Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, swept the Gourmet Abu Dhabi Stars Awards last night with three wins; Executive Chef of the Year – Gary Robinson; Restaurant Chef of the Year – Jean Hurstel at Bord Eau; and Food & Beverage Manager of the Year – Ahmed Issa.

The three awards are in recognition of the significant contribution that the three individuals have made to the development of the food and beverage industry in Abu Dhabi.

Gary Robinson, Executive Chef of both Shangri-La Hotel and Traders Hotel within the Qaryat Al Beri complex, joined the team in April 2009 from Kowloon Shangri-La in Hong Kong.  His career highlights include being the Head Chef for The Prince of Wales and working all over the world including London, Dubai, Hong Kong and now Abu Dhabi.

Chef Jean Hurstel joined Shangri-La Hotel’s french fine dining restaurant Bord Eau in May 2009. He has ensured that the impeccable reputation of Bord Eau has continued to shine and his cuisine is highly reputed in the gourmet ‘foodie’ world.

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Company currently in discussions with major distributers in the GCC as new headquarters in Dubai continues to grow business and offer new variety

As one of the Middle East’s fastest growing producers of naturally nutritious fruit and nut snacks, Mani & Co. has recently detailed its participation agenda at the upcoming Gulfood expo that will take place from February 21-24 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.  The company—which is currently in discussion with major distributers in the GCC region—recently announced an annual sales growth of nearly 40% in 2009 compared to the previous year, and the company is set to outline a plan to achieve four times as many sales during 2010.

In addition to exhibiting its current product line, Mani will be introducing two new product ranges to meet the market potentials identified for the upcoming year.  These additions include a new range of Yummy XS products, which are convenient pouches (20-25g) of healthy nuts and fruits snacks combined with natural flavours such as paprika.  In terms of flavours, the brand will also be introducing new additions to the Food Service range, which focuses on snacks packaged specifically for distribution in restaurants and lounges.  With the new additions, the Food Service range will include 16 unique taste combinations, all of which will be on display during the exhibition.

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No one can say “no” to a well-baked cupcake and that’s why the New York landmark dessert house Magnolia Bakery opened a branch in Dubai this month.

Magnolia Bakery Dubai, which is managed by the Dubai-based luxury business operator Al Tayer Group, is located in the downtown Dubai Mall , within Bloomingdale’ furniture store .  It offers the same old-fashioned, coveted cupcakes as those in the original store, such as red velvet cakes, icebox cakes and banana pudding.

Occupying 885 square feet, the store focuses on take-away business.

This is the first Magnolia dessert shop outside of New York City.

A team of professional chefs from Westin Mina Seyahi hotel has been awarded the title of UAE Anchor MasterChef 2010 after beating off competition from some of the top kitchens in the country. Here are highlights from the event!
Winners: Edward Mair and Jay Williams, Westin Mina Seyahi, Dubai, UAE
Runners-up: Demas Tri Saputra Latief and Dharshana Yatiwawala from Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE

Four teams of junior chefs have secured their place in the semi finals of the UAE’s first ever Anchor MasterChef competition, fighting off competition from some of the top hotels in the country.

After an intense two days of basting, tasting, toasting and roasting, the teams – consisting of one hot kitchen chef and one pastry chef – were whittled down from a total of twenty next-generation gourmets, representing kitchens from Emirates Towers Hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek, Grosvenor House Hotel, Coral Boutique Hotel, Emirates Golf Club, Westin Mina Seyahi Hotel and Hilton Jumeriah Hotel.

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New flavours guava and pineapple launched in stores throughout the UAE

Al Ain Dairy, the first established dairy farm in the UAE and a leading producer of dairy products, has increased its juices product line by introducing two new juice flavours, guava and pineapple, to complement its existing range of six fruit juice products.  The new flavours are now in stores throughout the UAE and are offered in different packaging sizes.   The juices are made from fresh juice concentrate with no added preservatives or sugars.  The guava flavour is produced from fruits grown in Egypt while the pineapple comes from fruits harvested in Thailand.

Already controlling a significant amount of the fresh juice market, Al Ain Dairy says that the motivation for the expanded product line is a result of positive growth throughout the year. In Q1 of 2009 for example, the company saw an 18% increase in sales compared to the same period in 2008.  By January 2010, the company expects to have increased its total output by 23% compared to the same period in 2009. According to Al Ain Dairy research, juice sales in the UAE have already increased by 20% in the current quarter and are expected to rise by another 15% by the start of 2010.

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On the occasion World Food Day, Al Ghurair Foods recently organized a three day campaign to promote healthy eating practices from the 15th to the 17th of October 2009.

An array of fun filled activities welcomed the visitors of Al Ghurair Mall. This included a drawing competition for children, a quiz competition on healthy food and nutrition, spot competitions where the  winners took home Jenan Goody Bags. The importance of choosing the right food ingredients in our daily cooking were also highlighted on this occasion.

According to Sameera Fernandes, PR & Communication Manager, Al Ghurair Foods, “We believe that the public should be conscious on how to achieve good health. Thus, we constantly want to extend our knowledge in helping them realize healthy lifestyle through our activities. This is an opportune time to address the health hazards being experienced by the nation and promote healthy lifestyle consciousness amongst the visitors”.

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1. Two new meta-analyses confirm once-daily Lantus^® efficacy and reduced risk of hypoglycaemia compared to NPH Insulin
2. With lower dose, Lantus® achieves similar and well tolerated glycemic control versus insulin detemir

Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) announced the results of new analysis that found a significantly lower risk of nocturnal hypoglycemia with Lantus^® (insulin glargine [rDNA] injection) as compared to NPH insulin.  A separate post-hoc sub-analysis found a greater HbA1c and FBG reduction for elderly patients over 65 years of age taking Lantus^® as compared to NPH insulin. In addition, Sanofi-aventis announced results of a head-to-head study providing further evidence on the efficacy of once-daily, 24-hour basal insulin Lantus^® (insulin glargine [rDNA] injection) compared to twice-daily insulin detemir. Both the analyses and the study were presented during the 45^th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna.

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Candylicious, a 10,000 sq ft sweetshop has launched yesterday at the Dubai Mall.

Some of the elaborate features at the store include “visually mesmerizing” pillars embedded with candy, a 10-metre chocolate tree covered with lollipops and a Candylicious Airplane “taking off” above visitors’ heads. 
The store’s products will also feature Hershey’s Kisses and chocolate bars, novelty M&M’s, Garrett Popcorn from America, freshly baked brownies from Hot Blondies Bakery, a soda fountain, every flavour of Jelly Belly beans and lollipops “in all shapes and sizes”.

The store will also home the largest ‘Pick and Mix’ wall in the world. 
Sunaina Gill, director of parent company Retail Is Detail LLC, said: “’At Candylicious, our mission is simple; eat happy. We are absolutely thrilled to be the largest candy store in the world. Our goal was to create an entire confectionary experience for the customer. Candylicious is about buying things never seen anywhere else and you can indulge in a royal offering of mouth-watering confectionaries from all over the globe. At Candylicious, we take the time to remind people how simple pleasures are always the best and the best simple pleasure in life is candy!”