Celebrate Ramadan in Dubai

THIS Ramadan, First Central Hotel Suites will take you on a culinary journey to experience the finest Middle Eastern delicacies with a variety of continental flavours. Diners will be treated to a sumptuous Iftar buffet with a wide selection of traditional and international specialties along with an irresistible assortment of authentic Arabic beverages and desserts.

Wael El Behi, General Manager of First Central Hotel Suites, said, “Ramadan is a distinctive festivity where friends and family gather to share the blessings of the holy month. .”

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Covered in stars

THE Michelin Guide Nordic Countries 2018 reveals that #Denmark enforces its position as a country worth visiting for sublime gastronomic experiences. With 31 stars in total, 2 new restaurants and 3 new stars added to the list, the Michelin Guide recognizes that Denmark offers extraordinary culinary experiences in the cities as well as in the Danish countryside.

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10th Anniversary of dineL.A.

THE milestone 10th anniversary of dineL.A. commemorates the city’s diverse and distinctive chefs and restaurants that have earned Los Angeles the title of “most exciting food city in America" - Discover Los Angeles announces the dates of Winter dineL.A. 2018, taking place January 12-26, 2018. 

The 15-day dining event kicks off a celebratory year commemorating the program’s landmark 10th anniversary, showcasing the diversity of culinary talent and dining excellence across Los Angeles, spanning the last decade.

Visitors and locals can enjoy specially-priced lunch and dinner menus at more than 300 dineL.A. restaurants. The value-driven lunch menus range from $15, $20, and $25, with dinner menus priced at $29, $39, and $49, and beginning at $95 for the Exclusive Series. 

Back by popular demand, the Exclusive Series presented by American Express offers diners a chance to enjoy some of L.A.’s most luxurious restaurants across the city, including Providence, Spago Beverly Hills, The Royce, BOA Steakhouse, and The Arthur J.

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New Orleans a top culinary destination

NEW Orleans continues to be recognized as a top culinary destination, most recently being named as one of the Best Food Cities in the World by the prestigious culinary publication, Food & Wine.

The list was produced after extensive research by Food & Wine, which polled more than 50 travel professionals, including top chefs, critics, as well as their own Food & Wine writers, photographers and contributors. The exclusive list featured six international cities including Florence, London, Toronto, Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong. #NewOrleans was in good company as one of only four U.S. cities included: Los Angeles, New York City and Charleston.

The ranking as one of the Best Food Cities in the World by Food & Wine is New Orleans' most recent accomplishment in a string of accolades including being named the number four city in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure's 2017 World's Best readers survey.

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Savour Singapore

THE #Singapore Food Festival (SFF) 2017 is back for its 24th edition. Taking place from 14 to 30 July, this year's SFF pays tribute to all things Singaporean, and locals and visitors alike can look forward to a delicious spread of both traditional and contemporary Singaporean flavours, interpreted through the palates of our home-grown culinary heroes. 

Themed "Savour Singapore in Every Bite", the festival will feature up to 20 gastronomic experiences that celebrate our heritage and flavours, and honour the people who work passionately to keep local culinary traditions alive.

This year's festival also shines the spotlight on four different Foodie Profiles1 and the SFF events that exemplify them. The four profiles are: the Gutsy Gourmand who lives and breathes modern cuisine; the Traditional Taster who believes there's nothing like old school fare; the Culture Craver who embraces all things local; and the Art Addict who appreciates creativity not just in food, but in art form too.

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Conservation Cuisine

LIONFISH, one of the most destructive invasive fish species ever to reach the #Caribbean, are wreaking irreparable damage on coral reefs by eating practically everything they come across. And they eat a lot: A lionfish's stomach can expand up to 30 times its normal size.

It has become of particular concern to environmentalists who lament the fact that lionfish, with no natural predators in the Caribbean, continue to grow at an alarming rate, with scientists fearing the invasive species may never be entirely eradicated from the region's seas.

But, a high-end resort company in St. Lucia is doing its bit by including the fish as part of its famed cuisine.

Karolin Troubetzkoy, executive director of Jade Mountain and its sister resort Anse Chastanet, together with her culinary team, have launched a "conservation cuisine" initiative preparing the lionfish as a delicacy.

