Bird food

By Samantha Tse 04 : 11 : 2015 Ghaf's Kitchen : David O'Brien : DRAK

Dubai Design Week – Ghaf Kitchen’s new menu served during Design Week was inspired by the diet of migrating flamingos at the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary.

: Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is a World Heritage Site and home to pink flamingos and other species of birds

: The corresponding menu was mezze in style and Arabesque in its flavours

Visitors to the Ras Al Khor industrial area during Design Week were treated to a menu that included grilled quail with pomegranate-orange BBQ sauce on a bed of quinoa and shredded kale tabbouleh, dry-roasted prawn with chilli and coconut on a birds nest coleslaw, and clove and cinnamon potted duck. Desserts included flamingo carrot cake with cucumber icing and a white chocolate and cardamom panna cotta with orange compote. The food was served from a refurbished 1962 vintage Citroen mobile van parked five minutes away from the sanctuary.

‘Prawns, of course, give the flamingos their distinctive pink colouring, and our artichoke dish was created to mirror the reeds growing in the sanctuary,’ food designer David O’Brien told LS:N Global, explaining the connection of the menu to the sanctuary. ‘Our prawn dish was created to mirror a typical birds nest in presentation and the ingredients paid homage to the flamingos’ diet.’

The pop-up was one of several installations in the area created by Dubai-based design initiative Design Ras Al Khor (DRAK) to bring attention to one of the oldest industrial areas in the city as a potentially new creative district.