< PreviousWhat attracted you to the posi- tion of executive chef at the Wal- dorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah? I have a special feeling in my heart for the Middle East, particularly for the UAE. I fi rst came to the UAE in 1999 and returned in 2005 and 2012. I spent time in Asia in between. During my visits, I had the opportunity to see the evolution of the region. I was always pleasantly surprised. I am very happy to see the tower where I lived in 1999 still standing on Sheikh Zayed Road. At this point in my career, I have the op- portunity to be a bit more “choosey” on my next destination. With regards to WA RAK, the decision was made in 10 min collectively with my family - we all wanted to come back to the UAE. Coming from a luxury hotel background, it is impossible to decline an off er from a Waldorf Astoria property. This property is amazing on multiple elements. The main one for me is the restaurant off ering, that is always what I look at fi rst in terms of my next destina- tion. I acquired a lot of experience in my career to be able to make an impact on the restaurant we have and what we want to create as a team. How have your past experiences lent themselves to your expertise in this role? After 25 years of cooking and traveling experiences around the world, I had the chance to nurture my taste and my love for ingredients. I spent a lot of time with master chefs in their own domain, this gave me the expertise to understand the taste profi les of dishes and when an ingre- dient is missing. Everywhere I’ve worked, I have spent a lot of time with diff erent Nicolas De Visch, executive chef, Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah THE BIG CLIMB teams and cuisines. It does not mean that because you are an executive chef that you stop learning and developing yourself. I still ask my chefs a lot of questions about their specialty dishes and the ingredi- ents that they use. This is a great way to exchange our culinary knowledge and ex- periences. For the team, food is a language and a form of communication. This approach creates a strong bond between us. That is why chefs are so special. How do you intend to make the hotel’s concepts popular as well as profi table? I do not like the “cut cost” approach when it comes to profi tability. We are a luxury brand and need to act accordingly. Our guests are well-travelled and know the taste of international food and ingredients. Cutting corners will never be an option. I prefer attracting new guests to our outlets and creating new experiences around our venues. Our concept is already extremely popular and very well received by our guests. Nevertheless, I enjoy change and dislike being static. I love to engage my team in this sense too. Never stop trying new things, this is how we are keeping the job fun and creative. It is also very important to work on our food experience for groups of people. I am planning to work very closely with our conference and events team for this. Is there anything you and Waldorf will be doing to improve sustainability? Being extremely aware of the ecology and the preserva- tion of our land and oceans, I am implicated on what needs to be done. Quality equipment throughout the kitchens is very important in order to control our energy consumption and reduce the usage on fossil fuel. Having our own garden here at the hotel helps us a lot on reducing our carbon footprint. Last year for example, 450kg of tomatoes were harvested in our gardens. I am looking forward to extend- ing that. If the local product is good, there is no need to go further to fi nd it. CUTTING CORNERS WILL NEVER BE AN OPTION. I PREFER ATTRACTING NEW GUESTS TO OUR OUTLETS AND CREATING NEW EXPERIENCES.” Sachin Sharma DE VISCH PREVI- OUSLY LIVED IN THE UAE IN 1999 AND ALSO BETWEEN 2005 AND 2012 SO HE IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE REGION People Appointments Caterer Middle East | February 2019 www.caterermiddleeast.com 18/MARIANGELA RUGGIERO, Chef de cuisine, Certo, Radisson Blu, Dubai Media City The Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City has appointed Mariangela Ruggiero as chef de cuisine at the hotel’s Italian restaurant, Certo. Mariangela, who was born and raised in Milan, started her career in San Diego, before returning to Italy, and, since 2014, has been working in the Middle East. Her previous role was chef de cuisine at Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa, Jordan. Speaking about the appointment, James Berry, general manager of Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City, said: “Mariangela will bring a fresh feel, her own personal touch." MOHAMMED SITAB ALAM, Executive chef, Haw- thorn