The UAE restaurant scene serves up dishes from around the world, but Emirati cuisine has remained available at only a few specific places. A new initiative from Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) hopes to change that, making local dishes more widely available through the Emirati Cuisine Programme (ECP).
The inauguration of the programme coincides with the country’s 49th National Day celebrations, though the initiative will extend throughout 2021. DCT Abu Dhabi says that the ECP hopes to “raise the profile of local cuisine and promote Emirati culture and traditions”.
The programme will enlist a number of hotels to offer authentic Emirati cuisine on their menus, targeting four- and five-star hotels in Abu Dhabi for in its first year. In a press statement, DCT Abu Dhabi has stated that more hotel categories will be “incorporated in subsequent years”.
As part of the programme, DCT Abu Dhabi has collaborated with Emirati chef Khulood Atiq, who started her career as a chef's assistant in a cooking show before launching a book Sarareed in 2011. She has since worked as a consultant for hotels, advocating for Emirati cuisine and the special ingredients used in it.
For ECP, Atiq will train hotel chefs in Emirati cooking through virtual meetings and videos. “I will be hosting the training sessions from my own kitchen and will be in direct contact with all the chefs to guide them and answer their inquiries,” she said in a statement. Participating Abu Dhabi hotels will also have continued access to the videos through the tourism board’s media library.
“The inspiration to create the Emirati Cuisine Programme came from DCT Abu Dhabi’s desire to give visitors the chance to experience the beauty and hospitality of Emirati culture through food,” said Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, executive director of tourism and marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi.
“Hotels are a crucial consumer touchpoint for any destination, and by making more Emirati food available at hotels, we are aiming to make our cuisine more accessible to visitors, no matter how long or short their stay is,” he added.
Al Shaiba stated that “up to 50 chefs from hotels across the emirates” have showed interest in participating in the programme.
The list of participating hotels has not yet been released. On its website, DCT Abu Dhabi has mentioned that it will outline exclusive offers and promotions linked to the programme in the coming days.
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It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
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Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
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The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
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Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
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The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
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Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
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Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
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Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