"It is not much of a stretch," declared Troubetzkoy. "Lionfish is a white flaky, but firm, fish with a flavor between grouper and mahi mahi."

To ensure diners get to try as many takes on the fish as possible, Troubetzkoy said, "we are serving a multi-course dégustation menu with paired New World wines, in which we showcase the quality and taste of this very unique fish."

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Picture Credit: A Lionfish meal compliments of the culinary team at Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet resorts.

Toronto's Top Ten Places to Eat

TORONTO'S reputation for a dynamic and diverse culinary scene is well deserved. Home to over 9,000 restaurants, #Toronto has a vibrant multicultural population which continues to push culinary boundaries to the delight of all who visit. From a German beer hall to a much-anticipated Kensington Market arrival, there's lots to love about Toronto's #dining scene right now. 

Tourism Toronto reveals the current top 10 hottest restaurants:

La Banane (labanane.ca)
The French restaurant on Ossington is Instagram-famous for their dessert Disco Egg but you're also going to want to queue up to get a taste of their seafood offerings, whipped chicken liver and pastry-encrusted bass.

Lake Inez (lakeinezto.com)
A teeny lake in Michigan and global flavours are brought together at this restaurant located in the Little India neighbourhood, featuring Asian snacks to bolster cocktails like the Tokyo Hotel Bar with sake and yuzu.

STK Toronto (stkhouse.com)
International chain STK's swanky spot in Yorkville will serve you steaks costing hundreds of dollars, luxurious sliders, grits and donuts in a club-like environment.

Awai (awai.ca)
This unconventional plant-based restaurant in Bloor West Village is just as off-beat with their restaurant conventions as they are their menu, operating on a no-gratuity basis. This is hardly unusual from chef Nathan Isberg, formerly of the no-menu, pay-what-you-want Atlantic.

Baro (barotoronto.com)
Chef Steven Gonzalez is churning out fancy drinks with aged ice cubes and edible petals, ceviche flights, and tons of elevated bar finger food like empanadas and guacamole in the King West neighbourhood.

Planta (plantatoronto.com)
What’s hotter right now than eating ethically? Very little, it would appear, according to the popularity of this Yorkville plant-based eatery headed up by David Lee. Everyone is town is just itching to try this place’s beet juice cocktails, coconut ceviche and veggie burgers.

Piano Piano (pianopianotherestaurant.com)
From the folks behind Splendido, this wildly popular Italian restaurant is impossible to dine at. Located on Harbord in the student friendly downtown Annex neighbourhood, they’re not reinventing the wheel with rustic pizzas and pastas, but those who love carbs are willing to line up to fill up on their favourites.

Oretta (oretta.to)
This new Italian joint in the King West neighbourhood is just as impressive for its sweeping architecture and cool retro-influenced decor as its menu of comforting but upscale dishes straight from nonna’s kitchen. Diners will likely find themselves rubbing shoulders with the young urban professionals of this increasingly popular neighbourhood while enjoying dishes such as Mortadella and pistachio pizza, tagliatelle, and lamb.

Otto's Bierhalle (ottosbierhalle.com)
Nestled alongside the restaurants, boutiques and art galleries on West Queen West, this beer hall just recently rolled out the ability to make reservations, and it looks increasingly like they’re going to need it. With a packed house on weekends that resembles the Berlin clubs this place is inspired by rather than a German restaurant.

Grey Gardens (greygardens.ca)
Perfectly situated near Toronto’s famous Kensington Market, the Grey Gardens menu boasts a mix of excellent organic wine, local cider and elevated plates like ravioli and New York strip, along with bare necessities like chips n' dip and Coors Light.

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Celebrate Caribbean Cuisine

FLAVOURS from more than a dozen Caribbean nations will be simmering together at #Caribbean305, the region's newest culinary and cultural celebration taking place on Miami's Jungle Island on Saturday, June 3, 2017 at 8 p.m.

To be presented annually by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Caribbean305 will launch South Florida's celebrations of Caribbean-American Heritage Month by providing foodies, Caribbean nationals and residents of the area with the chance to savor the diverse gastronomic delights the region has to offer.

Caribbean305 will feature culinary professionals from 16 Caribbean nations and territories, including Anguilla, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Eat, drink and dance to Caribbean rhythms on Jungle Island, while interacting with representatives from a number of Caribbean tourism boards, Miami-based Caribbean restaurants and celebrity chefs.