Suites by Wynd- ham JBR Hawthorn Suites by Wyn- dham JBR has appointed Mohammed Sitab Alam as its new executive chef. Alam has more than 15 years of experience in countries including India, Kuwait, and Oman, and he will be in charge of the kitchen operations of all the hotel’s dining outlets. Before joining the property, Alam was executive chef at Golden Tulip Media Hotel and City Seasons Dubai. He also served as sous chef at Holiday Inn Barsha, and as junior sous chef at Ritz Carlton DIFC. His other previous affilia- tions include Holiday Inn Abu Dhabi, Park Inn by Radisson Muscat, and Radisson Blu Dubai Media City. Binu Varghese, hotel manager, commented: “We gladly welcome Mohammed to our team. Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham JBR is in a highly competitive location and we are positive that his combined skills, passion for food, and years of experience will boost the hotel’s food and bever- age offers.” MOVERS & SHAKERS AT CERTO, WE COOK WITH LOVE AND PASSION AND THIS IS SOMETHING I HOPE THE GUESTS WILL NOTICE. WE USE ONLY THE BEST PRODUCTS AVAILABLE, WITH MOST OF THEM BEING IMPORTED DIRECTLY FROM ITALY.” www.caterermiddleeast.com /19 February 2019 | Caterer Middle East What does it take to run a successful restaurant? A wealth of experience and knowledge in the F&B industry, or is sheer passion and pride in what you do enough to see you through? Kishmish is the Afghan restaurant that’s bucking the trend Diff erent generations have diff erent views on Afghani- stan. A country dominated by changing political pow- ers, an outsider born in the 1960s would have an opinion on the country completely at odds with some- one born in the 1990s. But one thing has remained constant throughout its history — the hospitality of its people. Regardless of the wars being fought, the warmth and generosity of the Afghan people has shone through. It’s what three women who grew up outside of their homeland, but retained a deep cultural link with it, visiting regularly and main- taining the key elements of its lifestyle even while thousands of miles away, wanted to exhibit when they created a restaurant called Kishmish. Fatima Rabbani, Iman Nazemi, and Ho- maira Nasser-zia are celebrating a full year in operation. It’s been a year of trials, trib- ulation, but, ultimately, triumph. We sat down with Rabbani and Nazemi (Nasser- zia was unfortunately out of the country), to discuss how they have brought a piece of their history to Dubai. Kishmish is located in Dar Al Wasl Mal at One Third food hall — a homegrown concept that brings together fi ve diff erent 20/ cuisines under one roof — and it was through the owner of One Third that the Kishmish women got their break. Despite having no F&B experience, they were approached and asked if they’d consider opening a restaurant. “We discussed it amongst each other and we wanted to do something for Afghanistan,” explains Rabbani. “It was something that made sense, something that we were pas- sionate about.” She tells us that in Afghanistan “ev- erything is around food. All gatherings, parties, weddings, everything”, so despite their lack of professional know-how, the trio felt their Afghan heritage would steer them right. Rabbani is open that it wasn’t all plain sailing. “We’ve had a lot of challenges especially because we had no background in F&B so everything was a learning curve. We hired the wrong people in the begin- ning and we had to learn the hard way.” The challenges piled up with Nazemi saying it felt like everything they didn’t have direct control of “became problem- atic”, whether it was consultants giving them the wrong advice or construction and licensing issues, but she says they had “such a strong image in our heads of what we wanted Kishmish to be it got us through it quite smoothly”. A signifi cant part of the charm of Kish- mish is the ideal of it being real, traditional Afghan food. And while many restaurants claim their food is ‘home cooked’, for Kish- mish it was a reality — with the women literally teaching their chefs how to cook it from their own kitchens. The result is a menu that is “solely just Afghan” says Rabbani. “No Indian infl u- ence, no Pakistani infl uence, no other infl uence on the cuisine.” She adds: “A lot of our customers tell us that the food tastes like their mum’s cook- ing or their grandma’s cooking. It’s very homey, it’s comforting.” But while it may be traditional and simple, it’s still very diverse as Nazemi explains to us. “We have a lot of variety in Afghani- stan. What we’ve tried to do is take dishes from all diff erent regions, all diff erent hearty dishes which you eat in celebra- tion or that you eat in the streets. We’ve tried to make