Executive chef Essam Nabhan talks us through the new Millennium Plaza Dubai’s focus on kids, its longterm F&B vision, and the opportunities offered by going dry

It’s been a long pre-opening road for executive chef Essam Nabhan and his team — but looking around at the finished product he insists: “it was all worth it”.

When Nabhan joined in March 2011, the operating company had already developed a plan for its food and beverage themes.

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But it was up to him to hone these rough ideas into presentable final products, then make those plans a reality: setting up everything from fit-outs to menu development.
The first and perhaps most important aspect of development was to maximise the benefits from the property’s positioning as a dry hotel, says Nabhan.

“This is a positive element, in my view, and one that in today’s market is not necessarily related to religion alone – but also healthy concepts,” he observes.
And that angle is one that has been incorporated into the menus – with balanced meals and organic options ideal for the health-conscious guest.

During the process of aligning the F&B vision with that of the property, Nabhan explains he had to evolve and develop some of the ideas.

“For example, one of the restaurants was meant to be French. But when you think of a truly authentic French restaurant, you will often and understandably associate that with wine,” he says.

“We didn’t want to send out mixed messages, so we decided to place a more Mediterranean slant on the outlet in question, and get a balance with Greek and Spanish elements as well.”

It’s this attention to detail and careful planning of all the outlets which has led to the beautifully balanced F&B portfolio on offer today; one that has something for everyone from the rushing businessman to the family on vacation.

And Nabhan is keen to note that in addition to the traditional segments, they’ve made sure not to forget one other very important group:

“Kids are our VIPs,” he says simply. “We’ve invested a lot in our youngest clients, and this comes down to personal experience: anyone with kids knows how they are in hotels.
“If they aren’t looked after somewhere they get bored and fussy, and this means the parents won’t bring them back.

“So we’ve actually devised a special menu for our younger guests – a board with the menu on one side, and a great interactive magnetic puzzle on the other. It keeps kids entertained and engaged which, for a family nowadays, is a prime deciding factor in where to go out.

“After all, children are the bosses!”

Click through to next page to read about the hotel's five new outlets...