Alserkal Avenue transforms into a feast for the senses from 25–26 October, celebrating food, art, and culture in perfect harmony.
This weekend, What The Food by Alserkal returns to Alserkal Avenue for two days of flavour and entertainment. Running from 10 AM to 10 PM on 25 and 26 October 2025, the festival brings together chefs, artists, and tastemakers who are redefining how Dubai eats, creates, and collaborates.
Here’s why What the Food is the most anticipated food and art event of the season.
1. A Vision of the Future Kitchen
Chef Douglas McMaster, one of the world’s leading voices in sustainable gastronomy, hosts a 45-minute masterclass on how to build waste-free kitchens. Expect ideas that will challenge the way you think about creativity, consumption, and sustainability.
2. Exclusive Pop-Ups from Dubai’s Culinary Icons
Indulge in Dubai’s most inventive kitchens, from Crust’s long-ferment pizzas and The Little Fox’s steak frites to MANNA’s smash burgers and Feka’s Iraqi-fusion plates. It’s a true “wander, eat, repeat” experience that turns the avenue into an open-air tasting room.
3. A Filipino ‘Tindahan’ Brought to Life
The art collective Sa Tahanan Co. reimagines the Filipino tindahan, the humble corner shop, as an exhibition that celebrates nostalgia, community, and cultural heritage through design and storytelling.
4. Immersive Food Workshops
Join The Growhouse by One Life for a hands-on Honey Extraction Experience, where guests can spin, taste, and bottle their own honey. Coffee lovers can head to Nightjar for guided tastings that journey from everyday blends to rare micro-lots.
5. Culinary Voices from Dubai and Beyond
From Emirati chefs to international collaborators, What The Food gathers some of the most creative minds in gastronomy. Expect pop-ups, conversations, and dishes that reflect Dubai’s unique position at the crossroads of global flavours.
6. A Kids’ Manoushe Workshop
At Akhu Manoushe and Strawberry Fields, young chefs get hands-on experience rolling dough, choosing toppings, and baking their own mini manoushe. Aprons provided, smiles guaranteed.
7. Dubai in a Dish: A Farm-to-Table Story
Chef Stephanie Haywood of Orizonta, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, leads a workshop exploring Dubai’s culinary identity through spices and trade history. Participants will prepare her signature Wagyu Kufta with Garden Salad, inspired by the Silk Road.
8. Cinema Under the Stars
In collaboration with Cinema Akil, the open-air screenings of The Taste of Things and Heaven Without People invite guests to dine, recline, and watch stories that celebrate food and human connection. Entry is free.
9. Art, Sips & Creative Sessions
Create surrealist paintings over tea with Pekoe x thejamjar, or explore cyanotype art with Gulf Photo Plus, turning natural pigments into striking blue prints. All sessions are open to beginners.
10. Music That Moves the Space
Curated by Tarik Omar, live DJ sets and soundscapes will fill Alserkal Avenue’s open-air yard, transforming the cultural district into an urban playground where food, music, and art collide.
“Whether you’re here for a quick bite, a workshop, or simply to soak up the atmosphere, What The Food is an open invitation to eat, explore, and enjoy,” says Basmah El Bittar, Director of Alserkal Avenue.
What The Food by Alserkal
? Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
? 25–26 October 2025
? 10 AM – 10 PM
? @alserkalavenue @whatthefoodbyalserkal
? alserkal.online/programme/what-the-food-2
