What is it?
Taste festivals are held in 20 cities around the world. This will be Abu Dhabi’s first, and given the success of the Taste of Dubai, now in its seventh year, it should be a packed event.
The line-up
Taste of Abu Dhabi will showcase signature dishes from 20 of the capital’s top restaurants, including Turquoiz, Villa Toscana, Blue Grill, Ushna, Sho Cho and Caramel. Chris Fountain, the managing director of Turret Media, the festival organisers, says: “Abu Dhabi is fast emerging as a culinary standard of excellence. The city has an excellent range of chefs with great reputations and they’re coming up with unique dishes.”
The events
Chefs from around the city will be on hand to meet guests and present their signature food. Celebrity chefs will also be in attendance and will participate in meet-and-greets with fans, present live cooking demonstrations and share their culinary secrets with visitors. There will also be a chefs’ theatre and cooking activities for children.
Famous chefs scheduled for the event are Food Network’s Reza Mahammad, Jonathan Phang, Eric Lanlard, Jun Tanaka and Steven Edwards. The spotlight, however, will be on local talent, and Michel Jost, the executive chef at the Yas Viceroy, is ready for it. Two restaurants from the Yas Viceroy – Angar and Noodle Box – will serve their most popular dishes at the festival.
“I think the festival is very good for Abu Dhabi,” says Jost. “This is one more opportunity for guests to see that Abu Dhabi is not only the capital, but also a culinary destination. It’s a good opportunity for chefs to show who we are.”
Emirati talent
Emirati chefs will also be on hand, including the 18-year-old pastry chef Bader Al Awadhi, who will give a live demonstration of his skills. He says: “I love making UAE-themed pastries and mixing them with desserts and tastes from other cultures and countries.” Al Awadhi, who is in his second year at Dubai Men’s College, hosts his own show on Abu Dhabi Al Emarat TV during Ramadan.
Beyond the bites
Besides all the great food on offer, visitors will also get to experience music from local bands during the three-day event. There will be a focus on kids as well, with cupcake-decorating and pizza-making activities on each of the three days. Fountain says visitors can expect “gourmet, high-quality food in an all-inclusive event that will appeal to everyone. Food is at the centre, but there’s a lot more than that to experience at the festival.” There will also be an outdoor cinema, a kids’ zone with a range of activities, fairground rides, street theatre with mimes, jugglers, unicyclists, musicians and dancers performing daily. There will also be a children’s fancy dress competition on Friday, November 7, the second day of the festival.
The details
Taste of Abu Dhabi will be held at du Arena from November 6 to 8. Tickets are available on www.tasteabudhabi.com. Until September 30, tickets will be sold in pairs and cost Dh99 for two. From October 1, tickets cost Dh65 per person. At the door, tickets are Dh80 per person. Children under 12 are free. VIP tickets are also available. Every ticket holder will be entered into the Ultimate Dining Experience raffle draw for a chance to win a Dh500 voucher for each of the 20 restaurants at the festival.
sjohnson@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The%20Specs
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Company%20profile
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
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HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
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