saffron.
Machboos: This hearty dish is made by frying chicken with spices such as curry powder, paprika and cardamom. Rice is then added and cooked with the meat to absorb the flavour.
Ligamat: This traditional sweet is a dough ball that’s deep fried in ghee and served with dibbs, a date syrup. They can be served for breakfast or as a dessert.
Chabab: An Emirati version of a pancake, chabab is made with flour, eggs, sugar and spices such as cardamom. It’s often yellow thanks to a pinch of saffron that’s added. Swap the maple syrup for dibbs.
Fareeth: Thick layers of bread are used instead of rice or pasta in this stew that’s packed with boiled meat and vegetables.
STREET FEAST
The region’s first Street Feast will give residents a chance to taste dishes from
a rainbow of food trucks from all over the world. Keep an eye out for the emirate-wide festival as vans set up in Madinat Zayed in the Western Region 5th-7th February, Green Mubazzarah at the bottom of Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain 12th-14th February and West Plaza on the Corniche 19th-21st February.
Rumour has it that the concept of food trucks began in Texas, US, after the American Civil War in 1866. While on the road for months at a time, a cattle herder kitted out a wagon with shelves and drawers stocked with utensils and food supplies to feed hungry cattlemen.
The concept grew from there and today people enjoy quick bites from ice cream trucks and burger vans. But it was only in recent years that the idea of gourmet food trucks took off. Experienced chefs grabbed the chance to serve people simple but hearty dishes-to-go.
Now the trend has caught on in Abu Dhabi, with food trucks sprouting up around the capital including the UAE’s first burger truck, SALT, and 21 Emirati Café, which can be spotted along the promenade near Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa off Eastern Ring Road.
SALT was born in May 2014 out of a desire to fill a void in Abu Dhabi’s dining scene. Founders Deem Albassam and Amal Al Marri want ‘Salters’ to take a break from their fast-paced life and enjoy the simpler things in life. They believe sharing food is a part of the local culture and a chance for people to find common ground.
But as the first food truck in Abu Dhabi, SALT faced challenges along the way, such as seeking approval to open in select locations.
Amal says, “People underestimate food trucks. It’s easier and more sustainable to open a restaurant because when you have your own space, electricity and air conditioning you feel safe. But the thrill is on the street.”
The vintage SALT truck appears and disappears across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, adding an exciting element for diners who grab the opportunity to sample the street food when it makes a surprise appearance in their area. You can also follow SALT through Instagram and Snapchat.
So what’s on the menu?
“We keep the menu limited because it’s a food truck at the end of the day,” says Amal. “We have three slider options – the original beef, spicy beef and chicken with cheetos – as well as fries and milkshakes. If we had a large menu we’d lose the concept of street food.”
As one of the few street food outlets in the country, SALT is looking forward to sampling what the other food trucks at Street Feast have to offer.
“Since the concept of food trucks is new in the UAE, we don’t have much competition out here,” adds Amal. “The new local food trucks look cool but I’m not overly excited by the food that they’re serving. So it will be interesting to be next to international food trucks to see what they come up with.”
Joining SALT in the parade of food trucks will be ATE Street Food, which will be serving up slow cooked meat sliders, and The Roadery (pictured above), a truly British van serving truly British food – think tacos with hot blackberry sauce and Earl Grey panna cotta. Residents can also sample London’s best hot dogs from Big Apple Hot Dogs or get a taste of Napoli at Pizza Pilgrims.
Alternatively, why not go Spanish at the pintxos tapas bar Donostia Social Club or blend the deep American South with the Middle East at Arabica Southern Fried Chicken? We’ve got a sweet tooth so you’ll find us at Churros Bros grabbing a pot of traditional Spanish churros – finger-width doughnuts dipped in chocolate.
Also joining Street Feast are local favourites Love Doughnuts, the New Zealand joint Burger Fuel, ice cream van Desert Chill and Moti Roti, which offers a twist on Pakistani street food.
Aside from feasting on a selection of street food, visitors can watch chef demonstrations by Food Network star Andy Bates and TV personality Andrew Dickens.
Fresh from his stint at Taste of Abu Dhabi in November 2014, celebrity chef Jun Tanaka returns from the UK to the capital for live demonstrations alongside street food and catering specialist Nichola Smith, Food Junkies star John Quilter and local TV personality and cookbook author Suzanne Husseini.
