Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the city’s most pioneering culinary destination, is celebrating the origins of Emirati cuisine with a curated dining experience that will see local flavours elevated into a fine-dining setting. Bringing together four handpicked Emirati Chefs and four celebrated DIFC dining institutions, Off the Menu – The Emirati Edition will see the crème de la crème of regional gastronomy collaborate for a spectacular fusion menu that showcases the best of both cuisines.
After a successful two weeks at BB’s Social Dining restaurant, the culinary adventure is set to continue from 25 September 2019 until 13 November 2019 at the Centre. The Off the Menu – The Emirati Edition partnership will be available to diners every fortnight with the remaining restaurants and Emirati Chefs to include Roberto’s, Boca and Le Petite Maison.
Taking up its second residency at Roberto’s, an authentic, thoughtful and contemporary Italian fine dining restaurant on 25 September 2019, Off the Menu – The Emirati Edition will see Emirati Chef Saud Al Matrooshi collaborate with Executive Chef Alessandro Miceli for an Emirati-Italian inspired menu.
Roberto’s and Emirati Chef Saud’s set menu will consist of a decadent five-course meal to include an Emirati style, date and black truffle salad, stuffed calamari with spiced rice, homemade Emirati shark ravioli and an Italian ricotta and Camel milk mousse to name a few. The meal is paired with two specially curated mocktails designed to refresh the palette – Lemon Sherbet and Garden Fizz. The set menu will be priced at AED 495 per person.
Peyman Al Awadhi, Senior Vice President – Marketing & Corporate Communications, DIFC Authority, said: “DIFC hosts some of the world’s finest restaurants and it is our responsibility to make sure we are continuously seeking ways to innovate by pushing the boundaries of culinary innovation. ‘Off the Menu – The Emirati Edition’ celebrates the local heritage and traditions of Emirati cuisine, whilst showcasing the breadth of fine-dining restaurants and talented Executive Chefs we have in the Centre.”
Chef Saud started his career in F&B as a marketing manager at The Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club before his passion for cooking moved him into the kitchen. Now, the sky is the limit for Executive Sous Chef, Saud Al Matrooshi, who is currently the UAE’s first Emirati Chef to head up Emirates Airlines catering. His ultimate goal is to create exciting fusion dishes that appeal to a wide spectrum of pallets, by using western techniques and tastes with Emirati ingredients to create flavours of the Arab world.
Emirati Chef Saud said: “I am very excited to work with Chef Alessandro to build this culinary bridge between Emirati and Italian cuisine. This event will highlight the traditional yet local Emirati ingredients, introduced in a modern and creative way so that guests can experience new flavours of the Arab world without hesitation.”
Chef Alessandro Miceli started his career as Executive Chef in Italy’s military service. He has also worked in several award-winning restaurants across Europe, including the Michelin Starred La Terrazza in Rome and Stefano Cavallini Ristorante in London. Alessandro relocated to Dubai in 2007 where he took up the post of Executive Chef for Bice at Hilton Dubai Jumeirah and Chef de Cuisine for Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa, before joining the Italian Quarter of DIFC, Roberto’s, in 2012. Through the years, Chef Alessandro’s culinary skills has seen him collaborate with some of the best Italian Michelin Chefs in the world, including two Michelin Starred Chef Enrico Bartolini, who served as Roberto’s chief culinary advisor sharing new techniques for traditional & contemporary Italian dishes.
Executive Chef Alessandro said: “The Off the Menu collaboration at DIFC is a fantastic concept, between two very different, but similar cultures – the Mediterranean and the United Arab Emirates. What makes this menu so special is the combination of specially selected ingredients that do not change the flavours, but enhances them. Buona Appetito and Alikom bil Afiah to Roberto’s at DIFC for this one-of-a-kind experience.”
The remaining two “Off the Menu – The Emirati Edition” chef and dining collaborations will include Le Petite Maison and Boca. For more information on all of DIFC’s dining options, visit https://www.difc.ae/lifestyle/dine/
