Dubai is a great destination for an awesome vacation not only because it has extravagant hotels, malls and restaurants but also because it offers the best festivals in the region.
Just when the famous Dubai Shopping Festival ended, the Dubai Food Festival started, calling foodies from around the world to enjoy a whole new level of culinary experience. The festival offers a variety of events held at different locations. More than 700 restaurants in Dubai are participating in the festival.
“The event offers delicious events for foodies, where we encouraged restaurants to create a special set of menus and challenged the chefs to be creative and serve food throughout the festival time,” said Saeed Al-Falasi, Director Strategic Alliances at Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment. “The event is a result of the cooperation between the private and government sectors to make Dubai the ultimate travel destination; we are always looking for creative ways to enhance the number of visitors to Dubai,” he added.
“We support different sectors and the food and restaurant sectors are huge in Dubai; we wanted to support it like we supported the shopping and retail sector in the Dubai Shopping Festival,” Al-Falasi said.
The first Dubai Food Festival offers a flavor for every taste, targeting residents and locals first to show them what they have been missing. The 23-day festival started on Feb. 21 and will end on March 15. It witnesses the launching of family-oriented events, such as the Dubai Food Carnival and The Big Grill, which showcases the rich culture and cuisines of the southern Indian state of Kerala at the Grand Kerala Festival, as well as the South American nation of Peru in The Taste of Peru Festival.
Dubai-based malls are also participating in the culinary event, following creative ideas to showcase their restaurants. “We have strategic partners, such as Deira City Center, Mirdif City Center, Mall of Emirates and Mercato, who are all offering shoppers a weekly draw to win prizes,” said Khalid Al-Najjad, Senior Media and Public Relations Officer at Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment.
The Dubai Mall was the most creative of the lot in its activities. “The mall managed to change the look of casual dining and turn it to fine dining experience for all the restaurants facing the Dubai fountain, only on Mondays. They call it The White Mondays,” said Al-Falasi. “The view is amazing due to the water front promenade, which looks like you are in a movie, where all the tables look alike and the dancing fountain provides live entertainment for diners,” he added.
The Dubai Food Festival also brings under one umbrella business events, including Gulfood, the world’s largest annual food and hospitality trade show, and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum. The annual event also includes different booths from different countries around the world where they are showcasing their cuisines, looking to spread the culture. Gulfood features more than 20,000 brands, 4,500 exhibitors, 120 country pavilions and 80,000 visitors.
One of the most exciting events that took place on Feb. 28 was the Big Grill that was held at The Emirates Golf Club. The weather was perfect where families enjoyed an outdoor event filled with music, food and laughter. Children were able to have fun at the children's corner while parents enjoyed their day listening to live music and eating some of the finest BBQ that was prepared by around 60 chefs. "We created different food stations that allows visitors to taste different kinds of meat cuts and enjoy our house specialty sauces and marinating, starting with the high street grill, which is a typical American BBQ with ribs, hot dogs, drumsticks and so on,” said Chef Jeffery Brothers. “The grill next door offers cuisine that is within our reach, such as Arabic and Indian cuisines, and of course, the famous shawarma. Then comes the most important part that is the Master Grill, which is created to showcase different meats that people don’t usually order in restaurants; it’s a great opportunity for them to taste it here,” he added.
The Grill also hosted a cooking competition inviting people to compete with each other for flavors and tastes. “We asked our social media followers to submit their recipes on Facebook and we chose five of them to compete with each other in a live cooking contest,” said Chef Brothers. “They are regular aspiring chefs who offered live entertainment to people and celebrated food with their families,” he added.
“Each festival has a message; the summer festival says that Dubai is a capital of tourism for summer vacation, the shopping festival says that Dubai is the region’s shopping capital destination, and now, the food festival says that Dubai offers a huge variety of local and internationally celebrated restaurants,” said Naser Hakim, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment media center manager. “We wanted to highlight the different varieties of restaurants, where people can spend anywhere between 10 Dh to 1000 Dh. We encourage people to go outside the box and experience different tastes and different cuisines in Dubai,” he added.
Another first for Dubai is the Beach Canteen, which was held between Feb. 28 until March 1 on the Kite Beach, Sunset Beach and Jumeirah Beach. “This event was held especially for beach lovers who enjoyed a variety of food on the beach. The casual setting is a great touch that makes you feel like you left the city and you are in a different place enjoying international cuisine,” said Al-Najjad. The Beach Canteen featured eight restaurants at Kite Beach, four restaurants at Sunset Beach and four restaurants at Jumeirah Beach, all of which offer a creative dining experience featuring food outlets operating out of refurbished cargo containers located along a vast stretch of beach,” he added.
Global Village is an annual event held in the winter season in Dubai. Every year, different booths from various countries come all the way from across the world to showcase their merchandise, culture and food to the visitors. “During the Dubai Food Festival, the Village came under this umbrella and offered casual and fast food from different countries all in one location,” said Hakim.
