Visitors to last year’s inaugural Taste of Abu Dhabi  food festival at du Arena on Yas Island. Pawan Singh / The National
Visitors to last year’s inaugural Taste of Abu Dhabi food festival at du Arena on Yas Island. Pawan Singh / The National

Taste of Abu Dhabi: what’s new and how to get your ticket



The festival is at du Arena. It runs on Thursday, November 5 from 4pm to 11pm; Friday, November 6 from noon to 11pm; and Saturday, November 7 from noon to 10pm. Tickets start at Dh65 on Friday and Saturday (Dh80 at the door) and Dh120 on Thursday.

On Thursday night, your ticket includes a one-night-only performance by the late Bob Marley’s reggae band The Wailers. VIP tickets are available each night of the festival for Dh170 (Dh190 at the door).

Standard tickets get you into the festival and access to all cookery shows and demonstrations. On Thursday night, those tickets include two drinks.

VIP tickets get you fast-track entry; access to the VIP enclosure; two drink vouchers, three food vouchers and access to all cookery shows and demonstrations.

New this year: Premier Family Lounge tickets. For Dh130 (Dh150 at the door), you'll get fast-track entry; family lounge access; two soft beverage vouchers; three food vouchers; and complimentary Arabian teas, coffee and dates.

All tickets gets you an entry into the Ultimate Dining Experience raffle. The winner will receive a Dh500 voucher for each of the 25 restaurants featured at the festival.

Practise your skills with celebrity chefs

The OSN-Food Network Chef’s Theatre will host live cookery demonstrations from chefs Steven Edwards; Joshua Stanzl; Eric Lanlard; Reza Mahammad; Jenny Morris; Suzanne Husseini; Valentine Warner; Jose Pizzaro; winner of MasterChef India Nikita Gandhi; and Food Network favourite Siba Mtongana.

Or get your hands dirty and cook alongside the chefs in the cookery school. Participants will get slots on a first-come, first-served basis. For a full schedule of the Chef's Theatre and the cookery school, visit www.tasteabudhabi.com.

Eat ... and then eat some more

Twenty-five of Abu Dhabi’s best restaurants will serve signature bites throughout the festival. Where else will you be able to dine in 25 of the capital’s best restaurants in one night? Restaurants on tap include Villa Toscana, Avasa, Koi, Caramel, Safina, Nolu’s Cafe, Flooka, Prego’s and many more (See box for four eateries we are excited about). Served in small portions, plates range from Dh15 to Dh40 each.

Can’t eat anymore? Browse the market

There will be 30 tabletop vendors displaying their goods for sale at the festival. Brands in attendance include Coral Mermaid Tails; Oriental Leather Arts; Fahima Fattah Art; Lynda Marion Jewellery; Dee’s Boutique; Ta’ansami and more. In addition to the tabletops, the festival will feature more than 65 exhibitors. On the list: Love Doughnuts; Just Kunafa; Molten Me, Galito’s Flame-Grilled Chicken; Gelato Divino; Sushi Central; The Raw Place and many more.

Music, entertainment, fun and games

The Wailers will perform live on Thursday night at 9:30pm. The Maplejacks, 4TheMusic and Leading Lights Productions will perform throughout the festival and DJ Superfly will keep the music flowing between the live acts. Kids will have plenty to do in the Funky Monkeys Kids Zone with 15 activities, six carnival games and a big bouncy slide.

sjohnson@thenational.ae

Company%20profile
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From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

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TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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ASHES SCHEDULE

First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)

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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
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Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

The biog

Name: Mariam Ketait

Emirate: Dubai

Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language

Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown

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Sector: Sustainability
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VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

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The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran. 

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf. 

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said. 

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer. 

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy. 

 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company profile

Company name: Nestrom

Started: 2017

Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi

Based: Jordan

Sector: Technology

Initial investment: Close to $100,000

Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors

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Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)

Engine 5.2-litre V10

Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch

Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm

Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)