As he opens Titanic in Dubai, revered restaurateur and master chef Marco Pierre White tells Louise Oakley why a mix of fun, friendliness and food is the recipe for a successful restaurant

The first thing renowned chef turned restaurateur Marco Pierre White tells me is that nothing he does is ever planned or premeditated. Neither, however, does anything happen by coincidence; quoting Einstein, he says he is a firm believer in the philosophy that everything happens for a reason.

The cynic in me is worried; am I really to believe this from a man who, aged 33, was the first British chef to ever win three Michelin stars and the youngest in the world to be awarded the coveted accolade – which he famously returned in 1999 when White quit the kitchen and turned his attention to the business of restaurants?

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But his tone is sincere and his charm alluring, so I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he is a famously fiery and formidable figure, and I’d rather not risk igniting that temper over a little White lie.

Décor and dimensions
We met last month at his first restaurant in Dubai, Titanic, located at Meliá Dubai – Spanish hotel chain Meliá’s Middle Eastern debut located in Bur Dubai. White has already established his name in the UAE with the Frankie’s and Steakhouse & Grill brands, but these are franchises; Titanic is instead a partnership with Meliá.

Nestled in the lounge at Titanic, hidden away from the team busily preparing for the restaurant’s gala dinner that evening, I expect White to wax lyrical about his food and menu. Instead, he is far more concerned with the space we are in and I learn quickly that for this restaurateur, nothing is more critical to the dining experience than the environment in which his guests sit.

“When you go out to dinner tonight it’s not just ‘what do I want to eat tonight, it’s where do I want to sit?’,” asserts White. “The most important aspect of any restaurant is the environment you sit in…not so much the décor, not so much the food.

“I’ve been to some great restaurants in the world but actually I’ve not enjoyed sitting in them and that’s why I’ll never go back to them. Food is not enough. It’s about the package and what’s very nice about here [Titanic], you come here, you can sit down, you can eat in the lounge if you wish, you can have a cigarette here, just chill.

But then you go through and have your dinner and after you can come back through and chill again. You can go downstairs to the club [Mansion] if you wish to and extend your evening. I like things which are multi-dimensional,” says White.

Ultimately, he wants his diners to enjoy themselves. “For me it’s all about having fun, enjoying yourself, that’s what’s important. How many times have you been to a restaurant where the food’s very nice but actually it’s quite boring, you don’t want to be there and you leave.

We’re in the business of selling fun, we’re in the business of selling a night out, that’s what it’s all about really and I think the more dimensions you can add to that, the better,” he asserts.

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