UAE’s leading culinary talents auctioned off to Dubai’s social set

Last night saw 150 of Dubai’s elite gather on the ZUMA terrace to pledge their support for the recent Japanese disaster at an exciting evening event called ‘Chefs for Japan’. This event is part of a larger initiative by the ZUMA brand to raise money for the Japanese crisis world wide, being driven by ZUMA co-founders Rainer Becker and Arjun Waney.

The cocktail reception was marked by attendance from some of Dubai’s most prolific residents who mingled over canapés and drinks, freshly prepared by the award winning participating Chefs. As an extra touch, leading Parisian duo Brahms & Co, provided an inimitable musical backdrop, with a quirky, Japanese inspired set.

The reception culminated in a charity auction, emcee’d by television presenter Tom Urquhart, whereby a selection of top chefs from the UAE’s most respected restaurants including Verre by Gordon Ramsay, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Traiteur, Asado, ZUMA, Caprice Holdings and La Petite Maison were sold off to the highest bidder.

As predicted, the event proved to be a stellar success, with fierce competition amongst the bidders as they battled to secure their favourites. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross, which, combined with a dontation Of the event, Ajaz Sheikh, Director of Operations for ZUMA, remarked: ‘We were absolutely delighted with the turn out for such a worthy cause, and were particularly thrilled at the conviviality amongst the participating Chefs. We would like to thank all those who participated in the event and who helped make it such a tremendous success’.