His Excellency Pablo Kang, the Australian Ambassador to the UAE, and Gerard Seeber, the Senior Trade Commissioner and Consul General in Dubai cut the inauguration ribbon along with Miss Australia 2012, Jessica Kahawaty, who attended to support the event and promote closer ties between the two countries.
Visitors were able to engage with exhibitors showcasing leading Australian products and brands, including the Australian Meat and Livestock Association (MLA), Tallulah fashion and jones the grocer.
In addition to attending visa seminars, sampling freshly grilled Australian meat cuts cooked at an onsite barbecue by the MLA, and tasting samples of delicious desserts from jones the grocer, visitors were also treated to a fashion show by award-winning Australian designer Tallulah. Children had the chance to participate by playing some Aussie Rules Football. In addition, the UAE’s most popular Australian radio presenter, Kris Fade, ran trivia quizzes for the attendees and gave away prizes from jones the grocer.
The MLA ran a cooking competition where contestants had to cook the perfect steak. The three judges consisted of MLA’s celebrity chef, Ibrahim Tarek; the Address Downtown’s Executive Chef, Alain Gobeil; and Culinary Vice President at Atlantis the Palm, Mark Patten. Kris Fade was also on hand to cheer on the contestants. The five contestants had previously won the chance to enter the cooking competition via a radio call in on Dubai 92 FM. After careful deliberation and taste-testing by the judges, Panita Phanichayakarn was announced as the winner and received two return Qantas tickets to Sydney, five nights’ accommodation in the city, tickets to be in the studio audience of Masterchef Australia, and a dinner for two at the famous George’s restaurant in Sydney. The runners up in the cooking competition won food hampers from jones the grocer.