A taste of Tribes

FoodFund International credits Tribes, Mall of Emirates Fashion Dome's success to its 62-strong team of enigmatic servers and chefs

Why the unrivalled passion of the team behind modern African restaurant Tribes secured the eatery the coveted title of Caterer Middle East’s New Outlet of the Year

or café in the Middle East. The competition for this award, New Outlet of the Year 2011, was phenomenal and the top five shortlisted outlets comprised some well-known names, located in popular Dubai hotels and even the world’s tallest building: At.mosphere at Burj Khalifa; Rhodes Twenty10 at Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort and Spa; West Beach Bistro & Sports Lounge, Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach; and West 14th, Oceana Beach Club on the Palm Jumeirah.

The fifth name, however, was slightly less familiar, and to the untrained eye, could have been considered the underdog of the group. So, just how did Tribes, Mall of the Emirates — a casual, mall-based modern African eatery created by FoodFund International — win over the Caterer Middle East Awards judges?

Story continues below

Tribes made a lasting impression on the judges thanks to its imaginative concept, its refreshing recruitment philosophy, its bravery in introducing a niche offering and the restaurant’s success and popularity so far, something to surely be celebrated in Dubai’s highly competitive mall dining market.

To find out more, Louise Oakley visited the team at Tribes to understand the essence of the brand and how, in just one year, the restaurant has made such an impact on Dubai’s dining scene.

The Tribes DNA
I defy anyone to walk into Tribes and not be enamoured, even if just a little bit, with its take on modern African tribal life — the restaurant celebrates this in every way possible; through the décor, the design, the menu, the servers and the entertainment.

The restaurant itself is a modern cave, with diners’ attention drawn to the reassuring fireplace in its depths. Servers greet you in their tribal language and can tell stories of their tribal heritage — whether Berber, Zula or Ndebele, every member of staff has been recruited from African tribes.

The people behind Tribes are absolutely, unapologetically, passionate about everything the brand encompasses — and no wonder; they spent several years developing the concept, even before the fortuitous Fashion Dome location was secured with Majid Al Futtaim.

That it has been a labour of love is evident in everyone involved, from FoodFund International’s down-to-earth head of UAE operations Joe Van Jaarsveld through to his vibrant comrade, head of marketing Middle East and London Mona Ibrahim.

The first Tribes was opened in South Africa in 2000 by FoodFund International chairman Costa Tomazos. Following the company’s successful Middle East launches of The Meat Co. and Ribs and Rumps — brands which already existed in Africa and Australia respectively — the company desired to bring Tribes to the region too.

However, as Van Jaarsveld explains, this was not merely a case of exporting the existing model, the product had to be tailored to the Middle East.

“It’s important to understand that the Tribes that we had in South Africa was not what we could bring here. To bring it here we had to reinvent it and mould it into a concept that would work here.

We had the basic feel as far as texture, colour, smell — those intimate parts of that brand we understood — it was then moulding it into something that was going to be dynamic in the Middle East.

That was where this team of people that understood the Middle East market came in, having brought The Meat Co. here, having brought Ribs and Rumps here, knowing who we were, knowing our demographics and saying right, ‘how do we take this concept and create the concept here that will just absolutely blow people away?’”

The focus was on ensuring that Tribes would be distinguished in the Middle East and this, according to Mona Ibrahim, meant creating “a brand DNA, a living document” that everyone in the company adhered to. The essence of this brand, she says, is “a celebration of modern tribal life’, and this is what informs every element of the Tribes model.

“We know that for us, with our customers, it’s not just about serving food and it’s not just about exceptional service, it’s about the entire alchemy of a whole experience, so we wanted to offer the people of the Middle East an experience that hasn’t been done yet,” explains Ibrahim.

“What is that? It’s the intrigue that this brand offers, the mysticism, appealing to all of their senses through the taste of spices of Africa, the sounds of the entertainment, the connection to their soul through the drumming, the engaging staff, the artifacts, the décor, the earthy, organic nature of the design — all of this comes into the customer’s experience.

“We felt in order for us to really bring something successful to the region, we had to offer and celebrate all these things in every single experience for our customer,” she asserts.

“We don’t just do it once for a month, we do it every single day for every single customer, consistently, effectively and passionately — and this is why it is a successful brand,” Ibrahim states.