Food news: Dine with celebrity chefs including Massimo Bottura in the UAE this week

Greg Malouf, Khaled Alsaadi and Bethany Kehdy will be in Abu Dhabi while Bottura will be cooking up a storm in Dubai

Chef Massimo Bottura is visiting Dubai to treat guests to two elaborate dinners at Torno Subito. Courtesy Torno Subito

From chef meet-ups to innovative creations, here’s what’s new on the UAE’s food scene this week.

Meet chef Massimo Bottura for an eight-course meal

The star Italian chef of Osteria Francescana fame is visiting the UAE to whip up an elaborate feast at his Dubai outpost, Torno Subito. Guests visiting the chic restaurant at W Dubai – The Palm on Monday and Tuesday, December 14 and 15, will be able to enjoy an authentic Italian eight-course tasting menu, prepared by Bottura himself.

On offer will be traditional dishes including roasted cod with braised cabbage, served with a bagna cauda sauce; zuppa di pasta di domani, served with chickpeas and shrimps; and a succulent roasted duck with panettone, pumpkin and candied fruit juice. For dessert, there will be pink banana, which is a mouse with berries, white chocolate and pink crumble.

The dinner will be from 7.30pm to 11pm, and is Dh550 a person, for food only. Bookings are essential and can be made by contacting [e-mail] or 04 245 5800.

Count down to Christmas with Sugargram's advent calendar

Sugargram's advent calendar is packed with 24 festive treats

The online cupcake delivery company has come up with a sugary way to welcome the festive season. Sugargram's advent calendar features 24 individual treats within a festive advent calendar-style box, which has been crafted to resemble Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Those with a sweet tooth can look forward to a new surprise every day, with treats such as single-origin artisanal chocolates shaped like reindeer and snowmen, milk-chocolate-dripped nuts, five flavours of handcrafted gummies and others. The calendar is Dh250, and deliveries can be made in Dubai and Sharjah.

Sample a nine-course menu by celebrated chefs in Abu Dhabi

Chef Khaled Alsaadi heads up Fae Cafe. Courtesy Abu Dhabi Culinary Season

The latest experience, part of Abu Dhabi Culinary Season, is a nine-course menu, being served from today until Saturday, at Fae Cafe in Al Zahiyah. Diners will be able to try creations from chef Khaled Alsaadi, who heads Fae, plus celebrated Australian-Lebanese chef Greg Malouf and cookbook author and Lebanese-American culinary expert Bethany Kehdy, with each whipping up three courses. Malouf will serve giant yeast sambusak stuffed with kashkaval cheese, quail in kataifi and halawa ice cream, pistachio and plum caramel; Kehdy's creations include scallop kibbeh, venison and quince manti maamoul, and ox cheek; and Alsaadi's offerings include pumpkin soup, hammour, and saffron and cardamom curd. The dinner is Dh350, with all three chefs on hand for a chat. For more information, visit adculinaryseason.ae

Celebrate authentic Italian food in Dubai

Beef with potatoes and beans at Luigia

This year, Italian Cuisine in the World, a global celebration of Italy's food is marking 200 years of the birth of Pellegrino Artusi, widely acknowledged as the father of Italian cuisine and author of the cookbook Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. Six restaurants in Dubai have created a special menu, with their own renditions of Artusi's recipes, available until Saturday, December 12. Diners craving a taste of authentic Italian fare can head over to Luigia at Rixos Premium Dubai, JBR, for guancia di manzo con patate e piselli (beef with potatoes and beans), or Vanitas at the Palazzo Versace for Piedmont pasta, complete with Alba white truffle and butter sauce. Other participating restaurants include Bella at the Grand Millennium Business Bay, The Artisan at Waldorf Astoria DIFC, Bellavista at Grosvenor House Dubai and La Strega in Le Royal Meridien.

Grab a shapely slice at Pizzetta

Pizzas can be heart or teddy-bear-shaped at Pizzetta

Pizza connoisseurs in Dubai can check out Pizzetta, the delivery-only concept that dishes out Italian pies with a twist. It offers four pizza bases: a fluffy dough made with wholewheat flour fermented for 58 hours, plus gluten-free, keto and veggie options (the last dough being 50 per cent vegetables). Click-happy customers can order their pies to be shaped like a heart or teddy bear, with options such as margherita, portobello truffle and pepperoni available. Ordering via Chatfood gets you a 25 per cent discount this month.