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DODO PIZZA UAE OPENED DUBAI’S FIRST AND LARGEST KIDS’ CULINARY EDUTAINMENT ACADEMY

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Dodo Pizza UAE opened the Kids Pizza Academy, Dubai’s first and largest purpose-built culinary edutainment facility for children aged 3-12, located in JLT, Cluster T.

The launch positions the brand within the UAE’s 2026 Year of the Family agenda, offering a structured, screen-free alternative to passive family entertainment formats.Ivan Pyadyshev, CEO of Dodo Pizza MENA, cut the ribbon at the opening, attended by families, media, and members of the JLT community.

The masterclasses

The Academy’s hands-on “Masters of Pizza” masterclasses are the heart of the concept. Since its soft opening, Dodo Kids Pizza Academy has already hosted 15 masterclasses, with plans to run 25 sessions per week, spanning daily drop-in classes, school field trips, all-inclusive birthday parties, and community events, all tailored by age group. Each one-hour session is led by trained “friendstructors” who guide children through dough-rolling, topping, and baking from start to finish, before they tuck into their creations fresh from the oven.

At the grand opening, two masterclasses were held across the afternoon and evening, with kids split into two age groups (3-7 and 8-12) so each session matched their skills and needs. Every young chef wore a personalized apron, shaped their own pizza, and left with a diploma and sticker pack to mark the occasion.

The same format is available year-round through the Academy’s birthday packages, which scale across three tiers. The Junior Chef experience (130 AED/kid weekdays, 150 AED/kid weekends; 2 hours) includes the masterclass, greeting games, signature tableware, food and beverages, a personal host, photo booth, and diploma pack with e-invites. Master Chef (150/170 AED/kid; 2 hours) adds a greeting quest, a choice of themed tableware, face painting or temporary tattoos, and a birthday gift. Culinary Maestro (300/330 AED/kid; 3 hours) is the full celebration, with guest prizes, the Dodo bird mascot and disco time, themed balloon decor, a piñata, and a 2kg themed cake.

The science behind the fun

Recent research confirms that structured cooking programmes improve children’s confidence, problem-solving skills, and culinary self-efficacy – benefits that compound alongside the fine motor and sensory development that hands-on kitchen activities naturally support.

For parents, structured activities that hold a child’s attention don’t just make for a better outing, they actively reduce the mental load of parenting in public, giving children something real to do and parents space to actually be present. This is what separates purposeful family programming from entertainment that merely keeps children occupied.

The full experience

Beyond the masterclasses, the grand opening delivered face painting, dance battles, a wheel of fortune, live entertainment, games, and ice cream vouchers between sessions.

The grand opening included an emcee, face painting, dance battles, a wheel of fortune, and ice cream vouchers between sessions. Once the masterclasses wrapped, children gathered at communal tables to share the pizzas they had made.

The opening marks the start of an ongoing programme. With weekly masterclasses planned and formats designed to scale with a child’s age, the Academy is building a recurring curriculum rather than a single experience.

The brand has signalled plans for regional growth, with Qatar identified as a likely next market and early-stage discussions underway for Iraq and Abu Dhabi. For Dodo Pizza UAE, the Academy represents a long-term investment in the local family community, one the brand intends to replicate across the GCC.

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Hospitality

THE SUM OF US HAS A NEW MENU, AND IT’S FULL OF REAL FOOD

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Some people already noticed that The Sum of Us has quietly refreshed its identity with a new logo and updated packaging, but the real story sits on the plate. A brand-new all-day menu has landed in Dubai, designed around simple, comforting food made well and served without fuss.

The recently launched menu reflects exactly how real people eat, effortlessly from light bites to proper meals, with dishes starting from AED 64. Fresh salads, hearty mains, stacked sandwiches and nostalgic desserts come together in a format that works from morning coffee through to long, unplanned dinners.

Highlights include the Burrata & Peppers (AED 60), a bright, shareable plate of grilled peppers, capers, basil, oregano and creamy burrata served with toasted focaccia. The Miso Salmon Bowl (AED 88) brings together grilled salmon, rice, edamame, pickles and cabbage in a clean, balanced bowl that feels light but satisfying. For dessert, Liv’s Chocolate Mousse (AED 42) delivers richness in its simplest form, made with Dominican Republic chocolate, olive oil, sea salt and freeze-dried raspberries.

Flexibility runs through the entire menu, with sides starting from AED 20, including Mixed Salad and Sweet Roasted Carrots, alongside extras like Koffmann’s Fries (AED 25) and Charred Broccolini (AED 30). The idea is simple. Mix, match, snack, share, or build something more substantial depending on the moment.

More than a café, The Sum of Us continues to sit at the heart of Dubai’s neighbourhood dining scene. Part bakery, part specialty coffee roastery, part everyday hangout and where food is straightforward, generous, and always worth staying a little longer for.

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Hospitality

LA FAMIGLIA ADDS RASPBERRY CROISSANT TO ITS BREAKFAST MENU

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LaFamiglia, a fine dining Italian restaurant in Dubai Sports City, has introduced the Croissant Al Lampone as a permanent addition to its breakfast menu.

Freshly baked each morning, our Raspberry Croissant is crafted from buttery laminated dough and generously filled with homemade raspberry confit. Golden and delicately layered, it reveals a rich raspberry centre beneath its crisp, flaky exterior.

It is available each morning as part of La Famiglia’s breakfast service — weekdays from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and weekends from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

The new addition reflects the restaurant’s commitment to quality across all dayparts, bringing the same attention to ingredients and preparation to its morning offering as to the main dining menu.

