While it’s nice to be served signature meals by the city’s best chefs, there are also plenty of opportunities to learn to cook signature meals of your own. The festival is offering a handful of cookery classes across a range of cuisines. Here are a few that are not to be missed.
A Taste of Italy with Heinz Beck
Heinz Beck, the executive chef of La Pergola, Rome’s only three Michelin-starred restaurant, will host a one-night-only series of tasting sessions and cooking workshops in A Taste of Italy, his first casual restaurant, which is in The Galleria Mall on Al Wasl Road. Guests will get to meet Beck and sample the restaurant’s signature dishes and delicatessen products. March 1 from 8pm to 10pm, Dh150. To book, email reservations@tasteofitalyhb.com.
Learn about Emirati cuisine
Logma Khaleeji Treats, an Emirati restaurant in Boxpark on Al Wasl Road, is hosting a masterclass during which chefs will teach guests about the history and background of Emirati cuisine, the secrets of making traditional Karak tea, and how to work with traditional Emirati spices. Guests will also get to dine at Logma and will be given an array of Emirati spices to take home. There will be two four-hour classes on March 1: one at 10am and one at 6pm. Dh400 per person. To book, call 800 LOGMA.
Moroccan treats at Almaz by Momo
Book a class at Almaz by Momo at The Beach where you’ll find out how to create a three-course Moroccan meal. Guests will learn how to prepare tagine, couscous and Moroccan sweets, which will be followed by a sit-down lunch to eat what you’ve just prepared. March 9, from noon to 2pm, Dh185. To book, call 04 551 6427.
Chocolate lessons from Cocoville
Cocoville is putting on four chocolate workshops – two for kids, two for adults – where chocolatiers will talk about the history and process of chocolate-making while demonstrating how to make your own chocolate treats. In the kids’ class (for ages 6 to 12), little ones will learn how to make their own chocolate, from tempering to popping the finished treat out of the mould. Kids will get to take home their creations, along with recipes explaining how to recreate the treats at home. All workshops ate on March 5. For adults: 9am to 11am and 2pm to 4pm, Dh250. For kids: 11.30am to 1pm and 4.30 to 6pm. To book, email orders@thecocoville.com.
Wake up and smell the coffee
The festival will also host three coffee workshops. You can learn about coffee-making and latte art with UAE latte art champion Prakash Rai at Caffè Nero in Dubai Festival City on February 25 (free); learn how to make espressos and cappuccinos with RAW Coffee Company in Al Quoz on March 1 from 2.30pm to 4.30pm (Dh250); or learn all about Ethiopian coffee with a tasting and brewing session at Mokha 1450 in Al Bada’a on March 2 from 10.30am to 12.30pm (Dh50).