For more information about Caribbean305, visit www.caribbean305.com.

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Picture Credit: DarlingJack  92584549@N08/33374361143 Chicken Adobo via photopin

Have a seat . . .

PULL up a chair to Canada’s Table . . . on August 27, to celebrate the country’s 150th anniversary, Canada’s world-class food, wine and hospitality will be showcased at a single, 1000-person, open-air table on Wellington Street.

For this once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience, ten top local chefs will partner with ten top chefs from across #Canada to stage a legendary four-course dinner with wine pairings in the shadow of Canada’s iconic Parliament Buildings.

This #Ottawa2017 Signature Event, under the Ignite 150 program, will feature all-Canadian products served to guests seated at a 305-metre long table (1000 feet) with the popular Sound and Light Show as a backdrop.

Canada’s Table is a non-profit event, with many partners donating their time or resources. Proceeds raised from the event will be used to aid local and national food security causes.

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Picture Credit: Maria Eklind 79123642@N04/3254514633 Cooking via photopin

Taste of Mexico

MEXICO'S cuisine is far more than tacos and burritos. It's full of flavor from indigenous plants and grains, and regionally distinctive. Tia Stephanie Tours, a premier operator of cultural and culinary tours to #Mexico, has now created three geographically-targeted gastronomic itineraries to Mexico, specifically: Yucatan, Baja California, and Oaxaca.

Culture and Cuisine of Yucatan
Yucatan's geographic location, distant from mainland Mexico and its blend of influences, including: Maya, Spanish, Lebanese, French, has created a singular culinary palate and kaleidoscope of flavors. Here, the cuisine is "Yucatecan" and not "Mexican," with dishes such as: sikil pak, fish tikin-xic, pollo and cochinita pibil, sopa de lima, and papadzules. Beginning at the Mercado Lucas de Galvez, travelers learn about ingredients such as sour orange, native squash, red and black recados (rubs or pastes) that make this region different from the rest of Mexico. A visit to Yucatan would be incomplete without exploring the Classic and Post Classic Maya Era sites, such as Uxmal and Mayapan and swimming in the deep blue, fresh water cenotes (sink holes). The trip begins in Merida, travels to Uxmal and continues to Campeche City in the state of Campeche.

Flavors and Landscapes of Baja California
Like the Mediterranean, Baja California's arid, sunny and seaside climate, is known for its seafood, olive oils, cheeses and is the epicenter of Mexico's wine production. This journey begins in Tijuana, were the urban revival of this border city becomes very evident to travelers. With renowned architecture, cooking schools, museums, restaurants and cutting edge food truck parks and craft beer! Baja's Museum of the Americas showcases the early settlers, missionaries and immigrants, who shaped the region and introduced grape cuttings here.

Beyond Tijuana, this journey takes travelers to Tecate, the northern entry to the Valley of Guadalupe to explore the wine production here, including famed vintner, Hugo d' Acosta's La Escuelita, wine making school, and numerous farm-to-table, al fresco dining options. Moving to the coast, seafood is explored and savored in Ensenada and Rosarito, famed for its fresh fish, seafood tostadas, and lobster. It is the birthplace of the margarita cocktail!

Maize, Mole & Mezcal: Traditions and Flavors of Oaxaca

Beginning with maize, the foundation of Mexico's ancient and present cuisine, moving to Oaxaca's renowned molé sauces, and finishing with the distilled beverage, mezcál, this trip not only introduces travelers to these foods, buts examines them within the historic and cultural context of Mexico.

Learning about ancient corn and its early domestication, which led to the great civilizations in Mexico and understanding how corn is the cornerstone of Mexican communities, including its daily ritual and veneration.

The revered distilled beverage, mezcál, will be explored, from the soil, agavé varieties and to its preservation. Given the recent boom in mezcál around the world, the mezcaleros are struggling with demand. This is creating strains on the ecosystem and the industry.

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Picture Credit: scanudas 44853242@N02/28244468364 Uxmal via photopin,  jypsygen 79538062@N00/3259854964 chicken with mole sauce via photopin, milkmyvolvo 134539284@N08/25687240253 Tijuana via photopin