OCTOBER 2020 AN ITP MEDIA GROUP PUBLICATION Chefs and restaurants in the UAE have access to amazing fresh fruits and vegetables, so what more can be done to champion local produce? The art of sustainability Caterer Middle East Digital ink print on paper, 20.5 x 27.5 cmCreate gourmet Ice-cream based deserts with this high-quality range of luxurious Dulce de Leche and Caramel sauces straight from the heart of Ireland. Flavour ranges Classic Dulce De Leche - Extra Thick Dulce De Leche - Reduced sugar Dulce de Leche Salted caramel - Millionaire Caramel - Luxury caramel Long Shelf Life, Freeze to thaw, ready to use. Available now in the UAE through exclusive distributors, Masterbaker Marketing, in 1kg, 6kg and 12.5 kg buckets. For a free sample or to book a sampling session please contact brandambassador@ymakan.com In this issue 3 October 2020 caterermiddleeast.com ON THE MENU Specials 20 The UAE is hoping to lead the way in food security, but what more needs to be done? 40 This year's The GM Debate by Hotelier Middle East discussed the future of hotel F&B. Are vertical farms the answer? The future of hotel F&BIn this issue caterermiddleeast.com October 2020 4 Mains 6 Trending 34 Spotlight 44 Mix masters 50 Kitchen con dential Koko Bay has opened Tiki cocktails Fresh at Il PassaggioEditor's Letter 5 October 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Hello, Born and raised in Scotland, I grew up surrounded by farmland. Sheep grazing in every field, cows wandering here and there. As such, fresh produce was an everyday part of life for me. When I interviewed the legendary Marco Pierre White, he told me that Scottish raspberries are the best in the world. So, on the face of it, coming to the UAE was a bit of a culture shock. Gone are the green glens and icy blue lochs, replaced with the undulating, unending desert. However, I quickly discovered that the country has a blossoming ecosystem of its own. Whether hidden away in warehouses like Badia Farms or in the rolling fields of Emirates Biofarm (which almost feel like home), it’s clear the country has made food security a priority. Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security, is the reason for that. With her leading the way, it won’t be long until the UAE is not only feeding its own people, but exporting fresh produce worldwide. Simon Ritchie, editor PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 (0)4 444 3000 Web: www.itp.com Offi ces in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London & Mumbai ITP Media Group CEO Ali Akawi Managing Director Alex Reeve Deputy Managing Director Martin Chambers Group Editor Paul Cliff ord Editorial Editor Simon Ritchie Tel: +971 4 444 3550 email: simon.ritchie@itp.com Advertising Commercial Director Sally Whittam Tel: +971 4 444 3348 email: sally.whittam@itp.com Sales Manager Rebecca Lockwood Tel: +971 4 444 3115 email: rebecca.lockwood@itp.com International Sales Manager Amanda Stewart GSM: +44 7908 117 333 email: amanda.stewart@itp.com ITP Live General Manager Ahmad Bashour Tel: +971 4 444 3549, email: ahmad.bashour@itp.com Studio Designer Gerald Du Photography Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor, Adel Rashid Staff Photographers Aasiya Jagadeesh, Ajith Narendra, Fritz John Asuro Production & Distribution Group Production & Distribution Director Kyle Smith Production Manager Basel Al Kassem Production Coordinator Mahendra Pawar Senior Image Editor Emmalyn Robles Circulation Distribution & Warehouse Manager Praveen Nair Marketing Director of Awards and Marketing Daniel Fewtrell ITP Group CEO Ali Akawi CFO Toby Jay Spencer-Davies The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. Published by and © 2020 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC MEDIAcaterermiddleeast.com October 2020 6 TRENDING7 October 2020 caterermiddleeast.com A Lebanese institution for 85 years, there have been rumours brewing that Café Younes would come to Dubai from as early as 2012. Now it has taken the plunge, with its Black Coffee concept opening an outlet at Duja Tower, Trade Centre. It’s the brand’s rst international Black Coffee by Café Younes Speciality coffee from Lebanon comes to Dubai “We see plenty of growth potential in the UAE’s speciality coffee sector” market, and managing partner Faysal Younes tells us that despite the impact of Covid-19 and the current challenging environment, he “still sees plenty of growth potential in the UAE speciality coffee sector”. “For the past eight years, we have been deploying most of our resources in the Lebanon market, where we have managed to open eight sites in one of the most challenging environments to operate in. Today, we believe that it is the right time to expand the brand beyond the Lebanese territory and into the Dubai market.” Younes is the third generation of “obsessed” family owners overseeing the company since its launch in 1935. “The concept’s unique positioning lies in the ‘live’ coffee beans roasting experience in each store we open for the main purpose of educating the consumers about the 17-plus country origins we import Arabica green beans from,” he says. With the latest Dubai launch, the plan for Black Coffee is to ride the growing fourth wave of speciality coffee and offer a scalable, multi-format concept that can be exported to other markets. Younes says: “Our strategy today is to continue with our international expansion plan by growing Black Coffee’s footprint in the UAE market, while eying an entry into KSA and the rest of the GCC markets. “We offer two partnership models: franchising and joint venture, depending on the type of market, on the potential partner’s strengths and on other variables.” Targeting well-travelled and highly- educated customers that care about the provenance and quality of their coffee above all, Black Coffee is aiming to replicate its home success and build a generational brand across the region. Trending caterermiddleeast.com October 2020 8 A test case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK could lead to restaurants