A New Vision for Emirati Flavour: Science Meets Culinary Tradition at Dubai Future Week

The Dubai Future Foundation partners with Kerry Group to reimagine beloved regional dishes, marrying ancestral recipes with nutritional science to answer a question that matters to every household: can our favourite foods become healthier without sacrificing taste?

There is a particular kind of alchemy that occurs when culinary tradition encounters scientific innovation. The Taste of Tomorrow Challenge, unveiled as part of Dubai Future Week, represents precisely this convergence: local chefs and creators working alongside Kerry Group scientists to reimagine cherished Emirati and Dubai dishes with less salt, sugar and fat, yet preserving the flavours that have defined the region’s food culture for generations.

The challenge emerges from a deceptively simple question. Can karak and laban, luqaimat and other beloved staples be made healthier without losing what makes them special? Teams comprising a chef, a creator and a Kerry scientist will have just ten days, from 9th to 19th November, to develop their answer, working within Kerry’s innovation labs at Expo City Dubai and drawing upon proprietary tools such as Kalaido and Nexus to refine their recipes.

Each team takes on one of three briefs, each aligned with Dubai Future Week’s broader preoccupation with food, nutrition and longevity. Live Longer explores preventive health and longevity. Perform Better considers sport and human performance. Feel Better addresses mental health and wellbeing. This tripartite structure transforms the challenge beyond mere ingredient substitution into a thoughtful investigation of how food serves our physical and emotional needs.

The work unfolds publicly. Kerry, Dubai Future Foundation and the creators will document each team’s progress, allowing the public to follow every dish from initial concept through final tasting. On Friday 20th November, teams will present their creations at Dubai Future Week itself. Each will show a short film documenting their journey before pitching to a panel of judges drawn from government, industry and the culinary world. Visitors and media will taste the dishes and vote for their preference, transforming the event into a participatory celebration of regional cuisine reimagined.

Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Deputy CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, observed that Dubai Future Week gives people the opportunity to experience new ideas and shape them. This partnership with Kerry applies this philosophy directly to food, bringing together chefs and scientists to explore how familiar dishes might offer improved nutrition. Edmond Scanlon, CEO of Kerry Group, emphasised that better nutrition matters only when people genuinely love the taste, making the challenge an exploration of what becomes possible when local culinary knowledge merges with scientific expertise.

The initiative reflects Dubai Future Week’s broader mission to celebrate innovation, part of a wider commitment to exploring emerging possibilities. The challenge also speaks to the Foundation’s broader work in innovation deployment; earlier this year, the Dubai Future Foundation opened its AI Sandbox to help innovators and regulators collaborate on real world testing of artificial intelligence solutions, a similar bridging of creative possibility and practical implementation.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

This challenge articulates a vision increasingly central to the UAE’s approach to innovation and well-being: that tradition and progress need not oppose one another. By reimagining Emirati dishes without diminishing their cultural significance or flavour, the initiative demonstrates how the region’s culinary heritage can evolve to serve contemporary health imperatives. Food is language, memory and identity; this work honours all three whilst advancing nutritional science.

For families across the Emirates, the challenge carries practical significance. As the region continues to prioritise health and longevity, solutions that preserve beloved tastes whilst reducing salt, sugar and fat offer a pathway to healthier choices that feel culturally authentic rather than imposed. The public voting element ensures that Emirati and Dubai residents themselves help determine which innovations merit further development and adoption.