Rotana launches the hunt for UAE’s Best Amateur Barbecue Master

By Serena Warren | Posted on

Rotana is calling barbecue enthusiasts and chefs across the UAE to partake in its Smoke and Flames campaign to find the UAE’s Best Amateur Barbecue Master

Rotana UAE’s Best Amateur Barbecue Master

The competition is open for residents from the UAE only. To enter, applicants must submit their favourite barbecue recipe; a 60-second video on why they should be considered, all whilst preparing their recipe; and lastly, a picture of the final dish.

All shortlisted participants will win a Weber grill and the lucky winner will receive a grand prize of AED10,000, a staycation at the luxurious Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, and their recipe listed on Rotana’s participating outlets’ menus for a period of one year.

Following the online submission, the semi-final round will take place from March 19-20 at Morgan’s, Al Bandar Rotana and JB’s Amwaj Rotana (mid-March); and in Abu Dhabi from March 26-27 at The Garden by Bayview and Rodeo Grill at Beach Rotana, and Cooper’s Park Rotana, at the end of March.

The preliminary and semi-final rounds will be mediated by an esteemed panel of judges which will include Rotana’s Corporate Food & Beverage team, General Managers and chef Hattem Mattar. This semi-final round will see 12 shortlisted participants compete for the final round. There will be four finalists selected for the final round of the competition.

The grand finale is scheduled for April 3 at Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas in Abu Dhabi and will be hosted by Virgin Radio presenter Kris Fade. The event will witness the contestants competing live, in a mini-market, with Butcher, Fisherman, Farmer style set-up. The winner will be chosen based on taste, creative presentation and novelty of the prepared dish.

Rotana UAE’s Best Amateur Barbecue Master

The final round will be evaluated by four key panellists comprising Hattem Mattar; Samantha Wood, founder of impartial restaurant review website FooDiva; Ian Fairservice, president of the UAE’s culinary association La Chaine des Rotisseurs and member of the World Board in Paris; and Guy Hutchinson, President and CEO of Rotana.

The Smoke and Flames campaign is organised in partnership with Weber Middle East, Nassar Al Refaee Trading Company, Bidfood UAE, Fine Hygiene, Restofair, and celebrity chef Hattem Mattar, who is also the world’s first Arab pitmaster and owner of Mattar Farm.

Are you the UAE’s Best Amateur Barbecue Master? Apply online (until March 1).