Taste of Peru was one of the most entertaining events at Souk Madinat Jumeirah that was held between Feb. 26 and March 1. The event allowed people to learn more about the South American Country, from its clothing and traditions to food and music. The event was organized by the Trade, Tourism and Investment Office of Peru in Dubai. It had live music entertainment and authentic Peruvian dishes were served to the visitors. The event not only attracted foodies but also fashionistas because it included a fashion show showcasing works by Peruvian fashion designers.
Locals and residents who attended the festival were excited to try different cuisines and learn about them. “I was very excited to see how restaurants started to add different kinds of dishes to their menus; it made me want to visit different restaurants to sample their dishes,” said Mariam Khalil, one of the event’s visitors. “It is a great idea to involve the whole family in a number of events knowing that festivals and events set Dubai aside from other cities in the country,” she added.
The food festival is a great opportunity for the whole family to join in a fun meal, according to Mohammed Salah, one of the attendees of the event. “The grill was so much fun where we gathered with friends and family for a great outdoor experience,” he said. “Knowing that most Dubai activities happen indoors, it was a great change to enjoy the weather and the sun with tens of people who enjoyed a family oriented event,” he added.
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Dubai food festival: A flavor for every taste
Dubai food festival: A flavor for every taste
Russian cyclist finds warm welcome on Saudi Arabia’s roads
- Anna Rodnishcheva’s ride through Kingdom is defining chapter in solo expedition
- Rodnishcheva cycled to Aqaba, crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, and has since traveled through Tabuk, AlUla, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif on her way to Riyadh
MAKKAH: Solo adventurer Anna Rodnishcheva, 27, has undertaken an ambitious journey that spans countries, climates and cultures — on a bicycle.
Born and raised in Moscow and trained as a biologist before becoming an event photographer, she now finds herself pedaling thousands of kilometers across unfamiliar landscapes in pursuit of discovery, connection, and the simple joy of movement.
In her conversation with Arab News, Rodnishcheva offered a detailed account of her ongoing route in Saudi Arabia, describing how the expedition is her third major cycling adventure.
After previously riding from Moscow to Sochi and later from Vladivostok to Sochi — a route that stretches across the entirety of Russia — she felt compelled to explore foreign lands by bicycle.
She set off from Moscow heading south last June, passing through Russia, Georgia, and Turkiye before flying from Antalya to Amman. She cycled to Aqaba, crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, and has since traveled through Tabuk, AlUla, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif on her way to Riyadh.
Rodnishcheva explained that physical preparation played only a small role in her planning. She began slowly and allowed her body to adapt naturally over the first month.
The true challenge, she said, was in the mental and financial preparation. She spent a year and a half planning the journey, even though she originally intended to postpone it for several more years.
Ultimately, her belief that “life is short” convinced her to start with the resources she already had. Although she sought medical evaluations and additional vaccinations, she was unable to complete them all and decided to continue regardless.
Her journey through Georgia and Turkiye presented unexpected difficulties. Simple tasks such as finding groceries or locating bicycle repair shops became more challenging outside of Russia, where she knew how to navigate on a budget.
She also encountered language barriers, though the situation improved when a local cyclist joined her in Georgia. The intense midsummer heat added another layer of difficulty, but she had prepared herself for such conditions.
One of the most striking moments of her trip occurred as she crossed from Jordan into Saudi Arabia. She described the experience as surreal and emotionally overwhelming, likening it to the adventures of a literary hero traveling across the Arabian Peninsula.
Her anxiety eased unexpectedly when she got a flat tire at the border, bringing her back to the present.
Despite being warned that crossing by bicycle would be prohibited, the process went smoothly, and she was struck by the friendliness of both Jordanian and Saudi officials. She expressed particular surprise at meeting a female Saudi passport officer, an encounter that challenged her previous assumptions about women’s roles in the Kingdom.
Rodnishcheva said the hospitality she had experienced in Saudi Arabia surpassed anything she had encountered on previous journeys. Drivers frequently stop to offer her water, fruit, or sweets, and several families have generously hosted her in their homes or guest flats.
She emphasized that she feels completely safe traveling across the Kingdom, especially on the open roads between cities, noting the strong and visible security presence.
She has also observed significant differences in weather. While the stretch from the border to Jeddah was hot despite being winter, the climate changed dramatically after climbing Al-Hada in Taif, turning cooler and windier — a climate she compared to Russian summers.
Rodnishcheva documents her travels primarily through Russian-language platforms such as VK and Telegram. Although she maintains YouTube and Instagram accounts, she explained that her schedule left little time for frequent updates.
Offering a message to women around the world who dream of embarking on similar adventures, she said such journeys were “not as scary as they seem before you start,” though they may not suit everyone.
Her closing advice? “Listen to your heart.”
