Tradition reigns:Customers will probably try a chili dessert out of curiosity but will not pick them over traditional options.
Chocolates and strawberries are always a favourite. Image: Shutterstock.
5 TRADITION REIGNS
While multi-cultural influences do exist, such as dessert pizza and churros and chocolate, they don’t necessarily dominate the market as Fadi Achour, sales manager at La Marquise, explains: “Customers would probably try chili desserts and camel-milk based chocolate out of curiosity, although they would not pick them over traditional options. However, who knows — in a couple of years’ time, this may change.”
Andreas Schnidrig, corporate chef at More Café agrees and believes that Arab influences such as the use of camel milk in chocolate are more a novelty than anything else.
“Sometimes you have to persuade people to try something different. Camel milk can be bought in many stores in Dubai, but it is more popular with tourists and not with the local or expat community. It is mainly consumed during Ramadan.”
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Elizabeth Stevenson from Taqado Mexican Kitchen is hopeful though that this may change:
“A specialist product like camel milk chocolate is gaining popularity but it is still mainly offered as confectionery rather than an ingredient for use in cooking. Over time I’m hopeful that this will change since camel milk has a very unique flavour and is a distinctly regional product. Camel milk also carries health benefits that are not available in conventional cow’s milk.”
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