Five years ago, when French chef Renou Dutil was offered a job at a luxury restaurant in Dubai, he hesitated to make the move to the wealthy Gulf emirate known for its towering skyscrapers more than its kitchens.
For the chef, who trained in upscale French restaurants, the desert city, home to 3.5 million people, 90% of whom are foreigners, didn't seem like an obvious career choice.
But today, the young chef, who works at the Michelin-starred French restaurant "Stay" under the management of Chef Yannick Alleno, located in Jumeirah Palm in Dubai, says he is glad he took the risk and moved to Dubai.
Dutil affirms to Agence France-Presse, "Dubai is still in the early stages, but it is on the right track to becoming one of the world's best destinations for dining."
In 2022, the emirate, which boasts over 13,000 restaurants and cafes from more than two hundred countries, welcomed 14 million tourists and prides itself on its diverse culinary offerings.
To this day, no restaurant in the city has earned three Michelin stars, the highest rating in the global guide.
However, with the arrival of the renowned Michelin Guide and the "Gault et Millau" guide, which is considered the second most prominent reference in the industry after Michelin, in addition to the famous "World's 50 Best Restaurants" ranking, Dubai aims to become a "culinary hub," according to Esam Kazim, the CEO of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
Despite not having enough qualifications at present to achieve this status compared to other regions in the Arab world, from the Levant to Morocco, known for their cuisines, Dubai relies on its cultural mix to develop a distinct culinary identity.
After establishing itself as the capital of business and luxury tourism in the Middle East, Dubai attracted star chefs such as the Frenchmen Yannick Alleno and Pierre Gagnaire, the British Gordon Ramsay, the Japanese Nobu Matsuhisa, and the Italian Massimo Bottura.
Emirati lawyer and prominent food blogger Habib Al Mulla explains that the restaurant sector in the city has seen tremendous growth driven by the economic diversification strategy pursued by the emirate, despite possessing significantly less oil wealth compared to its Gulf neighbors.
Al Mulla, who has evaluated over 700 restaurants worldwide, attests to this development, saying that before 2000, going to restaurants was not a prevalent practice in Dubai.
Since 2020, he confirms, "We entered a third phase" characterized by the rise of "food critics" and the emergence of "a new generation of chefs who grew up in Dubai."
Chef Suleiman Haddad earned a Michelin star for his restaurant "Monrayz" at the age of 27, located atop a luxury tower and serving only 12 people at a time.
The young chef, born to a French mother and a Syrian father, seeks to reflect in his dishes the worldly spirit of the city where he grew up, blending ingredients like goose liver, date syrup, saffron sauce, and pineapple.
"I define my cuisine as one-third European, one-third Japanese, one-third Arab, but 100% Dubai," he says.
In a country that imports more than 80% of its food needs, restaurant owners can only rely on a limited range of local products.
At the Middle Eastern restaurant "Boca" in the heart of Dubai's business district, its owner Omar Shaheb boasts that "80% of the fish and seafood are local or come from neighboring UAE coasts."
Shaheb, of Jordanian origin, affirms that between 30% and 40% of fruits and vegetables are purchased from UAE hydroponic farms.
But he acknowledges that there is no alternative to foreign meat. "Let's be realistic, we live in the desert," he adds, "But within the framework of our supply policy, we prioritize local products and then regional ones. This is very important for us."
AFP