< Previouscaterermiddleeast.com December 2020 40 Power List pandemic. Othman even delivered 50 of them by himself in just one day. Although he made his name in ne dining as regional executive chef for Zuma, placing Dubai in the San Pellegrino Top 100 Best Restaurants in the World for four consecutive years, by shifting his focus into the casual mid- tier, he has offered guests high quality ingredients at a reasonable price — just as everyone has had to watch their wallet. It’s clearly worked, with Othman’s Reif Japanese Kushiyai being named the Best Newcomer at the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards. With the world slowly returning to normal, with Othman be able to keep up his speed of expansion? That’s certainly the plan with Reif Japanese Kushiyaki likely to go international soon as the chef looks for lower capex risks that can bene t both landlord and business. Pandemic? What pandemic? Reif Othman has taken 2020 in his stride, expanding on his original Reif Japanese Kushiyaki restaurant with a further two openings this year — Kushi by Reif in Depachika Food Hall and Reif Japanese Kushiyaki at Food District at The Pointe. If anything, Covid-19 proved to be a creative boon for Othman, with the Singaporean chef going viral with his toilet paper design yuzu cake, a play on the must-have item at the start of the Reif Othman Chef and owner, Reif Kushikayi Restaurant Chefs “Spending power has dropped but people still want to dine out and have quality”41 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Power List Brasserie at The Opus by Zaha Hadid. The timing of the latter couldn’t have been tougher, opening just days after lockdown was lifted in Dubai – and turning an already highly anticipated launch into the city’s must-visit location due to the lack of other new restaurants. Fortunately Dakara rose to the challenge and despite having to completely change operations and retrain all staff, the venue has been an instant success. The original hasn’t been left in its wake either, with Dakara ensuring standards remain high and its popularity undiminished, with a week-long waiting list, despite many people still being wary about going out to eat. A proud promoter of local produce, Dakara was the rst chef to stock Dibba Bay oysters and is keen to see the Middle East’s regional food scene continue to grow in a sustainable way. If the name New England Brasserie Company isn’t familiar to you, we’re sure The Maine will be. In a relatively short time it’s become a Dubai institution, and no thanks in part to Saradhi Dakara. The last year has seen it really branch out from its original seafood focus, introducing The Maine Street Eatery at Studio One Hotel followed by 2020’s marquee opening of The Maine Land Saradhi Dakara Group executive chef, New England Brasserie Company Chefs “We established the trend for food-driven yet stylish bistros”caterermiddleeast.com December 2020 42 Power List 3 Himanshu Saini Corporate chef, Passion F&B Although he oversees the entire Passion F&B portfolio, including Tresind in three countries and A Capella and Carnival by Tresind in Dubai, it’s in Tresind Studio that Himanshu Saini really shines. A creative outlet where he changes the menu every three months, each season is as highly regarded as the last. While his rst was curtailed by the pandemic, he returned with a new, more value driven food truck inspired menu that once more got the customers ocking to Dubai’s most innovative Indian venue. Now he’s back with a premium garden inspired menu that is said to be his most re ned ever. Nigel Lobo Group executive chef, Stars ‘n’ Bars UAE With Folly by Nick & Scott closed for longer than some other Dubai restaurants, the British duo turned to a new delivery concept – Folly at Home. But rather than just providing nished meals, it allowed for customers to embrace the craze for lockdown cooking, but with restaurant quality results by following their instructional videos. Nick Alvis and Scott Price have got Folly reopen now and it’s already returning to expectations as one of Madinat Jumeirah’s best locations. Add in an upcoming stint at Time Out Market and a partnership with Marks & Spencer to create online content and recipes for in-store cafes, and it looks like the pair are set for a busy 2021. In this most challenging of years, few chefs have been opening up new concepts and moving on to bigger things, yet Nigel Lobo has done both. As executive chef and group culinary administrator at Royal Orchid Hospitality he helped setup Koko Bay at Palm West Beach for one of the biggest launches of the year, with the Bali-inspired venue quickly becoming one of Dubai’s hotspots upon opening. Now at Stars ‘n’ Bars UAE he is focused on taking the brand to the next level and has already begun strategically engineering the menus for all restaurants. Nick Alvis and Scott Price Chef patron, Nick & Scott Holdings LLC 4 5 Chefs43 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Power List Affected hugely by Covid-19 and the closure of locations with some of his venues, in the past year Ani has still managed to take Dubai’s homegrown brand Gaia to Monte Carlo and is looking at further international expansion for the concept with Bulldozer Group. By turning to social media during the pandemic, Ani was able to reach his audience through cooking challenges, continuing his education Perhaps the most renowned of Dubai’s chefs, British national Izu Ani is the man people call on to produce something that customers will ock to in their droves. He aims to create concepts that balance quality ingredients, creative yet re ned dishes, and the energy and ambiance that makes a restaurant welcoming and fun. Izu Ani Concept creator, YSeventy7 of the understanding of ingredients even without being able to be with his adoring customers. Chefs “Cooking is about creating harmony on a plate”caterermiddleeast.com December 2020 44 Power List encourages a high guest table turnover. With money tight on both sides of the counter, customers have embraced the deals while Lincoln has managed to turn a potential disaster into an opportunity to reach new diners. With revenue growth across venues and internal promotions showing encouraging signs of growth within staff members, it was no surprise that Voelzing was made partner at Distillery as his importance to Lincoln continues to shine through. Not one to shy away from trends that can have a positive effect on business, Voelzing has embraced making Instagrammable menus, ensuring his work is shared far and wide and having a bigger impact on the Lincoln’s bottom line than one sale. With La Serre set to open more outlets the chef could soon nd himself manning kitchens on four continents. Canadian chef Brian Voelzing has led Lincoln Hospitality from the kitchen since the company launched at the start of 2019 when it took