This April, Duck & Waffle teams up with Firetti Contemporary to present Beyond the Palette– a creative collaboration that is set to turn the restaurant into a visually artistic space. Blending contemporary art with the restaurant’s vibrant dining scene, the exhibition will showcase works from three acclaimed artists: Paolo Nicolai, Rachel K, and Helidon Xhixha.
The collaboration brings a fresh cultural layer to the DIFC dining scene, turning the restaurant into a space where art and food come together. Alongside the exhibition, Duck & Waffle has also created a special selection of cocktails, each paired with a featured artwork to enhance the visual and sensory experience.
Each artist brings a distinct voice to the project. Italian sculptor Paolo Nicolai is renowned for his raw, emotional works that examine the human condition. His piece David Brain Damage is a powerful sculpture inspired by Michelangelo’s David, distorted using resin and fragmented marble to symbolise purity, imperfection, and emotional resilience. It’s paired with the 00’ Duck Martini– a rich, buttery blend of vodka and gin, fat-washed with beurre noisette and finished with smoked oil- designed to reflect the complexity and bold form of Nicolai’s reimagined David.
Rachel K, a Lebanese-French artist, offers a playful yet poignant perspective to her sculptural works, blending childhood nostalgia with contemporary art. Her sculptures Rgranat and Mini Rchilli are infused with vibrant colour and familiar forms like pomegranates and peppers, tying together themes of memory, cultural identity, and transformation. To accompany her colourful world, the To-May-To, To-Ma-To cocktail brings a creative punch- spicy tomato essence topped with a light green basil air and micro herbs. The drink feels nostalgic yet fresh, capturing K’s gift for turning playful familiarity into reflective art. Her second pairing, the Duck & Waffle Paloma, features roasted bell pepper and pink peppercorn with grapefruit soda, served in the restaurant’s iconic can, further tying in her vibrant exploration of food, memory, and identity.
Helidon Xhixha, an Albanian sculptor celebrated for his large-scale stainless-steel works, introduces a sense of movement and light to the space. His sculpture Cello distorts the form of a classical musical instrument, creating a fluid, abstract piece that shifts with light and perspective, mirroring the energy of Duck & Waffle’s dynamic space. This piece is paired with the Nutella Ristretto Negroni, a rich and bittersweet take on the classic Negroni that complements the sculpture’s strength and rhythm. Another of Xhixha’s vivid reflective works, Deep Red, is matched with the Goose, Gander, Gimlet, a crystal-clear lychee vodka cocktail, layered with kaffir lime leaf and bergamot air, served over a splash of red paint, echoing the depth and vibrancy of the piece.
At its core, Beyond the Palette is about redefining the traditional dining experience by integrating art as an evolving, ever-present part of the environment. By bringing contemporary art into a social, everyday setting, the collaboration offers a new way to experience creativity. Whether guests arrive for the food, the view, or the art, the exhibition encourages them to pause, take a closer look, and see the familiar in a new light.
