Made in the UAE

Chef Carmine and his culinary team have been behind the scenes busy preparing an exclusive ‘Farm to Table’ menu that promises to serve up the best and purest locally sourced produce from local farms to ensure produce that is at its peak of freshness, flavour and nutrition.

To help do this, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers collaborated with FreshOnTable, a local company that sources the “best food from the best farms” in the UAE and whose mission is to “promote local farms, sustainability and to assist the UAE's food security mission”, an ethos close to Chef Carmine and his culinary team’s heart and work ethics.

“Locally grown food ripens naturally, retains more nutrients, contains no preservatives

and simply tastes better,” says Carmine, who goes on to explain how working with such products make a difference to the dishes he and his team serve up at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers.

“Working with local farms and sourcing products that are home grown definitely do make the difference in regard to flavour and quality. For instance, hamachi and salmon are harvested in the early hours of the morning and arrive to us here at the hotel by midday. This is something that has never happened before in the region. The same applies to the locally harvested mushrooms.”

The result: A crafted, bespoke menu that truly highlights the key ingredients which FreshOnTable brings to “our table I’m sure that the menu will delight.” The ‘Made in the UAE’, menu, which, at the time of writing, rolled out at the hotel’s Nahaam restaurant was created by the hotel’s culinary team, including Nick Javier, Chef De Cuisine at Nahaam. “Diners are going to notice the difference in the immediate freshness of the dishes,” Nick says, who has been working at the hotel for nine years.

“Many of the dishes are named after the actual places they originate in the UAE, such as Dibba Bay Oytsers, which are grown in pristine waters of northern Fujairah in the UAE, and Al Bateen Poke Bowl, to name just a few.”

The menu is creative, not least in its section headings: ‘Fresh Beginnings’, ‘From the Pond’, ‘Something Sweet’. Those experiencing this delightful menu will be able to tuck into dishes such as Dibba Bay Oysters Rockefeller, Crispy Fried Cuttlefish Rings, Al Ain Chicken Wings & Sticks, King Oyster Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Charred Spring Onions, Light Lemon Veloute, Char-Grilled Local Seabass Fillet… among many others. And for that ‘Something Sweet’, Sticky Date Pudding and Berry Pavlova are there and all locally sourced.

Bon appétit!

To book your table and for more information, call restaurant reservations 02 811 5666 or email FBreservations@conradhotels.com