over La Serre and introduced The Loft at Dubai Opera, Taikun, and Distillery Gastropub the same year. Faced with the unprecedented pandemic, Voelzing has been quick to introduce a raft of new theme nights and offers for guests, while working hard to ensure the menu is both low cost and Brian Voelzing Executive group chef, Lincoln Hospitality Chefs “La Serre is one of the older restaurants that is still relevant”45 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com Power List 8 Gregoire Berger Chef de cuisine, Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm Few chefs in Dubai command the international respect of Gregoire Berger and when put to the test this year he has shown why. Realising he needed to change the offering at popular Atlantis seafood restaurant Ossiano in light of Covid-19 affecting budgets, he came up with Gregoire’s Kitchen. A more value-driven offering, the innovative concept has been fully booked every night since its launch in July, ensuring Ossiano has remained as one of the most pro table venues in one of the most popular hotels in the world. By using more modest products, Berger has adapted to the times while still allowing his creativity to shine. James Grif th Vice president, culinary, Emirates Flight Catering Company Another impressive year for the chef behind Abu Dhabi’s ever popular and innovate Fae Café. A champion of local produce as well as teaming up with international talent, Khaled Al Saadi’s culinary repertoire continues to grow and grow. Rather than let the challenges of the pandemic stall his progress, Al Saadi managed to rally his Fae Café team to create dishes each day that could be purchased by loyal customers and distributed to those in need. As well as keeping his team together an in action, it proved to be an idea that brought the local community together. With more collaborations with top chefs lined up, 2021 is looking promising. There are few bigger jobs in the industry. James Grif th has been used to overseeing 136 menu presentations per year, with 1,524 different recipes produced each day in Emirates Flight Catering’s central kitchens. Of course, 2020 has been no typical year. Faced with a huge decline in passenger numbers, Grif ths has had to realign his workforce, combining multiple kitchens into one and reassigning staff where required. Despite the challenges, Grif th has still managed to use Emirates Flight Catering as a force for good, providing charity meals using excess stock. Khaled Al Saadi Co-founder, Fae Café 9 10 Chefscaterermiddleeast.com December 2020 46 Classic French cuisine aims to turn Wa into a dining destination BRASSERIE BOULUD, SOFI47 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com TEL DUBAI THE OBELISKSpotlight: Brasserie Boulud caterermiddleeast.com December 2020 48 “Dubai has been on my mind for quite a while,” says Daniel Boulud. With his two Michelin-starred restaurant Daniel to the left of him and Singaporean venue DB Bistro & Oyster Bar to the right, he’s now stuck in the Middle East with the clasically styled Brasserie Boulud. With his empire now of cially crossing the globe, the amiable Frenchman is clearly delighted to have opened his new restaurant in the just-opened So tel Dubai The Obelisk in Wa . “I love the Middle East, I love the culture, I love the sophistication, I love the art. They have a passion for many things which I can relate well with — and food is a big one,” he says, as we sit down for breakfast in his elegant new venue. Boulud is no stranger to a new opening, with almost 20 restaurants bearing his name, in one form or another, around the world. And as we watched him on opening night, patrolling the huge open kitchen, he’s clearly at ease in his new surroundings. It’s his rst in the region, although he came close to coming to the UAE in 2008, before a planned project was stalled by the economic crash. He’s had an af nity with the location ever since. He says: “This is the kind of city where I feel I would survive very well. If I were young and single and free I might want to move to Dubai. But my family, my life, my business, my investments are in New York, so it’s a little different.” Although he won’t be overseeing Brasserie Boulud in person, the Frenchman says he’ll be keeping a close on his team led by chef de cuisine Nicolas Lemoyne. “We’re going to stay in very close touch with him. Nicolas worked for me maybe eight years ago in New York, then he went back to Lyon and we always stayed in touch. He worked with the Paul Bocuse group for quite a while so he has been classically trained but also has enough travel in his background that he is really open-minded. He’s not fresh from France where they are a little more square.” It has an open kitchenSpotlight: Brasserie Boulud 49 December 2020 caterermiddleeast.com any wine in the cooking — no pork, no wine — so maybe that re ects on the dishes, with a little bit more character in the seasoning and in the complexity of the spices, but without forcing it.” In his Café Boulud concept, Boulud has an everchanging Le Voyage menu which re ects different cuisines of the world, at Brasserie Boulud customers will see some hints of Asian inspiration taken from it. While if you’ve travelled to Boulud Sud in New York or Miami, its Mediterranean in uence on his latest outlet is undeniable. “It ts in perfectly here with the olive oil diet,” says Boulud. “Everything will encompass Mediterranean cuisine as I think the choice of ingredients is very similar but taken in different ways.” “He understands evolutions but also he understands adaptations.” It’s his rst partnership with his countrymen at So tel and the result is as authentically Parisian as they are — a classic French brasserie, but without the columns that are always “sitting around”, he laughs. Having been involved in the process from the design stage, he has been able to mould the venue the way he wants it. “It was easy for us to do some tweaking on the design of the restaurant and the layout of things, but there was not much to add” Boulud says. “I think this is an amazing room, it’s majestic. Having the kitchen in the dining room anchors the room and puts it in better proportion. The kitchen is 25 percent of the room and we have another kitchen behind which is about 15 percent, so we have probably 40 percent back of the house, 60 percent front, so it’s a good balance for a casual brasserie.” Drawing on his different restaurants from around the globe, Brasserie Boulud’s menu is an amalgamation of avours the Michelin favourite believes would work in the region. “I don’t have one brand where I copycat the menu,” he says. “It’s more an adaptation of where we are and what we like to cook and what people are reacting well with. Here the rst adaptation of the menu is we don’t use “I love the Middle East, I love the culture, the art” Daniel BouludNext >