Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas has announced the international line-up of visiting chefs for their first annual food festival, ‘Anantara Gourmet’ to be held 9thto 16th April, 2015.  The week-long culinary showcase will be staged at both Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa Abu Dhabi and Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa.

Guest chefs starring in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are Xavier Caille and Igor Macchia.   Exclusive to Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa is Dylan Jones, ‘Bo’ Duangporn Songivsava, Claire Clark and Mark Olive.  Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa in Abu Dhabi will exclusively showcase the culinary excellence of Arabic TV favourite Houria Zanoun, Henrik Yde-Andersen, Mike Tafe, Chocolatier ‘Sugar Hari’ Unterrainer as well as the Diageo Reserve World Class National Champion Mixologist, Jason Clark.

Anantara Gourmet 2015 will commence with a Gala ‘Invitation Only’ Opening Night at The Lotus Lounge, Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa on Thursday 9th April.

Dubai will celebrate a trio of culinary excellence at Crescendo’s Friday ‘Fork & Cork’ Brunch on Friday 10thApril. British pastry chef Claire Clark MBE MOGB, Italian chef Igor Macchia and Australian chef Mark Olive will each be taking to the show kitchen for a cooking demonstration in their respective area of gastronomic expertise, paired with fruity creations by the resident mixologist.

Get ready for a tongue-tingling taste of Thai cuisine by the well-known Bangkok-based duo behind the successful Bo.lan restaurant in Thailand. Dylan Jones and his partner ‘Bo’ Duangporn Songivsava will be showcasing the very best of their authentic spicy dishes in Mekong on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th April at Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa.

Also in Dubai, keen foodies are invited to join the renowned British pastry chef, Claire Clark MBE MOGB, for a lunchtime pastry master class at Crescendo, where you can learn the tricks of the patisserie trade from 12pm – 1.30pm on Saturday 11th April. Or savour her delightful bite-sized creations later that day at a special afternoon tea from 3pm – 5pm at The Lotus Lounge.

World oyster shucking champion, chef Xavier Caille, will be hosting ‘Shucked!’, a menu bursting with oyster-specials, daily from Saturday 11th April until Monday 13th April. Don’t miss ‘Pearls & Bubbles’ in Dubai on Monday 13th April on the beachfront, where you can witness the world shucking champion open and serve oysters at record speed whilst sipping on premium bubbles.   Chef Xavier will be a star attraction in Abu Dhabi at the Wednesday night ‘Seafood Fantasea’ at Anantara Eastern Mangroves where guests will be invited to guess how many oysters he can shuck in specific time frame, and witness his speed and precision with great prizes up for grabs. 

Despite his Italian origins, Chef Igor Macchia’s extensive travels through China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Maldives, are reflected in his original blend of colours and tastes, textures and shapes that are evident in his most creative and ambitious recipes. Awarded his first ‘star’ in 2006, Chef Igor will delight lovers of Italian cuisine in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  Starting at The Palm Dubai, Chef Igor will be hosting guests for Prosecco and canapés on Sunday 12th April before an evening of pure culinary passion at ‘An Italian Table’ from 7.30pm to midnight on the open-air terrace at The Beach House.   Moving on to Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa in Abu Dhabi, Chef Igor will host a Modern Italian master class on Tuesday 14th April followed by an evening of delicious Italian cuisine carefully paired with Italian grape for ‘La Dolce Vita’ at The Pool Deck. 

Take a trip to the outback with Australian chef Mark Olive, aka ‘The Black Olive’, at the Penfold’s Cellar Door cocktail reception followed by an Outback BBQ at Bushman’s Restaurant & Bar, at Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa from 7.30pm to midnight on Tuesday 14th April 2015. Delight your tastebuds at his ‘Ocean Grill’ evening on Wednesday 15th April from 7.30pm to midnight. Live entertainment from aboriginal performing artist Phil Walley Stack, and artwork by Australian painter Des Spencer, will set the tone for two laid-back, authentically Aussie evenings.

Anantara Eastern Mangroves is excited to welcome Chef Henrik Yde-Andersen back to the Capital following a sell-out guest chef week  in 2014.  Denmark’s culinary sweetheart and the man who earned the distinction of his ‘Kiim Kiim’ (‘Come & Eat’) outlet in Copenhagen becoming the first Thai restaurant in the world to be awarded a Michelin star, specialises in the theatrical deconstruction of Thai classics. Chef Henrik’s beautifully composed food presentation features familiar flavours of traditional dishes while he pushes the boundaries of form, texture and temperature.   Chef Henrik will be crafting a dedicated menu each evening for ‘A Twist on Thai’ at Pachaylen from April 11th to 15th.  

Sydney based chef Mike Tafe combines his passion for cooking, and promoting the very best of Australian produce in his role as Corporate Chef for Mulwarra, Australia’s leading exporter of fine food including the famous Mulwarra Australian Beef, Lamb and Veal.  Chef Mike will prepare tantalizing Aussie inspired creations for the Big Brunch in Abu Dhabi on April 10th and will follow up that up with a traditional Aussie BBQ Master class on Saturday April 11th on The Pool Deck with a special guest German Brewmaster from Warsteiner at Anantara Eastern Mangroves.   Chef Mike will showcase the very best of cuisine from downunder at two exclusive ‘Australian Flavours’ evenings on The Pool Deck featuring an a la carte menu on April 12th and 13th. 

A name synonymous with Fatafeat, the free-to-air UAE-based food TV channel broadcasting to 21 Arabic countries, Houria Zanoun, will be bringing her sense of humour and energy to the Mangroves Lounge at Anantara Eastern Mangroves with her signature afternoon tea on April 11th as well as hosting an Arabic language pastry masterclass on April 12th.

The Italians and the Aussies go to battle in the kitchen for a ‘Seafood Fantasea’ at Ingredients Restaurant at Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night 15thApril.  Joining the World Champion Oyster Shucker, Xavier Caille, is Italian chef Igor Macchia and Aussie chef Mike Tafe who will each take to their own show kitchen theatre to create an eclectic range of mouth watering dishes with a special emphasis on seafood. 

SugarHari has spent over 20 years working as a Pastry Chef having held senior positions in five-star hotels across Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.  Today he is the Production Manager for Cacao Fine Chocolates. He will be hosting a series of events sure to be any chocoholics dream starting with a Chocolate Afternoon Tea on April 13th, a Chocolate Tasting Menu on April 14th and a Chocolate Master class on April 15th.

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