Popular Fare
With most hotels across the region offering at least one Middle Eastern restaurant, there is a general trend for eating this cuisine throughout the year and not just during specific periods such as Ramadan or Eid.
Kalyana Krishnamoorthy, assistant food and beverage manager at St. Regis Hotel, Doha concurs: “Excluding the holy month of Ramadan and Eid, we see a consistent consumption of this cuisine throughout the year.
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In Al Sultan Brahim, we do anything between 60 and 120 covers per night. The restaurant needs to have an Arabic look to ensure guests feel at home and create the right ambience. It is also important to have Arabic speaking staff for an authentic experience.”
It would seem that Middle Eastern cuisine is set to expand worldwide. Perhaps a good indicator of this is the speed at which franchise company, Just Falafel has expanded since opening their first branch in Abu Dhabi in 2007.
They have recently opened their first store in London which is the first outside of the Arab world. CEO Fadi Malas said that the business aims to establish 200 more branches in the UK over the next five years, adding to its 650 franchises.
So what is the future for Middle Eastern cuisine? Executive chef Brendan McGowan at St. Regis Doha gives his take: “Those that have a deep emotional connection to the region will always have a deep connection with its cuisine as it is an integral component of this rich tapestry we have here.
Over the years, those professionals who have embraced the culture and the hospitality have combined the key elements of Middle Eastern food with cuisines from across the globe with fantastic results.”
Chef Ali Hussain agrees, commenting: “Middle Eastern cuisine stems from a long and traditional history; it is strongly embedded in the regional culture and because it is healthy, plentiful and fresh it will continue to dominate the market.”
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