The culinary experiences, chef masterclasses and collaborative dinners you need to book.
Next month, the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants will be revealed at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers. On Monday, 7 February 2022, 50 outstanding dining destinations – hopefully spanning the entire 19-country region from Morocco in its far west across to Iran and Oman further east – will be recognised, along with hard-working restaurant teams and brilliant individuals. A gastronomic celebration surrounding the announcement of MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants will occur between 4 and 8 February, with some of the world’s finest chefs descending on the UAE capital for a series of experiential dining events, cooking masterclasses and four-hands dinners.
Friday 4 February: Tim Raue Masterclass
Chefs from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list will reveal the secrets behind their signature dishes as part of a live cooking experience, with plenty of tasting and insider tips along the way. Each Masterclass ends with a Q&A session. Germany’s highest-ranked chef and one of the stars of Netflix’s Chef’s Table series has spent a lifetime developing his unique cookery style. Leaning on Japanese techniques and ingredient preparation with minimal use of carbohydrates or heavy sauces, his Berlin flagship is ranked No.31 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021. For this Masterclass, he will show guests how to make his signature wasabi langoustine and Sanghachi pike perch, with a sprinkling of tips and tricks to top things off. Friday 4 February, from 3:15pm to 6pm at The Liwa Suite, Yas Marina Circuit. AED 400. Buy tickets here.
Friday 4 February: Pía León Masterclass
The World’s Best Female Chef 2021 is the cook behind some of the world’s most seminal restaurants. Peru’s Central, which León runs with husband Virgilio Martínez, was named Restaurant of the Decade in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 and the chef recently launched Kjolle, her first solo project. Her cooking focuses on the topography of Peru, exploring its varied ecosystems and the unique ingredients associated with each location. León will be showcasing her country’s produce for this Masterclass. Friday 4 February, from 4:45pm to 5:30pm at The Liwa Suite, Yas Marina Circuit. AED 400. Buy tickets here.
Friday 4 February: Will Goldfarb Masterclass
Another star of Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Goldfarb worked in France, Spain, Australia, the UK and his native USA before settling in Bali to open his restaurant, Room 4 Dessert. His studied approach to sweet cookery saw him announced as The World’s Best Pastry Chef 2021, where he was lauded for his technical skill and style of food that sees him harness the healing properties of ingredients, particularly herbs and plants native to the Bali island paradise. Friday 4 February, from 6:15pm to 7pm at The Liwa Suite, Yas Marina Circuit. AED 400. Buy tickets here.
Friday 4 February: Tim Raue x Dai Pai Dong Collaboration Dining Series
Uniting Dai Pai Dong’s mastery of dim sum and Tim Raue’s outstanding Asian flavours, this unique collaboration within the Rosewood Abu Dhabi hotel promises to be one of the hottest tickets of the 50 Best event week. Raue will be interspersing his signature langoustine, pike perch and sustainable duck soup dishes with Dai Pai Dong’s innovative Cantonese cuisine, including delicious barbecued meat and its legendary bao buns. Friday 4 February at 8pm. AED 888. Buy tickets here.
Saturday 5 February: Pía León: Peruvian Paradise, 50 Best Experiential Dining
The first of two ultra-exclusive experiential dining events in Abu Dhabi, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover game-changing Peruvian cuisine created by the ultra-talented Pía León. 50 Best invites you to an intimate lunch for a gastronomic exploration of the culinary ecosystems of Peru in a fully immersive tropical island paradise at Zaya Nurai Island. A boat will whisk guests from the mainland to the pristine Nurai Island, where the scene will be set for an unforgettable afternoon, with plenty of surprises and culinary delights along the way. Saturday 5 February, from 1pm to 4pm. AED 2,500. Buy tickets here.
Saturday 5 February: #50BestTalks, MENA: United Through Food
A host of stars from the MENA region debating the current food scene will be joined by The World’s Best Pastry Chef, Will Goldfarb. The Bali-based cook behind Room 4 Dessert will enlighten the audience about the healing power of food and how we can all harness its favourable properties to enhance our day-to-day lives. The interactive event will also include a one-of-a-kind ‘Falafel Off’, where the MENA regions’ varying takes on this emblematic dish will be presented for tasting to the audience to compare and contrast different flavour profiles at play from Egypt, Lebanon and the UAE. Saturday 5 February, from 3pm to 5pm at The Liwa Suite, Yas Marina Circuit. AED 150. Buy tickets here.
Sunday 6 February: Julien Royer x LPM Restaurant & Bar Collaboration Dining Series
French chef Julien Royer is the mastermind behind Odette, the Singapore restaurant that was twice named No.1 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. His lightness of touch and outstanding palate balances Asian ingredients with French technique – and Royer will be teaming up with the LPM Restaurant & Bar chefs to create a unique collaborative menu that will combine some of the greatest hits of both restaurants for one night only. Sunday 6 February, from 8pm. AED 595. Register for tickets here.
Tuesday 8 February: Dave Pynt: Playing with Fire, 50 Best Experiential Dining
Aussie chef Dave Pynt has worked at some of the best restaurants in the world, from the current World’s Best Restaurant Noma in Denmark to the legendary Asador Etxebarri in Spain. All have influenced the grill-led cookery that defines his restaurant Burnt Ends in Singapore, which was announced as No.34 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021. Pynt will land in Abu Dhabi’s BBQ Al Qasr at Emirates Palace for a one-off barbecue experience, where myriad meat and vegetables will be exposed to the tender kiss of fire and smoke. The experience will begin with an exploration along the beachfront and end with decadent desserts by candlelight. Tuesday 8 February, from 8pm. PRICE TBC. Register for tickets here.
Tuesday 8 February: Natsuko Shoji x Tori No Su Collaboration Dining Series
Natsuko Shoji, Asia’s Best Pastry Chef 2020, is the chef-owner of restaurant Eté in Tokyo. She is revered for her pastry craft, making intricate desserts featuring livery of leading designer brands, while her bespoke cake-making business counts the likes of David Beckham and René Redzepi as happy customers. She is also a skilled savoury cook, trained in the classical French style, and will be pairing her finest dishes with Tori No Su, the restaurant in Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers. Tuesday 8 February, from 8pm. AED 480. Register for tickets here.
Tuesday 8 February: Dave Pynt: Playing with Fire, 50 Best Experiential Dining
Aussie chef Dave Pynt has worked at some of the best restaurants in the world, from the current World’s Best Restaurant Noma in Denmark to the legendary Asador Etxebarri in Spain. All have influenced the grill-led cookery that defines his restaurant Burnt Ends in Singapore, which was announced as No.34 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021. Pynt will land in Abu Dhabi’s BBQ Al Qasr at Emirates Palace for a one-off barbecue experience, where myriad meat and vegetables will be exposed to the tender kiss of fire and smoke. The experience will begin with an exploration along the beachfront and end with decadent desserts by candlelight. Tuesday 8 February, from 8pm. PRICE TBC. Register for tickets here.
