Everything we know about Michelin Guide food festival at Louvre Abu Dhabi

The event will bring together top chefs from 16 restaurants around the world cooking up a storm and hosting masterclasses

The chef line-up includes Jimmy Lim, Lee Kok Hua and Heidi Bjerkan. @jimmy_limty / Instagram; @credoheidi / Instagram; Victor Besa / The National

Michelin Guide is hosting a food festival in Abu Dhabi next month, under the theme “discover the art of flavour”.

Taking place on the grounds of Louvre Abu Dhabi from December 8 to 10, the event will bring together chefs from 16 restaurants around the world that have been recognised by the famed guide. There will be curated menus, exclusive dishes and culinary masterclasses from some of the world's best chefs.

Three of the chefs are from Michelin-starred restaurants in Abu Dhabi: Lee Kok Hua of Hakkasan, Luigi Stinga of Talea by Antonio Guida and Thinus van der Westhuizen of 99 Sushi Bar.

The rest are from dining spots far and wide, including celebrity chef Alvin Leung from Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, which has two Michelin stars. Further showcasing Southeast Asian cuisine are Jimmy Lim from JL Studio in Taiwan, which has three stars, the highest honour a restaurant can get; as well as Supaksorn “Ice” Jongsiri from Sorn in Bangkok, which has two Michelin stars.

Scandinavian cuisine is also represented in the line-up with Heidi Bjerkan from Credo in Norway. The Trondheim restaurant has one star, as well as a Michelin green star, given to venues based on a sustainability criteria. French chef Pierre Chirac is also part of the festival, representing two-Michelin-starred restaurant La Scene in Paris.

“All these establishments make their own destination special and have amazed the guide inspectors, who are food experts but most of all, epicurean explorers,” says Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guide.

Aside from the sustenance, the Louvre Abu Dhabi food festival will also host six masterclasses, each focused on a flavour, from sweet, savoury or bitter to sour, umami and spicy.

There will also be a bar and a pastry area, as well as a marketplace with Michelin products and local farm produce.

Tickets to the festival start at Dh100, while there is a bundle package that includes admission to the Louvre.

The event is part of Abu Dhabi's bigger push to become a global gastronomic hub. The Michelin Guide first came to the capital in November last year, when three venues were awarded with stars and 39 others received either honourable mentions or were included in the Bib Gourmand category.

There is also a Michelin Guide Dubai with 14 restaurants awarded stars.