< Previouscaterermiddleeast.com December 2020 20 Power List It started as a backyard project, growing fruits and vegetables and raising animals for his daughters. A few BBQs and some word of mouth later and things have progressed. Now if you want to have some food with Hattem Matter you’ll need to join him at one of the many high pro le events where’s he’s a main attraction. Dubai’s rst and only artisanal smokehouse has seen its pro le skyrocket over the past year. Whether it’s a barbecue brunch at Folly with Power 50 chefs Nick Alvis and Scott Price or a poolside pop-up at Azure Beach, The Mattar Farm has reached out a whole new audience. Having adapted brilliantly from doing nothing but live events to now catering for online deliveries both retail and wholesale, The Mattar Farm has not only survived the coronavirus pandemic but used it as a springboard to reach more customers and become a part of their lives — helped by the amiable Mattar who you’ll always nd serving brisket with a smile at The Matter Farm events. As dark kitchens continue to grow in prominence, Mattar’s dream is for his project to evolve into the exact opposite — a neighbourhood lynchpin that is built around a sense of community and human connection. In 2021 we can expect to see the Mattar name even more widely established throughout the UAE. Hattem Mattar Founder/pitmaster, The Mattar Farm Gamechangers “Strangers started showing up at the house to eat”21 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Power List 5 Mayada Badr CEO, Saudi Arabia Culinary Arts Comission Renowned Saudi chef and entrepreneur Mayada Badr has been tasked with leading the Kingdom’s Culinary Arts Commission which aims to support its F&B sector through training by partnering with world-renowned institutions such as Le Cordon Bleu and holding events including the annual National Food Festival to showcase Saudi talents. With a number of high pro le international brands set to enter Saudi Arabia in the coming years, it will be down to Badr to ensure the Kingdom has the local talent required to welcome and support them, and she appears on course to do that. Mubarak bin Fahad Chairman, Dubai Restaurants Business Group A year that started with record breaking success at Inked Dubai eventually led to the creative food platform becoming the epicentre of charitable giving. Husband and wife team Patrick and Kenza Jarjour quickly turned their operation into a production line of hearty meals, paid for by the generous public, that were given to those in need. With help from Alserkal Avenue and other local businesses, more than 22,000 meals were distributed around the city via the UAE Food Bank. Then, while The Arts Club was taking over the space, Inked once more came to the aid of those affected by the Beirut blast, with more than AED100,000 raised by a pop-up organised by the Jarjours. 6 As a partner in the founding and development of award-winning restaurants such as LPM Restaurant & Bar, Tashas, Flamingo Room, and Avli, Mubarak bin Fahad’s passion for the F&B industry has long been apparent. The respect for him shown in the sector has been made clear this year with his appointment as the chairman of the Dubai Restaurants Business Group, formed under the umbrella of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry to support the city’s restaurant sector and unify the voices of its 15,000 members. It’s a chance for the industry to work together to better itself. Kenza and Patrick Jarjour Co-founders, Inked Dubai 7 Gamechangerscaterermiddleeast.com December 2020 22 Power List Samantha Wood Founder and owner, FooDiva 2020 was the year that FooDiva truly embraced homegrown restaurants and become a champion of the UAE’s local food scene. Founder Samantha Wood, a long-time supporter of the Emirates’ restaurant scene since she launched her impartial food review website, took the negativity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and turned it into something positive with the launch of her pro bono social media campaign #UAERestaurantsUnite. To date, more than 10,000 posts using the hashtag have been shared by the F&B community and consumers across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, reaching more than nine million impressions. As part of the campaign Wood also lobbied delivery aggregators to reduce their high commissions and led a number of online industry sessions on the matter. Now, in a change to editorial policy made in light of the positive reception received by the hashtag campaign, FooDiva will only be pro ling local homegrown establishments and sharing them under the #UAERestaurantsUnite banner. A sign that the country’s local scene is gaining in popularity. Wood has also been drawing attention to Dubai’s dining venues with bespoke, invitation-only dine-arounds at the likes of Souk Madinat Jumeirah and Depachika Food Hall, and her in- demand Three Chefs Dinner experiences with local chefs are proving as popular as ever — with the latest selling out in a record 12 hours. Gamechangers “Customers now prioritise owner-operated haunts”23 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Power List Jennifer Pettinger-Haines Managing director Middle East, Bench Events Nicolas Budzynski Global operations director, LPM Restaurant & Bar Having started 2020 with one of Bench’s signature Global Restaurant