Make sure you don’t miss the live record attempt for the world’s longest shawarma. Chef Andrew Mitchell, the star of Dubai’s Fatafeat cooking channel, will try to smash the current 42.6m record by rolling a 100m version of the popular wrap. The attempt will take place on Thursday 19th February on Abu Dhabi Corniche. Further details to be announced.
For more information about Abu Dhabi Food Festival visit: www.abudhabifoodfest.ae
Pizza Pilgrims
Englishmen Thom and James Elliot are the Pizza Pilgrims. The brothers’ journey started in 2012 when they quit their day jobs to set up a pizza truck. We sit down with Thom to find out how it all began…
How did the concept of Pizza Pilgrims start?
The original idea was to do pizza ovens. We wanted to tout them as alternatives to a barbeque in the garden. It turned out Brit chef Jamie Oliver had already done that; he had a leg up on us for several reasons.
At that time, street food was just getting started in London. We were sitting in the pub one day and neither of us was enjoying our jobs so in a year… or four… we hatched a plan to start a pizza company in the street. It spiralled out of control quicker than either of us could have imagined.
Did either of you have a background in the food and beverage industry?
Our parents ran pubs so we literally grew up living in them. Our grandparents were also in the hospitality industry. But I used to work in advertising and James was in film production.
Why pizza?
We literally knew nothing about pizza; we had never made it before. Obviously we’d eaten a lot of it but didn’t have an understanding of running a pizza business. James had done a cookery course in Tuscany so had a bit of knowledge about Italian cuisine but it was just a hobby with no intention of doing anything commercial with it.
Where does the name Pizza Pilgrims come from?
While James was doing his course he saw a van called a Piaggio Ape, an iconic Italian vehicle that’s basically a Vespa scooter with a van on the back. He thought it was brilliant. Then a few started popping up in London selling coffee out the back. Being a quintessential Italian van, we thought it’d be cool if we started selling pizza out the back of one. We spoke to the manufacturers and asked if they thought it was something they thought would work. They thought a pizza oven would be too heavy but we ignored them and pressed on anyway.
It worked out cheaper to travel to Italy to collect the van and then drive it back to the UK rather than shipping it. So we embarked on a ‘pizza pilgrimage’ – hence the company name – to Italy to learn as much about pizza as we could from the source.
We had a mutual friend whose husband was a food critic. He suggested we pitch the trip idea to a TV company. We ended up doing the trip with a film crew and making a six-part documentary, Pizza Italiana with Thom and James, for Food Network.
We went to some of the top pizza places in Naples with a film crew and suddenly we were in the dough kitchen learning how to make their secret recipes. It was a lovely journey and we loved the pizza pilgrimage so much we decided to stick with the name.
Tell us a bit about your van.
It’s a ridiculous, tiny van with three wheels. It’s got no power at all; it’s a ludicrous vehicle but if you go to Italy you will see farmers using it to do their thing. With nothing in it, it can reach a top speed of 25mph.
We didn’t quite appreciate how slow it was so the drive back from Italy was arduous. We weren’t allowed to take it on the motorway so we had to take back roads, although that meant we discovered more interesting things; we went through lots of coastal towns and villages.
Now, the entire back of it is taken up with a one tonne stone pizza oven. The van has no storage and barely fits two people. It’s eye catching though; people always stop to take photos of it.
We’ve driven it back from Italy and it’s been carrying a one tonne pizza oven for over three years but it’s soldiered on through thick and thin.
With such a small food truck, where do you do the cooking?
We need a base. At Street Feast there will be portable kitchens where we can make the dough but we have to set up a stall next to the van where we do the cooking. We don’t have the luxury of a full-on food truck experience. If it rains, we’re in trouble; that’s why we’re happy to come to Abu Dhabi.
Has anything memorable happened on the road?
Once a jogger overtook us going up a hill. That was a particularly low point.
On our pilgrimage, there was a once-in-a-generation flood in Genoa. They closed all the roads apart from the main one, which we weren’t allowed to drive on. So we found ourselves in a village taking part in a crisis meeting with the mayor and the head of the fire brigade about what to do in this flood. It was hilarious.
A few times we accidentally ended up on a mountain path and we were going up hills we couldn’t actually go up. You have to be careful because the van can actually tip up and you would turtle shell back down.
Most people are familiar with ice cream and burger vans but gourmet food trucks are a fairly new concept. Do you think they’re just a trend?
