Dubai's Pantry Café Goes #homegrown for Kids

Inspired by the importance of healthy eating, Dubai’s homegrown café concept encourages kids of all ages to plant their own mini garden

  

Flying in the face of over-exposure to processed and unhealthy foods, Pantry Café has launched a campaign to encourage youngsters in Dubai to take more of an interest in fresh, natural food.  The homegrown café concept, which has outlets in Business Bay and Al Wasl Square, places an emphasis on fresh and natural ingredients and has asked children to start planting seedlings as part of a wider initiative to encourage them to eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. 

 

Gardening engages kids by providing them with a dynamic environment in which they can observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn. Gardens are living laboratories where interdisciplinary lessons are drawn from real life experiences, encouraging kids to become active participants in the process of homegrown food. By involving kids in the process of growing vegetables from seedlings to plate, the #homegrown campaign will encourage them to eat more vegetables and to take more of an interest in healthy eating.

 

Children who dine in Pantry Café during the month of January 2016 will be given a Pantry Café #homegrown kit with everything they need to start their own small garden pot. Kids are also encouraged to come and share their successes with Party Café.  

 

“As a mother of two, I want my children to take an interest in the food that they’re eating. This campaign was borne from the desire to promote the use of real ingredients to create real food for children. At Pantry Café we welcome families and want to encourage them to eat healthily,” says Yana Kalwani, Vice-Chairperson, Retail & Beyond.

 

Pantry Café is a Dubai-based gourmet café and delicatessen. Established in 2012 in Al Wasl Square, Pantry Café has recently expanded and opened its second Dubai brand in Bay Square in Business Bay. The Al Wasl Square branch is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The new Bay Square outlet will be open for breakfast and lunch, seven days a week. Serving its range of tapas, starters, gourmet burgers, steaks, grills, sandwiches and pizzas from its open kitchen, Pantry Café prides itself on supporting local farms by using locally produced organic fruits and vegetables wherever possible.

 

Pantry Café, Wasl Square

Hadeeqa Street, Jumeirah

04 388 3868.

Pantry Café, Bay Square

Bay Square, Business Bay

0 4 558 7161

 

Foodie Fantasy - Gaucho’s DIFC

Last Monday, Ian and I had dinner at Gaucho’s, which I was really looking forward to – You just can’t be perfectly cooked Argentinian steak!

Already a Gaucho officiando, as it has been a regular haunt of mine for years in London, I was very much looking forward to seeing if there would be any difference.  Located in the heart of DIFC in Gate Village, this stunning restaurant is accessed either from Gate Village or else directly from the car park – For those wanting a discrete entrance, or just valet parking. 

The Gaucho brand is very evident throughout the venue.  The cowhide seats, black décor and tables (which you expect from the brand), adds a sense of luxury which you find in all the restaurants.

Bife de Cuadril

 

The staff, as you would expect were excellent throughout the night.  With a warm welcome, our waitress for the evening Jacelyn was lovely and friendly.  She knew the menu inside out, and was able to tell us what wines we should consider to go with each dish that was selected, which is vitally important for vino novices like ourselves who tend to stick to mocktails or cocktails.

Both Ian and myself started with the asparagus soup with truffle oil.  I had never had this in any Gaucho’s and loved it.  The creamy soup was perfectly seasoned and buttery.  It made me question why I had never made it myself (it is now on the list for my next dinner party), and was a great intro into what the rest of the dinner would bring for us.

Grilled Asparagus

Being pregnant, the starter that I would have loved were the Scallops (Ian made sure to order these and very much enjoyed them), but I was happy when my starter – King Prawn Chorizo and Orange – arrived.  Ian had food envy when he caught sight of the huge juicy butterflied prawns had been lightly grilled and were delivered, with fresh pea shoots making the dish look beautiful, to our table.  The slightly sweet orange coulis, with just hint of chilli, perfectly complemented the meat of the prawns.  Divine!

As a main course, I have to admit that I was boring; I overlooked the large menu and favourites of mine such as the Risotto, to focus purely on the steak.  I mean, when in Rome and all that… but I did question this choice.  Under ordinary circumstances I would have my steak blue, I like to taste the meat and the more juices that flow from the steak, the better.  Unfortunately, I am not allowed this at the moment.  As I am pregnant, my steak has to be well done.  I couldn’t go that far though and asked for a medium to well-done Bife de Cuadril (fillet steak), with mashed potato and truffle.  Ian’s order mirrored my own.  We both shared the asparagus and quails eggs with Parmesan shavings.  Both steaks were cooked to perfection and it was great to have the truffle oil not over power the mashed potato as I have found it to in other restaurants.

Vanilla Pannecotta

By this point, I was ashamed to say I was full.  Ian ordered the deconstructed Vanilla Pannecotta and declared it to be the best desert in Dubai.  The wonderful creaminess was perfectly sweetened with the vanilla and it was light too, meaning he didn’t feel the bloat that he would usually experience by having desert with such a large dinner.

It really was a great dinner.  All in all, I can’t wait to return once bump is born so that I can have the steak exactly as I love it.