Investment Forum events in Amsterdam, Jennifer Pettinger-Haines couldn’t have foreseen how quickly such occasions would be a thing of the past. But she adapted quickly, working with industry leaders to launch the Middle East Restaurant Association and putting on weekly webinars to keep the sector informed and engaged as it underwent huge changes. It was pivotal information during one of the darkest times our industry has ever faced. Now, with Dubai’s successful handling of the pandemic helping to normalise the situation, Pettinger-Haines has now begun to return to phyiscal events In a year of huge change for the industry, Nicolas Budzynski has helped LPM Restaurant & Bar stay ahead of its competition. Among the rst of the region’s ne dining venues to turn to home delivery as the pandemic set in, Budzynski’s unwavering dedication to ensuring LPM’s brand values could be translated into a bag not just led to a perfectly executed product, but the must have lifestyle accessory of the summer. More importantly it keps Budzynski’s staff employed and the DIFC restaurant in the minds of its customers. An LPM pop-up in Riyadh at the tail end of 2019 uncovered the true potential of the Saudi Arabia market and the brand will be making its rst permanent move into the Kingdom in early 2021. 9 10 Gamechangerscaterermiddleeast.com December 2020 24 Power List 1 Michael Ellis Chief culinary of cer, Jumeirah Group Tasked with completely reinventing Jumeirah’s dining portfolio, Michael Ellis has been quick to do so. After ringing in the changes last year, the transformation continued into 2020. First, popular pop-up Kayto with chef Christian Goya became a permanent addition to Jumeirah Al Naseem. Now, two more restaurants have popped up — French Riviera at Jumeirah Al Qasr and SAL at Burj Al Arab — to immediate success, and with the potential to be there long term should their popularity continue. Based on extensive research, Ellis has also introduced a new kids-focused healthy eating menu which is being piloted at Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Lynne Bellinger Director food and beverage design and development EMEA, Marriott International Having spent her opening spell at Hilton developing the vision for the group’s F&B in the region and signing up several big named partnerships with restaurants brands and international chefs (to be named soon), the coming months are set to be exciting for Emma Banks. With 371 hotels each averaging around three Hilton-operated venues, there’s plenty of big news to come. Not that things stopped during lockdown, with Hilton mobilising its kitchens and working with its supply chain to provide meals for Dubai government’s Ten Million Meals campaign, with more than 3,000 contributed by the group. A fantastic CSR initiative. With 600 revenue generating outlets across the Middle East, Marriott International is one of the region’s biggest players, and Lynne Bellinger has been a big part of its success in the past few years. With the remit of attracting third-party restaurant operators, and using her previous HR experience to forge strong relationships, Bellinger has created Marriott best-practices that have been implemented in other regions. Now, she has been working on re- negotiating better deals for Marriott’s MEA properties, making outlets more pro table for the owners and for Marriott. Emma Banks Vice president, F&B strategy and development, EMEA, Hilton 2 3 HotelsMADE IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES FULLY COOKED SKINLESS THE FLAVOR OF NEW Y RK NOW AVAILABLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Contact us: Khazan Meat Factory +971 4 7024700-Ext.4705 +971 50 2739258 Rob.Webling@mezzan.com Another quality product fromcaterermiddleeast.com December 2020 26 Power List 4 Rob Cunningham Vice president of food and beverage, JA Resorts & Hotels Employed to “revolutionise” the current offerings at JA and create new F&B concepts that are pro table and community-focused, Rob Cunningham has been quick to put his stamp on the Dubai-born brand and made sustainability a priority. He has solely spearheaded collaborations with four internationally acclaimed chefs who between them have earned and maintained six Michelin stars – TV personality and filmmaker Vikas Khanna, ‘master of modern Middle Eastern cuisine’ Greg Malouf, Chinese chef Da Dong, and Mathieu Palombino, founder of New York-born pizzeria, Motorino. Adam Tracey Culinary director, Radisson Hotel Group With the opening of Radisson Blu Dubai Canal View and Radisson Resort, Marjan Island in the past 12 months, It’s been a busy year of concept development for Adam Tracey. Not to mention maintaining the brand’s most popular restaurants at its Dubai Waterfront locations such as FireLake Grill House and Makar. The former has come back stronger than ever post-lockdown, with both its summer brunch and relaunched Backyard brunch reeling in the guests with their reimagined offerings. With the hotels all reopened, Tracey has a big 2021 ahead of him. As director of food and beverage, Hemant Shekhawat is responsible for strategising and overseeing the operations of 11 revenue centres: Treehouse, The Eloquent Elephant, Bombay Brasserie, Tesoro, Byzantium Lounge, Banquets and outdoor catering, room service, butler service, The Chambers, minibar and pool bar. Despite the tough market conditions this year, Shekhawat’s business acumen has allowed four of the six dining outlets to remain fully operational and managed to meet the revised budget forecast and even comfortably beat it. Now he’ll look to build on that into 2021 and increase pro ts further. 