One-off Dubai food festival offers dishes by 15 chefs

Enjoy unlimited street-food bites for Dh300 at the Best of Dubai event, on December 5 at Reform Social & Grill

Turkish coffee and chilli-rubbed rib-eye steak by Colin Clague will be served by the Ruya chef at the Best of Dubai food festival on December 5 at Reform Social & Grill. Photo courtesy Flavel Monteiro

Baby lamb shank machboos by Musabbeh Al Kaabi will be served by the Emirati chef at the Best of Dubai food festival on December 5 at Reform Social & Grill. Photo courtesy Flavel Monteiro  

Beef tartare by Luigi Vespero will be served by the Bull & Bear chef at the Best of Dubai food festival on December 5 at Reform Social & Grill. Photo courtesy Flavel Monteiro

Chicken thigh kushiyaki by Reif Othman will be served by the Japanese chef at the Best of Dubai food festival on December 5 at Reform Social & Grill. Photo courtesy Flavel Monteiro  

Polpo cacio e pepe by Francesco Guarracino will be served by the Roberto’s chef at the Best of Dubai food festival on December 5 at Reform Social & Grill. Photo courtesy Flavel Monteiro

Serbian dish beef cevapi by Uros Mitrasinovic will be served by the 21 Grams chef at the Best of Dubai food festival on December 5 at Reform Social & Grill. Photo courtesy Flavel Monteiro  

When Flavel Monteiro released The Best of Dubai a free-to-access e-cookbook with recipes by 34 chefs, he knew he wanted to take the initiative further, to showcase the city's most delicious dishes and the innovative cooks behind them.

The Dubai author's aim is to make the emirate the “culinary destination of the world”. The first step towards this is a one-off food event, which will take place at Reform Social & Grill on Saturday, December 5.

Not only will visitors get a chance to sample street-food-style bites from 15 of the emirate’s best-known chefs, but the chefs themselves will man their own food stalls, and can be approached for meet-and-greets, and even to share the recipes of what they deem are their speciality dishes.

On offer are five starters, seven mains and three desserts, “so foodies can work their way through the menu or head back for more of their favourites”, says Monteiro. A one-time fee of Dh300 gets you access to the venue and unlimited dishes; reservations are recommended.

What’s on the menu?

Here are some of the dishes on offer.

Sirloin with Turkish coffee rub

An enticing blend of flavours, this comes from Colin Clague, chef at Ruya Dubai, who was part of the opening team at Burj Al Arab, as well as Zuma, Jean Georges-Dubai and Q’bara.

Chicken thigh kushiyaki

Dubai’s favourite Japanese chef Reif Othman started his own street-food concept Reif Kushiyaki last year after a stellar career that saw him in the kitchens of Zuma Dubai, Play Restaurant and Billionaire Mansion.

Polpo Cacio e Pepe

Roberto’s chef Francesco Guarracino will serve his famed slow-cooked roasted octopus dish at the event.

Wagyu sliders

The award-winning group chef of Food Fund International, Praba Manickam oversees 11 brands, 21 restaurants and 350 chefs across the Middle East, South Africa and Europe.

Wagyu and truffle korma

Known for his outlandish but delicious fusion fare at Tresind, chef Himanshu Saini combines Japanese meat and Italian truffle with an Indian cooking technique all in one dish.

Angus beef tartare

Bull & Bear chef Luigi Vespero does a mean tartare, with organic egg yolk, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and Japanese mayonnaise.

Thai grilled chicken

Don’t be deceived by this dish’s simple name; chef Vinu Raveendran is, after all, part of the gastronomic fusion concept that is Carnival by Tresind.

Baby lamb shank machboos

The original Emirati chef, Musabbeh Al Kaabi of Jumeirah Zabeel Saray is something of a machboos expert, so save plenty of space for this meat and rice main.

Beef cevapi with urnebes

Uros Mitrasinovic, of hidden gem Balkan restaurant 21 Grams restaurant, is all about authentic fare, as this traditional Serbian dish proves.

Chicken satay

For fans of Malaysian food, nothing beats this classic coming from Doubletree by Hilton chef Rene Juefri.

Tacos

John Buenaventura, executive chef at Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, brings a street-food staple to the event.

S'moretians cookies

Pastry chef Nouel Omamalin, aka The Nifty Chef, describes his Best of Dubai offering as “surprise cookies”.

Valrhona chocolate stones and soil

Chef Praveen Kumar adds a hint of smokiness to his dessert with spiced barbecue pineapple.

The Best of Dubai food festival is on Saturday, December 5, from 12.30pm to 4.30pm at Reform Social & Grill, The Lakes Dubai, and is priced at Dh300 for unlimited dishes. Book your spot by calling 04 454 2638 or WhatsApp [phone].