Steakhouse stakeout

With consumers demanding higher quality and suppliers struggling with rising beef costs, how are the Middle East’s steakhouses faring? Caterer investigates…

Fine Dining Middle East, the company behind Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Dubai, has recently announced expansion plans across the region in the next two to three years. It currently owns six franchise licences assigned by Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse USA, and has just opened the second Dubai outlet.

At almost 14,000 sq ft, the impressive venue, in The Address Dubai Marina, is twice the size of the original – proof that they expected high demand from the outset.

Serving 900 diners in the first 10 days of opening goes to show that although there are already a staggering 57 steakhouses in Dubai alone, demand is still high in the emirate, especially for the brand’s high quality offerings.

“We are pleased to say that diners in the UAE have passion for good quality steak, rather than a deal, and we are able to serve USDA prime,” says general manager Michael Szczepanski.

Choice meat
Certified Angus Beef supplier, Chihade, distributed in Dubai by Fancto, is a company that has been going for 33 years, but has seen a strong demand from the Middle East market in the last three-and-a-half to four years.

A short transit time (to transport from the US to Dubai takes just 16-20 days) and the weak dollar, as well as clear quality branding, makes the US a popular source market.

“The Middle East is still a very much untapped economy,” says Sam Hodge, beef specialist at Chihade. “Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia as well as Dubai – these countries are advancing in global commerce, as is their demand for quality product.”

There are notable differences between the Dubai market and the rest of the region, points out Hodge. It’s a chilled beef market, whereas most of the rest of the region is frozen.

“Saudi has a big population,” says Hodge, “and they do demand high-end, but unlike Dubai, the range is expansive and demand for lower-end is there too.”

Also, with the price of US corn on the rise, not only from high demand of its use for ethanol, but also increasing demand from emerging markets such as China and India, the price of prime beef continues to rise. However, it is evident “people are still willing to pay for beef,” asserts Hodge.

How profitable are steakhouses?
Outlet: Seafire, Atlantis, The Palm Dubai
Covers: 7000 – 8500
Ingredients expenditure: Approximately 33% of the final price of the dish.
A note on profitability: Guest experience is based on good food and good service. We provide both. This has been evident in our business growth year on year.

Outlet: Al Boom, Radisson Blu Kuwait
Covers: 1,250
Ingredients expenditure: 34.5% of total sale.
A note on profitability: 37.8%. Al Boom revenue and profitability has been affected by the redevelopment of the hotel. However, it expects a positive impact with the upcoming completion of the project.

Outlet: Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Monarch Dubai
Cover: Just over 3,000 covers per month
Ingredients expenditure: Our food cost is around 30%
A note on profitability: Always room for improvement.

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Regional variations
In Kuwait City, assistant food and beverage manager at Radisson Blu Hotel Kuwait, Jose Joseph, acknowledges the supply issues that restaurant owners are increasingly having to get quality cuts of steak to the country.

“There are two established steakhouses,” he reveals. “Al Boom at Radisson Blu and Terrace Grill at JW Marriott, with the Gaucho Grill and The Meat Company recently opening. There are also brands like Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s and Ruby Tuesday, which are popular with younger Kuwaitis.

“Al Boom only serves US Certified Angus Beef,” he continues, “however, sourcing quality ingredients is still very difficult in Kuwait due to the limited number of five-star hotels and the lack of leisure tourism. Common products that are available in other GCC cities become much too expensive in Kuwait,” which he says is due to the lack of volume in orders for suppliers.

“Prices are sometimes inflated with exaggeration and we cannot pass on this cost to the customer,” Joseph adds.

Keeping quality
Atlantis at the Palm Dubai has set up an innovative sourcing strategy to ensure the four tonnes of beef they serve every month is top quality. It came about in 2007 when competition between steakhouses was exceptionally high.

Mark Patten, vice president – culinary, explains: “We wanted a unique, high quality product no other competitor could use. I was introduced to Pat Dempsey, the MD of Australian Agricultural Company (AACO), Australia’s largest cooperative of farmers, and we had the idea to take the whole full set (meaning the entire animal) and label the product Atlantis Beef.

“We looked at the breed of cattle (Wagyu Score 4), which is not referred to as Wagyu but as Atlantis Beef, and its transportation to Dubai. It usually takes three weeks by chilled sea freight. We needed to understand the shipment requirements, as well as the volumes of how much we would require throughout the property.”

Patten and his team set about working out how they could use all cuts, if they were going to buy full sets. “We needed to work closely with the number of cuts we used throughout the resort.

There are 18 different cuts that come from the full set,” he explains. “These cuts are used for roasts, satay, braised dishes, hamburgers and more, while the prime cuts are only used for Seafire tenderloin, rib and strip loin.”

“Our first shipment of Atlantis Beef arrived in August 2008, three weeks before the opening.” Patten reveals: “75% of total beef for Atlantis now comes from this source.”

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Cooking innovations
Chef Joe Hlusko, chef de cuisine at Seafire, Atlantis, The Palm, says that he has noticed the growing trend for tenderloin has not abated, nor has it for rib-eye and strip loin.

However, he says that new cooking methods, like sous vide (the process of cooking vacuum-sealed food in a low temperature water bath for a long period of time) are becoming popular and are able to improve the quality of secondary cuts.

Rohit Sharma, from Terra Firma Steakhouse in InterContinental Dubai Festival City, agrees. “You can’t do a lot to combat rising costs, but to stay vigilant you can look at reducing waste and use all cuts and leftovers smartly,” he says.

“Water bath cooking keeps the flavours intact and keeps the meat moist [so it’s good for cheaper cuts of beef], while char-grilling meat over the broiler creates a really tasty caramelised crisp outer texture. I personally prefer this as it keeps the flavours intact with the meat.”

Sharma realises that competition is tough in the market, and so, with the team, has implemented new restaurant and menu USPs to make Terra Firma stand out from the rest.

“First of all, when guests enter the restaurant, they are presented with efficient iPad menus and amuse bouche,” he reveals, adding that, “they go above customer expectations and add those little extra touches to the overall dining experience.”

“Then, they can choose from several steak knives – the one they feel most comfortable using. A selection of six complimentary mustards, perfectly matching the meat (like truffle or tandoori), and a variety of salts (Persian blue, fleur de sel and pink crystal) are also displayed on the table.”

Licensed Certified Angus Beef distributors:
Bahrain - Fine Foods, www.finefoodsbah.com
Egypt – Red Sea World, www.redseaworld.net
Kuwait – Azzad Trading Group, www.azzadgroup.com
Saudi Arabia – GulfWest, www.gulfwest.com.sa
UAE – Fantco, www.fantco.com