Food news - an extra helping

There's plenty going on in the UAE food world at the moment- so much so that we couldn't fit all the new information into this week's Food News section of Arts&Life. See below for some additional bites.

Jumeirah at Etihad Towers is celebrating the hotel’s first anniversary on the 1st November with a selection of special promotions. If you visit the hotel on the 1st of the month you’ll receive a free signature mocktail; having supped that, make your way to Nahaam restaurant and you can sample a special set menu for Dh111 per person (available on the 1st only). And if you dine at Quest, Brasserie Angelique, Tori No Su, Li Beirut or Rosewater on that day you’ll be entered into a prize drawer to win a weekend stay at the hotel, with food included. For more information call 02 811 5666.

It’s 125 years since the Raffles hotel in Singapore first opened its doors. To mark the occasion, Fire&Ice, the grill restaurant in Raffles Dubai, is introducing a number of dishes sourced from cookery books dating back as far as 1861. Guests can start their meal with Mrs E.F.Ellet’s take on lobster soup (from the 1872 edition of "The New Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy and Practical Housekeeper"), continue on with a fricassee of chicken main course and finish with a traditional English trifle taken from “A Lady, A New System of Domestic Cookery” which was published in 1861.

As part of their Safe & Sound breast cancer awareness program BurJuman is holding a “Cakes for a Cause” charity event tomorrow (Thursday 18th) from 4pm-9pm. The bake sale will feature pink themed cookies and cakes from the likes of Bloomsbury’s, House of Cakes and Brownie Point Cakes and Confectioners as well as goodies made by home cooks. Head to the observatory area of the mall to purchase a treat or two.

BBQ season has arrived. As well as the newly launched weekend BBQ package at the Rivington Bar&Grill in Souk Madinat Jumeirah and Asado's barbecue themed cooking classes, Solis the bistro at Tiara Residence on Palm Jumeirah is now holding BBQ Fridays - 12.30-3pm for lunch, 7.30pm-10pm for dinner-  out on their terrace. They are also offering a "Hooked on Thursdays" option, where seafood is the order of the day- think grilled tuna, tiger prawns and red snapper (Dh125 per person, food only). For reservations call 04 432 9848 or email [e-mail]