in the UAE claiming money for losses incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic, says Dubai-based lawyer Raymond Kisswany of Davidson & Co. The case revolved around business interruption (BI) insurance, with the FCA winning in London’s High Court against eight leading insurance companies, and examining the wording of more than 20 sample BI policies. The court ruled that BI policies could be used to cover losses caused by the pandemic in several cases. Among the speci c policies that the court ruled in favour of include ones with wording about contagious diseases (which coronavirus has been classed to be) and those that mentioned prevention of access — which applies to government instructed lockdowns. “For UAE policy holders that didn’t have any disease wording, there will most likely be something on prevention of access to your insured business,” said Kisswany. “The restrictions were far more onerous in that regard in the UAE,” he added, citing curfews and the fact only pharmacies and supermarkets were able to operate in the country for a period of time. Kisswany believes that the BI policies could even apply to the current restrictions, which while less severe than total lockdown, have seen restaurants forced to operate at a lower capacity due to social distancing, and therefore UK test case suggests UAE restaurants have coronavirus business interruption insurance claim CORONAVIRUS be entitled to compensation for their income shortfall. However, this will be more dif cult than claiming for the complete lockdown, and businesses should gather as much evidence as possible to validate their claim. This could be in the form of comparative accounts from last year showing a decrease in revenue in 2020. This would also be the case, said Kisswany, for restaurants that chose not to open after lockdown as lifted. In those instances it will depend on a case-by-case basis, but if, for example, a restaurant in a hotel which didn’t reopen also chose not to reopen as its customers would be limited, Kisswany believed there would be “very legitimate reasons to show the economic effects of why it was not in their favour to open”. Although the result from the UK is not applicable to or binding in UAE court, Kisswany told Caterer Middle East that similar cases brought against insurers in the UAE also likely to apply here for a number of reasons. Kisswany explained that UAE and UK insurance policies are almost identical in wording, with the UAE insurance market actually reinsured on the London market. Also, said Kisswany, UAE courts tend to favour the insured rather than insurance companies. “Any ambiguity that can be in anyway be interpreted in favour of the insured, the court will take that on board.” The next step for restaurants who wish to act on their policies is to rst and foremost ensure they are covered for BI. Kisswany has already seen an uptick in F&B outlets contacting Davidson & Co as they look to win back some of the money lost during the pandemic, but it won’t be an easy task. “The challenge here is that you can’t do a class action lawsuit the way you can in the UK,” explained Kisswany. Davidson & Co is hoping to hear from as many operators as possible so they can try and deal with the insurance companies directly, with Kisswany saying “strength in numbers” is likely to help their case for a settlement and will reduce fees signi cantly for those involved. A number of restaurant operators have already been in touch. NEWS Raymond Kisswany of Davidson & Co believes F&B outlets should come together to seek a settlement for lockdown closuresTrending 9 October 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Saudi Arabia is continuing its culinary rise with the announcement that Rainer Becker’s Azumi Limited is set to open ve of its brands in the Kingdom, including world renowned Japanese concepts Zuma and Roka. A partnership agreement between Azumi Limited and Mohammed Abdulrahman Jawa’s MJS Holding was signed at the start of 2020 and will see a total of seven outlets opened in Saudi Arabia with Oblix, Inko Nito, and Etaru joining Zuma and Roka. Sven Koch, CEO Azumi Ltd, said: “We are delighted to join forces with Mohammed Jawa. As we continue to expand our international footprint, it is important for us to nd like-minded partners. The Kingdom is a fast-growing market and new for us, we are very proud to be taking this step with Mohammed. He is a true operator and is hugely passionate about our brands. This, combined with his innovative approach to business, means we aligned seamlessly. We are very honoured to be working with him.” Mohammed Jawa founded MJS Holding after spending 17 years in the SAUDI ARABIA Kosher A huge upheaval in regional politics has seen ties normalised between Israel and the UAE and the upside to the F&B community in the Emirates is the in ux of tourists. The government has already mandated that Abu Dhabi hotels provide kosher meals for customers and the rst kosher restaurant has opened. The USA A report released by the National Restaurant Association in the USA has revealed the true extent of the Covid-19 crisis, with nearly 1 in 6 restaurants suffering either permanent of long-term closure. This means nearly 100,000 restaurants in the country may never reopen. Good month Bad month World-renowned Japanese concepts Zuma and Roka to open in Saudi Arabia MJS Holding is bringing ve of Rainer Becker’s brands to KSA restaurant industry, and launched the rst franchise of US brand Urth Caffe in the Arabian Peninsula. Speaking about the new partnership, Mohammed Jawa said: “Since the inception of Zuma, in 2002, it inspired me to create great experiences with food, service and atmosphere. It was 2011 when my initial partnership interest was piqued. I guess everything happens at the right time, for a reason. It is a great honour and pleasure to be part of the Zuma family; with its great founders Arjun Waney and Rainer Becker and managed by Sven Koch and his team.” Azumi Limited currently operates 26 restaurants across the globe.Next >