NEWS BITES

CULINARY NEWS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND BEYOND

THE WORLD’S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS IS COMING TO THE MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

50 Best will launch the highly anticipated Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants, with the awards being held in Abu Dhabi. The launch will mark the first time, since 2013, that 50 Best unveils a new regional restaurants list and awards programme. The event programme will be hosted in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi from February 4-11th, as part of the Abu Dhabi Culinary Calendar, with the gala awards ceremony taking place on February 7th. The inaugural list of Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants will be revealed in a live countdown, along with a series of special awards, culminating with the announcement of The Best Restaurant in the Middle East & North Africa 2022. The ranking will reflect the best restaurant experiences collated from 250 voters, made up of anonymous restaurant experts from 19 countries across the region.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Gulfood Manufacturing, the MEASA region’s largest food and beverage processing and packaging industry event, is back from November 7-9 2021 at Dubai World Trade Centre. This year, the event will witness four leading shows under one roof. Make your way towards Yummex Middle East, the leading trade fair for producers and manufacturers within the sweets, confectionery and snacks industries. Speciality Food Festival will host powerful collaborations while highlighting the latest discoveries in the gourmet market. Expect everything from artisan produce to speciality beverages, food services and more. If you’re a restaurateur, or launching a new F&B brand, and looking to connect with private label suppliers, brand licensors and contract manufacturers, add the Private Label & Licensing Middle East show to your agenda.

For more information on Gulfood Manufacturing and the other shows, visit gulfoodmanufacturing.com.

GIANFRANCO PIRRONE JOINS VANITAS

Sicilian chef Gianfranco Pirrone takes on the role of Chef de cuisine at Vanitas, the much-loved Italian fine dining restaurant at Palazzo Versace Dubai. Born in Calatafimi, a small town in the province of Trapani, Sicily, Gianfranco Pirrone began his culinary journey in the early 2000s as a pizza chef at Gallini’s restaurant in Wales. Ever since, Gianfranco has climbed the ladder with roles at Harrods in London, Club Med in Cefalu, Sicily, Sedona Hotel in Burma, The Rania Experience in the Maldives and the Grand Mercure Park Avenue in Thailand, followed by a stint at La Buvette in Rome. At Vanitas, chef Gianfranco seeks to bring his Sicilian heritage to the table, with a refined twist to the region. The menu will feature flavours, aromas and memories of his childhood seen in dishes such as black truffle pizza, grilled octopus, linguine with sea urchins and mullet bottarga inspired by the Italian coast, spinach tagliolini with parmigiano cream, pasteurized egg and shaved truffle.

MIDDLE EAST AND GULF COUNTRIES FOCUS ON TUTTOFOOD 2021

Visitors from the Middle East and Gulf Countries will be in the spotlight at TUTTOFOOD 2021, held simultaneously with HostMilano at the fieramilano exhibition centre from October 22-26th. This quality-oriented edition will bring together buyers and visitors, to meet with more than 600 exhibitors from Italy and around the world, starting with Europe. Among the most represented countries are Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, with participants also from the UK and Ireland, Germany, France, Nordic Countries and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary). Outside Europe, interesting presences are confirmed from Asia (India), Middle East and North Africa (Egypt, Turkey), North and South America (USA, Peru, Uruguay). Particularly noteworthy this year is the presence of multi-country booths, such as Eat Nordic (Denmark, Norway, and Finland) and Balkans (Slovenia, Serbia, and Kosovo).

For chefs, the collaboration between TUTTOFOOD and APCI, the Professional Association of Italian Chefs, will include show-cooking and a real Academy with numerous VIP moments. The programme will also feature two “plazas”, the Retail Plaza dedicated to innovative solutions in large-scale distribution and retail, and the Evolution Plaza focused on digital innovation. This year’s latest feature will be the TUTTOFRUIT area, dedicated to fresh fruit and vegetables and to product innovations in the IV and V ranges, which adds to the sections launched in recent editions such as TUTTOHEALTH, TUTTODIGITAL and more.

The 2021 edition will also present an organic focus on established sectors: TUTTODAIRY, TUTTODRINK, TUTTOFROZEN, TUTTOGROCERY, TUTTOHEALTH, TUTTOMEAT, TUTTOOIL, TUTTOPASTA, TUTTOSEAFOOD, TUTTOSWEET, TUTTOWORLD.

For more information, visit www.tuttofood.it/en/

THE HO.RE.CA INDUSTRY IS BACK AT HOST2021

The restart for the entire Ho.re.ca. Industry is at HostMilano (fieramilano, October 22 to 26, 2021). The 42nd edition will have additional features, thanks to the simultaneous holding of TUTTOFOOD and the possibility of exploiting system synergies between hospitality and the agri-food ecosystem. Expect to meet top players in the hospitality industry, flagships of Made in Italy and suppliers from all over the globe. This edition will showcase 1,000 registered exhibitors from 40 countries, as well as multiple high-profile buyers. You can take a close look and touch the most modern equipment, make new acquaintances and discuss trending topics: from sustainability and the Internet of Things to Artificial Intelligence, safety and sanitisation of environments.

For more information, visit host.fieramilano.it/en/

LIMESTONE LAB LAUNCHES IN THE UAE

A new experience-driven hospitality group has entered the market. Limestone Lab, a company with a vision of introducing new and innovative hospitality concepts to the UAE social and dining scene, is set to roll out a lineup of unique concepts between Q4 of 2021 and Q4 of 2023, with a disruptive approach to the traditional brick-and-mortar models.

Founded by Dubai-based serial entrepreneurs, Hassan Ballout and Hani Doueik, the company wil bring forth their extensive hospitality expertise. Ballout, CEO of Limestone Lab, is known for his recent position as Chief Growth Officer for Seven Management, where he launched and managed Seven Sisters and Antika Bar in Dubai. In addition to this, he co-created and rolled out 12 virtual restaurant brands in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait & Saudi Arabia, including Tawook Nation, Luca, Japang and Vigilante, to name a few. Hani Doueik will also serve as the Co-Founder and COO of Limestone Lab, adding his consulting experience alongside managing and founding F&B outlets in Lebanon.

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The content of this promotion campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the European Research Executive Agency (REA) do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the information it contains

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