5 6 Hemant Shekhawat, Director of food and beverage, Taj Dubai, The Indian Hotels Company Limited Hotels27 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Power List 7 910 Gianluca Sparacino Vice president, food and beverage, EMEA, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Jay Williams Complex director of culinary, Le Meridien and The Westin Mina Seyahi Michael Kitts Director of culinary arts, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management Jodie O’Meara Hotel F&B operations manager, Zabeel House by Jumeirah Four Seasons has continued to innovate with its F&B into a challenging 2020 The introduction of Folia at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach in partnership with chef Matthew Kenney and HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed This year’s Hotelier Middle East Awards Executive Chef of the Year, Jay Williams showed his aptitude for large scale events in 2020, through both running the kitchen for The man tasked with safeguarding the future of the UAE’s, and the wider region’s, hotels is Michael Kitts. Called ‘the godfather of culinary in Dubai’ by one Picking up the highly commended accolade for F&B Manager of the Year at the Hotelier Middle East Awards 2020 was the cherry on the top of what has been a successful 2020 for Jodie O’Meara who turned Lah Lah into Dubai’s hippest venue. 8 bin Talal Al Saud’s KBW Ventures is an ambitious concept aimed at the health- conscious customers. Meanwhile Bullona at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo is yet another indication of the brand’s ability to attract exciting international talent. the Coca Cola Arena , the ever-popular Bubbalicious brunch, at The Westin or taking over the in-house cooking for 2,100 staff during the pandemic. pro le this year, Kitts is the director of culinary arts at The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, the region’s breeding ground for top hotel talent. The pan-Asian concept has become so popular it’s outshining most of Jumeirah’s more ashy portfolio, and O’Meara’s unwavering leadership and personal touch has been key to that. How far can she go? Hotelscaterermiddleeast.com December 2020 28 Power List gone from strength to strength, with ve locations now open in the UAE, including a new outlet in Al Basha, but its in her unique concept restaurants that Sideris’s skills as a restaurateur have really shined. Galaxy Bar, despite only opening in 2019, found itself on The World’s 50 Best Bars longlist, coming in at an impressive number 67 and winning the Campari One To Watch award. Meanwhile, its adjoining restaurant Avli has not only survived the pandemic- enforced lockdown, but Sideris went against her initial instinct and introduced delivery to help ride out the storm, her agile reaction helping its bottom line. Riyadh is now on the horizon with both Tashas and Flamingo Room set to open up in 2021, and Sideris notes that the challenges of 2020 have encouraged her to “act less aggressively and more tactfully” when opening new locations. However, the likes of London and New York on still the expansion wishlist. It’s been a big year for Natasha Sideris who took full control of The Tashas Group and exported its headquarters from South Africa to her adopted homeland of the UAE. Bringing the entirety of her empire under her wing is a bold move in this most unsettling of years, but with 15 years of leadership under her belt, Sideris has been proved right much more often than she has been wrong. The inimitable Tashas cafes have Natasha Sideris CEO and founder, The Tashas Group Independents “Our mantra is sophisticated simplicity”29 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Power List The Maine Land Brasserie is the latest jewel in the crown, the beautifully elegant restaurant perfectly matching its surroundings in the iconic-before- it-even-opened Opus by Zaha Hadid building in Dubai. Opening only days after complete lockdown was lifted in the city, Ghazal had to rework his launch plan completely. As well as introducing a raft of safety measures (showcased to great effect on social media by Ghazal himself), he reduced the menu by 40 percent and focused on ingredients from local suppliers to keep costs down. The homegrown brand is also set for an international expansion, with The Maine London coming in Q4 2021. For Ghazal, the true test of the brand will be how well it scales beyond the UAE. With Ghazal’s midas touch and air, it’s safe to say we can expect more success in the future. If you haven’t been to The Maine yet, it’s probably because you can’t get a table. Despite opening three venues in ve years, including one of Dubai’s most talked about launches of 2020, Joey Ghazal still can’t keep up with demand. The most stylish man in the country’s F&B scene has continued his success despite the global pandemic, and his reputation as a tastemaker has been proven right once again. Joey Ghazal Founder and managing partner, The Maine New England Brasserie Company Independents “Health workers are the true heroes. We owe them everything.”Next >