a small tailored menu that incorporates everything.” So if an Afghan walks in off the street, whether they are from the mountainous areas or from the valleys, both of which have dishes unique to them, they will fi nd something familiar in Kishmish. Caterer Middle East | February 2019 www.caterermiddleeast.com 20/ Feature Kishmishwww.caterermiddleeast.com /21 February 2019 | Caterer Middle East Feature KishmishXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The women have managed to make contacts with Afghan suppliers registered in the UAE for the majority of the dried fruits, nuts, and spices required, with others in their homeland helping send through whatever they can’t source in Dubai to ensure authenticity. It has paid off with the reception to the food, which Nazemi says has been “really good”. A year down the line and Kishmish still has regulars coming from the fi rst week while there “are a lot of new faces” also. The trio have also been keen to listen to feedback from their regulars and have used it to their advantage, even if they didn’t always want to hear it. Nazemi says: “In the beginning a lot of the comments we received from custom- ers really helped us grow and improve ourselves. Sometimes we didn’t like it, ob- viously, because our hearts and souls went into something and someone comes and says ‘no, this is wrong’, it hurts you a bit. “I think we’ve learned how to become a lot more patient and tolerate a lot more. The most important this is we love what we’re doing — it’s not a job, it’s a passion.” Expansion has already happened for Kishmish, with an outlet inside the Todd English Food Hall at Dubai Mall Iman Nazemi Feature Kishmish Caterer Middle East | February 2019 www.caterermiddleeast.com 22/also exceeding expectations after a dif- ficult start. “Todd English was challenging because you have no control over the front-of-house there,” explains Nazemi. “How do you make sure that your cuisine is being ex- plained properly? How do you know they are pushing your food? It started off slow but now it’s doing well, especially at night.” From no F&B experience to running two outlets, including one in one of the most high-profi le shopping malls in the world. The Kishmish team don’t like to make things easy for themselves. And they are doing it as three women in an industry where they are not the norm, as Rabbani admits. “To be honest, it’s a very male dominat- ed industry. I realised that when we went to the BBC Good Food ceremony, where we won Homegrown Restaurant of the Year — everyone going on the stage to pick up awards, they were all men.” While Rabbani says they don’t feel I THINK WE’VE LEARNED HOW TO BECOME A LOT MORE PATIENT AND TOLERATE A LOT MORE. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS WE LOVE WHAT WE’RE DOING — IT’S NOT A JOB, IT’S A PASSION” IMAM NAZEMI Homaira Nasser-zia Kishmish at Dar Al Wasl Mall Kishmish www.caterermiddleeast.com Feature /23 February 2019 | Caterer Middle East discriminated against as such, she also says that in the beginning certain staff they hired “didn’t take them seriously”. There have been a number of changes in that department and they feel they fi nally have a team that supports them fully. The owners also rely on each other for support, as Nazemi explains. “It’s prob- ably one of the most stressful industries to be in, and women do run on emo- tion, which is probably why it’s a male dominated industry, but I think we’ve nailed it. We keep ourselves calm, we get through it. It’s stressful and intense at times but I think when you have a strong partnership and everyone can rely on one another it does help. “We’re all on the same page, we all trust that we have the best interests — it’s like our child. And now we have certain mem- bers of staff who we are very reliant on. So you can see how they look at Kishmish as their child also because they saw it grow. They were there from day one: before we even came inside, they were coming to the house. So they are very protective of her, and of us.” The steep learning curve has left an indelible mark on the Kishmish women, but they have come out of the other end stronger and better for it. Nazemi calls it a “never ending chal- lenge” and Rabbani says it is “constant stress and struggle and work” but in the end is it worth it? “Yes, it’s worth it,” confi rms Nazemi. “It’s worth it because we’re passionate about it. If we were doing it just to do it then probably not because you give up a lot of yourself and you give up a lot of your time. Fatima is married, Homaira is married, Homaira has kids – it’s stressful in that sense and it does take a lot from you but I think our main focus was to do something for our country. “To