Record numbers attend Dubai Food Festival 2016 events, activities across the city

aTP-  Arab tourism portal- DUBAI (WAM) – The third edition of Dubai Food Festival, which concluded recently was a resounding success with record numbers of people attending the various events and activities and enjoying Dubai’s diverse culinary offerings during the 17-day citywide celebrations.

The festival attracted tens of thousands more food lovers this year, who engaged in the festival across 10 key activations and 750 participating restaurants and outlets, making it the largest and most diverse event of its type in the region.

DFF 2016 organisers, the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said they were particularly encouraged by the overwhelming response received from local restaurants and hotels, who joined in and offered mouth-watering experiences to foodies and families.

The festival further consolidated Dubai’s position as the regional gastronomy capital, an achievement that was largely built around a series of world class attractions and events such as the Etisalat Beach Canteen, Dubai Restaurant Week, ’Dine With the Stars’ and the array of celebrity chefs, who participated in masterclasses presented by Al Islami across the calendar of events for the festival.

Commenting on the conclusion of DFF 2016, Laila Mohammed Suhail, Chief Executive Officer, DFRE, in a press release, said, "Dubai Food Festival 2016 was a success for both Dubai and the city’s bustling gastronomy scene, and is a real reflection of the emirate’s emergence as a vibrant and unique culinary capital.

"With DFF being a part of DFRE’s strategy to leverage the multi-faceted festivals and retail sector to support Dubai’s Tourism Vision 2020, we have also been fortunate to receive the wholehearted support of our partners in the private sector to help DFF 2016 become a platform to showcase and demonstrate our rapidly expanding food and restaurant sector, and to share Emirati culture, cuisine and hospitality with visitors from all over the world," Suhail added.

Debra Greenwood, Director of Dubai Food Festival, said, "Dubai Food Festival 2016 was in itself a wonderful citywide restaurant that brought together food enthusiasts, residents and visitors alike to draw on the diversity, creativity and multicultural nature of Dubai’s culinary offerings."

"Anyone who was in Dubai during DFF 2016 had the opportunity to experience the festivities in one form or the other – be it through world class events, celebrity chef engagements, exceptional dishes created by restaurants or rewarding dining promotions. Most importantly, DFF 2016 satisfied the cravings of foodies, as they were able to ‘Celebrate Taste’ in the most exciting way," Greenwood added.

The central hub of Dubai Food Festival 2016, the Etisalat Beach Canteen attracted 72,000 people.