What to Expect at La Famiglia:

  • Authentic Italian cuisine made with fresh, seasonal ingredients
  • Handmade pasta and oven-fired pizza, served with clean, modern presentation
  • Star dishes such as their risotto with cuttlefish ink and pasta served straight from a parmigiano cheese wheel
  • Traditional tiramisu, arguably the best you will find in Dubai, alongside homemade gelato
  • A relaxed yet refined setting, designed for long family lunches, relaxed dinners, celebrations, and everyday moments worth savouring
  • A breakfast menu designed to bring comfort and a perfect start to the day
  • Kid-friendly options and staff trained in thoughtful, unobtrusive service
  • Warm and homely inspired interiors
  • Attention to detail, from menu execution to table placement for quiet conversations

La Famiglia Dubai is not just a restaurant – it’s a place to gather, share, and feel at home.

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Hospitality

PPHE HOTEL GROUP REIMAGINES THE DIGITAL GUEST EXPERIENCE ACROSS 17 EUROPEAN HOTELS THROUGH HUDINI PARTNERSHIP

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PPHE Hotel Group, the international hospitality real estate group which develops, owns and operates a multi-brand portfolio of hotels and resorts, has expanded its digital transformation strategy through a landmark partnership with Hudini. The agreement will see PPHE use Hudini’s integrated technology solutions across 17 of its European properties, supporting the group’s wider ambition to enhance service delivery, empower hotel teams and drive operational excellence.

The partnership forms part of PPHE Hotel Group’s broader strategy to reimagine how hotels are run by combining technology with the personalised service that sits at the heart of hospitality. Through a more connected digital ecosystem, the group aims to streamline operations, strengthen collaboration between teams and create a smoother, more responsive experience for guests across every stage of their journey.

The strategic partnership with Hudini, the leader in digital transformation solutions for the hospitality industry, began with the implementation of a single solution within PPHE Hotel Group’s technology roadmap and has since expanded to span a range of guest and employee-focused solutions.

PPHE Hotel Group is implementing a fully integrated suite of digital solutions designed to enhance the guest journey from end to end. This includes a guest-facing web app, a mobile wallet that functions as the room key, self-service kiosks, Staff Connect for faster and more personalised front desk interactions, and guest messaging for real-time communication throughout the journey.

The platform also enables guests to create personalised hotel itineraries, from dining to wellness, based on their individual preferences. Together, these capabilities support a more intuitive, connected and guest-led hospitality experience, setting a new benchmark for personalisation and digital engagement.

Hudini was selected for its ability to bring together multiple guest and operational touchpoints through a single platform, while providing the flexibility to support PPHE Hotel Group’s diverse portfolio of brands and properties in multiple markets. The platform’s scalability, combined with its ability to adapt to individual operational requirements, aligned closely with the group’s long-term technology strategy. Hudini’s ability to integrate with PPHE’s other existing technology initiatives, including AI implementation and data, was another key factor that stood out during the RFP process.

The guest web app is already live in all 15 of the 17 participating properties across Europe, with the first self-service kiosk deployed at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London.

Jawad Sabir, SVP Technology and Business Solutions at PPHE Hotel Group, said: “Technology should make hospitality feel more personal, not less. Our goal is to remove friction from the guest journey while giving our teams more time to focus on the interactions that matter most. Our partnership with Hudini supports this by helping us create a more connected experience across our hotels, where information flows more effectively between teams and guests can access the services they need quickly and seamlessly.

“As guest expectations continue to evolve, speed and simplicity have become increasingly important. By investing in technologies that support both our guests and our employees, we are creating a stronger operational foundation while enabling our teams to deliver the thoughtful, personalised service that defines our brands.”

Prince Thampi, Founder & CEO of Hudini, said: “PPHE Hotel Group has a clear vision for how technology can elevate both the guest journey and hotel operations across its portfolio. We are proud to support their ambition with a scalable platform that enables consistency across multiple brands and markets, while remaining flexible to the unique requirements of each property. This has been a highly collaborative partnership focused on bringing PPHE’s long-term digital strategy to life.”

– END –

About PPHE Hotel Group

PPHE Hotel Group is an international hospitality real estate company, with a £2.0 billion portfolio, valued as at December 2022 by Savills and Zagreb nekretnine Ltd (ZANE), of primarily prime freehold and long leasehold assets in Europe.     

Through its subsidiaries, jointly controlled entities and associates it owns, co-owns, develops, leases, operates and franchises hospitality real estate. Its portfolio includes full-service upscale, upper upscale and lifestyle hotels in major gateway cities and regional centres, as well as hotel, resort and campsite properties in select resort destinations. The Group’s strategy is to grow its portfolio of core upper upscale city centre hotels, leisure and outdoor hospitality and hospitality management platform.      

PPHE Hotel Group benefits from having an exclusive and perpetual licence from the Radisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest hotel groups, to develop and operate Park Plaza® branded hotels and resorts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In addition, PPHE Hotel Group wholly owns, and operates under, the art’otel® brand and its Croatian subsidiary owns, and operates under, the Arena Hotels & Apartments® and Arena Campsites® brands.       

PPHE Hotel Group is a Guernsey registered company with shares listed on the London Stock Exchange. PPHE Hotel Group also holds a controlling ownership interest in Arena Hospitality Group, whose shares are listed on the Prime market of the Zagreb Stock Exchange.      

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