What the Food will bring together Dubai’s best food entrepreneurs, chefs, food scientists, homegrown initiatives and the city’s favourite food stalls, for a weekend of talks, workshops, and eating. Taking place on 6th & 7th May at Alserkal Avenue, the food festival will coincide with the closing weekend of the Dubai Food Festival.

Pushing the boundaries of the region’s culinary ecosystem, the weekend programme will be a key destination for those in the know. The Chef De Cuisine at Akira, Giovanni Ledon, and photographer Andrea Salerno will be hosting professional food photography workshops. There will be panel discussions with homegrown businesses, food tech experts, some of the Avenue’s favourite food spots, and health and nutrition experts from within the Avenue itself.

Home chefs will want to take notice too, as there will be a series of interactive workshops taking place across both days. MozaAlmatrooshi will demonstrate how to mix local flora and flavours in her butter-making workshop, Haya’s Kitchen will teach the skill of warak (Vine) rolling, and the young ones can get involved too with a kids-focused tablescaping demonstration with Rashid Almheiri.

Ethical eaters can look forward to a grow-your-own-vegetables workshop with Jamie; Yazen Al Kodmani will share insights on the inner workings of the organic farming based on his experience with Emirates Bio Farm; and, visitors can hear from Daniel Solomon, the founder of EroeGo, on ways to eliminate food waste.

For those that consider themselves foodies, the food festival will not disappoint either. Chef Hadrien will delight visitors with his playful and poetic chef’s table, food lovers can unite to hear from trailblazers in the industry as Karak Nights returns to the Avenue, and back by popular demand, Cucina del Sul will fill The Yard with their food stalls 5pm onwards, many of which will be offering a AED 10 meal on their menu, too.