Whether you dine out regularly or just on special occasions, you will have noticed how things have changed in Abu Dhabi’s restaurant scene. A little more than five years ago, the city’s culinary highlights could be found in just a few hotels and the options were somewhat limited.
Fast forward to 2014 and the gourmet scene has come of age. This weekend, the inaugural Taste of Abu Dhabi festival hits town. The international foodie event is held in 21 cities around the world and has garnered a strong following since its 2004 launch in London. Many in the UAE will be familiar with the event, as Dubai has hosted a Taste festival since 2008.
This weekend, the spotlight is on Abu Dhabi and its restaurants, and even though a number of top international chefs will be in attendance, many people are excited about sampling the best that the city’s restaurants and their chefs have to offer.
Raghu Pillai, the executive chef of the Yas Island Rotana and Yas Island Centro, believes the festival is the start of bigger things to come for Abu Dhabi. “Taste of Abu Dhabi will help bring more and more restaurants into the limelight,” he says. The chef moved to Abu Dhabi in 2008 to join the Beach Rotana and has experienced the shift in the city’s culinary offerings and diners’ expectations.
“In early 2008 Abu Dhabi was at a threshold for change, culinary wise. There were just a few major players that dominated the food scene in the capital. Elegant casual-dining outlets in malls, promenades and other areas were very limited, but there were a lot of small Indian, Arabic and Chinese outlets that were serving decent food in the city,” he explains.
Over the following years, that has all changed, with the arrival of luxury hotels from Jumeirah, Fairmont, Shangri-La, St Regis, Hyatt, Viceroy and Ritz-Carlton. “Then came the influx of new casual-dining concepts, both top-end as well as mid-scale in promenades, malls and other dining areas, most of which were already successful in Dubai and looking for a new market and expansion.”
Another Yas Island chef, Pradeep Kumar, who joined the Yas Viceroy’s pre-opening team in 2009 and is the chef de cuisine at Angar, believes the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the start of big changes for the city. “Many new hotels and stand-alone restaurants have opened since 2009 with the first Formula One [race] in Abu Dhabi. There are continuously new concepts and cuisines on offer, ranging from molecular gastronomy to modern fine-dining Arabic. The quality of restaurants is very high now; big brands and celebrity chefs are coming to Abu Dhabi to open restaurants and fulfil the expectations of the capital’s food lovers,” he says.
The start of 2009 was a defining moment for the capital, as it welcomed the first Gourmet Abu Dhabi fine-dining food festival, with top chefs and personalities, including Heinz Beck, Atul Kochhar and Ian Wright. The annual festival has helped to promote local restaurants and chefs with awards, masterclasses and exclusive dinners.
But while Gourmet Abu Dhabi celebrates everything fine-dining in the capital, Taste of Abu Dhabi is more accessible. Entry to the three-day event, which is outdoors at the du Arena on Yas Island, costs Dh80 per day or Dh190 for a VIP ticket (which includes three drinks vouchers and three food vouchers). Dishes cost between Dh15 and Dh30 each.
Sang Lee, the executive chef at Koi on Saadiyat Island, says that Taste events are famous the world over and give chefs and restaurants the chance to showcase their brand and food. “We have the opportunity to reach out to a much wider market, some of which have not tasted our food. The show will be a great platform for us to introduce ourselves to the wider market in the capital and the UAE as a whole.”
He says it will also be a great way to introduce visitors to modern Japanese cuisine. “Koi will be offering dishes such as vegetable maki, tuna tartare, creamy rock shrimp and grilled sea bass. These are all ideal for an event such as this, because of their simplicity.”
Kumar, meanwhile, plans to prepare his favourite dish, karare gobhi (crispy cauliflower), along with samosa chaat, butter chicken, masaledar lamb chops and desi opera (“which is an Indian twist to a classic French opera cake”). “People should come and see our stand because of the exciting flavours and dishes. I’ll be offering tips for creating these dishes at home as well as advice on Indian cooking.”
But if steak is more to your liking, you’ll want to stop by Pillai’s Blue Grill chalet for tips on how to cook the perfect steak dish at home and sample bite-size portions of some menu favourites.
Stefano Viola, the chef de cuisine at Villa Toscana, the Italian restaurant at St Regis Abu Dhabi, is no stranger to food festivals. “This is the kind of food festival no one wants to miss,” he says. “In Italy, it’s very common to have these kinds of events. Every region, every province has a staple produce to promote, such as mushrooms, olive oil or cheese. We call these festivals ‘sagras’, and they are an Italian tradition, so to participate in Taste of Abu Dhabi is familiar territory.
“There is a surreal experience to be had when enjoying food in the street-festival atmosphere. I have a vivid memory from when I worked in London about 15 years ago,” Viola recalls. “I was savouring noodles in Camden Market – they must have tasted so much better than in a restaurant, despite the fact that I was eating them off a paper plate. I was standing outside, surrounded by so many sounds and people… it’s indescribable.”
He hopes that visitors to Taste of Abu Dhabi will also have a similar experience. “On the first day of Taste of Abu Dhabi, I’ll be participating in the Chefs’ Theatre, giving a live cooking demonstration on how to prepare black bass. At the Villa Toscana booth, we will serve some traditional Sicilian street food – the arancini – as well as handmade Tuscan spinach and ricotta ravioli, our signature beef carpaccio and, for the dessert lovers, we will serve decadent cannolis.”
Viola moved to the capital in 2012 for the pre-opening of St Regis Abu Dhabi. He had previously worked at Bussola in the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, but more recently assisted with the opening of the Golf Club Resort Castiglion del Bosco Golf Club and Resort with the Ferragamo family in Montalcino, Italy.
His first impression of the city’s culinary scene was positive. “The difference with other places where I’ve worked is that, today, I truly feel that I am in the right place at the right moment. I am meant to be here during this time to be a part of and witness the blossoming of the culinary scene of this city,” he explains.
“I am more convinced today that Abu Dhabi is in a very high momentum in every field. Abu Dhabi is a meeting point between East and West, making so many cultures and cuisines accessible to residents and visitors. This accessibility has helped people explore, learn and understand more about what the hospitality and culinary sectors can offer.”
That has led to more discerning palates and higher expectations.
“Abu Dhabi’s dining scene continues to grow, especially with a local market that is becoming more and more particular about their palates’ demands. With their growing exposure to different cuisines, they make more judgements when it comes to dining outside of home,” Viola says.
“Restaurants are now places to gather, to socialise and spend quality time with family and friends. In this melting pot of a city, going out to dine with people from so many backgrounds provides us with the opportunity to experience life in a whole new way – the experience is not just exploring new flavours and savouring food.”
And that’s exactly what food lovers will expect to experience when they visit Taste of Abu Dhabi this weekend. In the words of Kumar: “Hosting the Taste festival is a very positive thing for the city and the UAE. It shows that Abu Dhabi has been recognised internationally as one of the most exciting culinary destinations.”
• Taste of Abu Dhabi runs until tomorrow at du Arena, Yas Island. Tickets can be purchased at the door for Dh80 per day. The event runs from noon to 11pm today and noon to 10pm tomorrow. For information, visit www.tasteabudhabi.com
atomlinson@thenational.ae