show people our food, our culture. To show Afghanistan in a diff erent light and in that I think we have been quite successful. People do leave here with a diff erent image of Afghanistan — ‘oh, you’re not wearing a burka’, this is what we got in the beginning. But people left and they learned a lot be- cause we would talk to them and would tell them about our traditions and our culture, and about the real Afghanistan, not this ver- sion which they see on the news. I think we have put Afghan cuisine out there.” OUR MAIN FOCUS WAS TO DO SOMETHING FOR OUR COUNTRY. TO SHOW PEOPLE OUR FOOD, OUR CULTURE. TO SHOW AFGHANISTAN IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT AND IN THAT I THINK WE HAVE BEEN QUITE SUCCESSFUL. PEOPLE DO LEAVE HERE WITH A DIFFERENT IMAGE OF AFGHANISTAN .” Fatima Rabbani Feature Kishmish Caterer Middle East | February 2019 www.caterermiddleeast.com 24/#ValrhonaTulakalum #ValrhonaUnbelizeable Tulakalum 75% Pur Belize A rare flavor is revealed Prepare to be amazed and inspired: This pure Belizean chocolate’s remarkable aromatic profile intricately weaves together a strong gourmet personality and gentle spicy notes. Tulakalum means “together” in Mayan dialect. It is only thanks to collaborative efforts between our partnerproducer Maya Mountain and our sourcing team that we were able to relaunch this exceptionally rare Belizean cocoa variety.A ROYAL WELCOME Report Emerald Palace Kempinski is aiming to be a true dining destination in Dubai. With ten F&B concepts set in palatial surroundings, it hopes to attract the city’s dining elite away from their regular haunts Walking through the en- trance of Emerald Pal- ace Kempinski trans- ports you instantly. Leaving behind the hot Dubai sun, you are suddenly walking the halls of Versailles alongside Louis XVI, or preparing to dine with Austrian emperor Franz Joseph at Schonbrunn Palace. No expense has been spared in creating the extravagant hotel, leaving the F&B outlets with a lot to live up to. Emerald Palace’s location on the outer edge of the Palm also puts it a signifi cant distance from the rest of Dubai’s food scene and makes it a less attractive proposition to visit on initial consideration. So they brought out the big guns. 26/ Alain Ducasse has picked the venue to host his fi rst foray into the Middle East. The chef whose restaurants have won multiple Michelin stars is a huge draw and he has opened his biggest ever con- cept in anticipation. “I think the plan was not only to open an amazing palace, but to create a new F&B destination on the Palm,” explains Emerald Palace managing director Sebas- tian Mariette, as he guides us around the luxurious surroundings. Knowing they had to entice diners to make the extra eff ort meant bringing in a name like Ducasse was vital, some- thing Mariette acknowledges: “For all the people who come to the hotel this is one of the key highlights of this destination. Feature Emerald Palace Kempinski Caterer Middle East | February 2019 www.caterermiddleeast.com 26/You know that if you stay in this hotel you have Alain Ducasse on the rooftop and this is amazing. “A name like Ducasse is attracting many people from the local community, either Emiratis or expatriates living in Dubai because the name is famous.” However, Mariette believes that Du- casse’s drawing power goes even further beyond that and can inspire diners from abroad to make Emerald Palace their next destination. He says: “Ducasse is a new name in Dubai and I think that we have to com- municate a little bit more to the interna- tional market to tell them that Ducasse is now resident in Dubai at the Emerald Palace Kempinski.” Set over three fl oors, Mix by Alain Du- casse is truly a mix of dining experiences in one. Whether it’s the private room situ- ated inside a Faberge egg at the top of the restaurant that is suitable for fi ne-dining, or the more tapas-style bites available in the bar area, the huge 400-seater concept off ers something for everyone. Head chef Hugues Gerard has worked under Ducasse for almost a decade and is responsible for bringing a variety of diff erent cuisines into the Mix menu, with something from each of Ducasse’s restau- rants around the world. (For a more detailed look at Mix by Alain Ducasse, see the Outlet 360 feature on page 66.) But while Ducasse may be the big name, Mariette is keen to draw atten- tion to the other F&B outlets scattered throughout the venue and its sister building next door. He tells us: “In total we have more than 10 F&B concepts if you take the residence and the Emerald Palace.” We are sitting in regal surroundings Emerald Palace Kempinski www.caterermiddleeast.com Feature /27 February 2019 | Caterer Middle East Next >