BurJuman announces the exciting menu of the city’s most interactive international fine food festival launching next week

Organisers of the inaugural edition of Treat the BurJuman World Food Fest 2012 today announced the complete schedule of exciting activities that Dubai’s foodies can look forward to this month.

With 12 days of free masterclasses, cooking demos, dining etiquette workshops, audience competitions, exciting rewards and delicious free sampling to look forward to, Treat’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the first festival to offer such an extended and interactive opportunity to dining enthusiasts, aspiring chefs, families and  foodies to learn about different aspects of fine dining from leading industry experts at no cost at all.

“The idea is to involve the audience as much as possible and make the whole experience highly interactive. Treat offers a high quality of culinary instruction for free to anyone who appreciates great food and the whole concept of hosting and dining,” says Sabina Khandwani Head of PR and Marketing, BurJuman.

Treat’s packed agenda includes a number of different events and activities. From September 11th – 16th, daily themed masterclasses and cooking demos will be held by chefs from Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek (Modern German & Vietnamese; The Ritz-Carlton DIFC Arabic & French cuisine;  Dubai Marriott Hotels Italian; Dusit Thani Dubai Thai & International Desert; Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah Seafood and Meliá Dubai International & Indian Fusion. From classics such as fresh homemade ravioli stuffed with gorgonzola to exotic creations such as dum nariyali prawns and salmon rillette, participants will be able to watch and learn how to create an array of amazing dishes.

The Masterclasses will take place daily at the specially created Teka Chef’s Theatre from 4pm-5pm and will be open to audience participation on a first-come-first-served basis up to 6 participants per masterclass. This will be followed by three cooking demos each an hour long taking place daily at 5.30pm; 6.45pm; 8.15pm.

Other highlights include an evening of special masterclasses on delectable Hot and Cold Canapes conducted by the International Centre for Culinary Arts Dubai, one of the Top 10 culinary institutes in the World. Six half-hour ICCA masterclasses will take place at the Teka Chef’s Theatre on September 17, at 4pm, 4.45pm, 5.30pm, 6.45pm, 7.30pm and 8.30pm.

Those looking to brush up on their entertaining and dining etiquette skills can head to the mall’s South Village for ‘Table Setting & Culinary Etiquette’ - a series of informative workshops by leading etiquette institute Finishing Touch, on everything from table settings for different menus and occasions, special festive table decorations, creative centrepieces, cutlery usage, napkin folding, tea etiquette, cocktail party etiquette, fruit and vegetable carving and more.

The free half-hour workshops will take place daily from September 11th – 17th at 5.45pm, 7pm and 8.45pm.

A special kids’ corner set up on both event weekends Thursday to Saturday from 5-9pm by Kitsch Cupcakes will make sure the mall’s youngest visitors also get their fill of kiddy treats with special cupcake decorations.

Visitors will also be able to put their tactile and olfactory senses to the test with daily Guess The Ingredients competitions taking place from September 11th – 16th, with great prizes in store for those who really know their herbs from their spices.

All event visitors will also get a chance to win a fantastic hamper of AED25,000 worth of mouth-watering goodies, dining vouchers and more.

Leading F&B and cooking appliance brands including Illy Coffee, Kcal and Dole and many more will also be sampling and selling their products all across the mall for the entire duration of the event.

Treat will conclude with the highly anticipated BurJuman Junior Chef 2012 competition,taking place from September 18th – 22nd.

“The BurJuman Junior Chef 2012 competition will be organised in conjunction with the Emirates Culinary Guild – the undisputed authority in the UAE on the culinary industry, with a long-standing history of identifying and sourcing high quality culinary talent. Where this year’s competition will differ from previous years is that we are keen to make the competition accessible to an audience that goes beyond the chefs’ community,” said Khandwani. “For example, this year’s competition will introduce a greater deal of interactivity through on-going sampling of dishes and commentary to enable the audience to understand the competition better. The idea is to present a platform for the city’s immense body of culinary talent,” she concluded.