And a little role for ...... yours truly!

There was even a little cameo role for yours truly in the whole affair. And that's what hanging around an event as a photographer can sometimes lead to.
With one member of the judging panel absent on the second day, for the main course, I was roped in on the panel. So it was a quick taste and appreciation of the dish, some markings and notes, then out to shoot the dish, and back again at the judges' table - four times, so it began to look like a game of musical chairs! 
That's me below (right) pecking at the foie gras next to the fish; on my right is fellow Judge Steven Benson Flower, the Executive Chef of the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah resort.

Sadly no such services were required on the day of the Desserts, and I could only eat with my eyes, full of remorse. (But I've already made a booking at Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove!)