The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi has launched a culinary investment fund worth USD 100 million
In order to provide an incentive for global culinary brands to set up base in Abu Dhabi, the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi has launched the Abu Dhabi Culinary Investment Fund (ADCIF).
According to a press statement by DCT Abu Dhabi, the fund is an incentive for world-class culinary brands to enter the Emirate and will further elevate the culinary scene by co-investing with local asset partners and incentivising top chefs, top restaurants, and culinary educational institutions, to enter the market and make Abu Dhabi their new home.
Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry
“The Abu Dhabi Culinary Investment Fund is part of our ongoing commitment to elevate the culinary scene across the emirate and create new dining experiences. There is no better time or place to bring best-in-class chefs, restaurants, and hotel brands to the capital. This fund, in combination with the Culinary School will ensure that Abu Dhabi appeals to even more visitors around the world, who can experience increasingly diverse and high-quality dining in the emirate, centred on our tradition of Emirati hospitality,” says Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism, DCT Abu Dhabi.
The main requisites for successful fund applicants are brands or chefs recognised by leading awards committees and global culinary guides, with a multi-regional presence, that is to be operational in more than one country. Applicants should offer a premium casual, lifestyle, or fine dining experience, without yet having an existing presence in the region and would be making their debut in Abu Dhabi, with a one-year period of exclusivity to the emirate, outlines the statement.
It adds that Abu Dhabi’s dining scene has recently been making headlines around the world, welcoming the Michelin team to launch the first-ever Michelin Guide Abu Dhabi. The guide details 42 restaurants across Abu Dhabi, awarded three establishments with one Michelin star for their high-quality cooking and four with a Bib Gourmand, acknowledging culinary excellence and value. In addition, Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, the regional food awards ranking, returned Abu Dhabi in 2023 after a successful 2022 event, says the statement.
It adds that DCT Abu Dhabi is set to announce the first two recipients of the new Abu Dhabi Culinary Investment Fund in the coming months.