I think they’re more than a trend. With a food truck, you’re probably being served by the guy who owns the business and who’s made the food. You’ve got this relationship that you don’t get in a restaurant.
The chef is also learning from the customer as he goes. Setting up a kitchen is expensive so you can’t be too experimental but with a food truck you can do something different everyday.
There’s also a human psychology element of ‘here today, gone tomorrow’. With a restaurant you put off visiting because you know it’s not going anywhere, but with a food truck you think if you don’t visit now, it won’t be there tomorrow. People don’t like to miss out. Also, diners tweet about their impromptu experience, which builds on the legend of it.
What’s your favourite part of running a food truck?
The interaction with customers is amazing. You know the scene from the film Shawshank Redemption when they’re tarring the roof and they feel like free men? That’s the feeling we get making pizza in the sunshine. You just think why would you want to be doing anything else?
What can we expect from you at Street Feast?
We are bringing classic, untouched recipes and making sure they’re done as traditionally as possible. At the same time we’re going to experiment with local ingredients so we’re going to see what we can do with camel milk cheese.
The menu will be small; we don’t do more than three pizzas at a time. It’s affordable, too. In the UK we sell a 10in pizza for £5 (AED 30).
Pizza Pilgrims will be at Street Feast in Al Ain, the Western Region and Abu Dhabi. To find out more visit: www.pizzapilgrims.co.uk or search for Pizza Pilgrims on Facebook.
Tweet your suggestions for local ingredients @pizzapilgrims. Don’t forget to share your Street Feast photos on Twitter @AbuDhabiWeek or email them to contactus@abudhabiweek.ae
GOURMET ABU DHABI
Are you passionate about food? Is your idea of a meal a delicate ring of pumpkin tortellini with truffle and sage butter or seared foie gras with poached pear and shallot jam? Are you not satisfied unless you’ve had a seven-course meal with vintage grape pairings? Then Gourmet
Abu Dhabi will tickle your tastebuds.
After six years of welcoming Michelin-starred chefs to our shores, the culinary extravaganza is returning as part of Abu Dhabi Food Festival from 5th to 21st February.
A star-studded cast of masterchefs, special guests and Abu Dhabi-based cooks will treat the capital’s culinary enthusiasts to cookery classes, promotional menus and gourmet dinners.
Gourmet Abu Dhabi runs throughout Abu Dhabi Food Festival in select locations around the emirate.
Yas Island Rotana, Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, Hilton Abu Dhabi, Al Raha Beach Hotel, Fanr Restaurant and Grand Millenium Al Wahda are among the host venues this year.
The Gourmet Golf Experience – hosted on 11th and 12th February for AED 850 per person – returns to Saadiyat Beach Golf Club where guests can enjoy a round on the course before sitting down to dinner. For more information email: events@sbgolfclub.ae.
Guests can ‘Cruise Through the Med’ at a grape dinner in Safina at Saadiyat Beach Club hosted on 11th February 6.30pm-9.30pm. A four-course set menu is AED 399 or AED 575 with grape pairings. For more information contact: 02 656 3555.
Finz in Beach Rotana will host Swedish chefs Niclas Yngvesson and Gustav Knutsson from 11th to 14th February. The young chefs own the one Michelin-starred restaurant Bhoga in Gothenburg, where they focus on regional, seasonal and fair trade ingredients to present a modern Swedish cuisine. For more information contact: 02 697 9011.
Don’t miss Still’s Gourmet Pie Festival on 17th and 18th February from 8pm to 11pm. Fix your pie craving for AED 99 at Stills Bar and Brasserie in Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island. For more information call: 02 656 3053.
Celebrity chef and restaurateur Todd English will host an exclusive dinner on 16th February at The Forge in The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal. For more information call: 02 818 8282.
Want to learn how to cook the perfect steak? Head to BOA Steakhouse at Eastern Mangroves Promenade for a masterclass by executive chef Marco Lucentini from 16th to 18th Feburary at 6pm to 7pm. For more information call: 02 641 1500.
Little ones won’t be left out either.
Join in the Spirit of Arabia kids cooking class at Fanr Restaurant. Hosted in the café at Saadiyat Island’s resident art gallery, Manarat Al Saadiyat, children can learn how to make pasta and crêpes on 18th February or pizza on 19th February. Both sessions are free and hosted 3pm-5pm.
For more information call: 02 657 5888.
For a full schedule and details on Gourmet Abu Dhabi visit:
www.abudhabifoodfest.ae
Rachael Peacock