Dubai, An F&B Hub?
Calling Dubai a “second home”, Bhatia is hopeful for the region’s F&B industry. “Dubai went through a very big boom and then it got hit very badly for a few years. But now it is on the upturn again.” He praises the vision of the ruling family, and says he thinks their visions for the city and the country will come to fruition in a big way.
“For me as an international chef, I look for that. Because for us, at the end of the day, it is a business. You have to provide a service and for the brand image it is really important to be in the right place. You are seen with the right people, you are seen doing the right things, and you have very happy guests coming and going.”
Bearing in mind the exponential growth of the Emirate of Dubai, the question on many people’s lips is: is the city Michelin-ready? Bhatia gives a resounding yes.
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“Yes, now it is ready. If you had asked me the question eight years back I would have said no. There’s no point in one or two chefs coming and doing something and expecting everyone to get stars.
I think there’s a lot more chefs who have now come in, there are a lot more chefs who, without having been recognised internationally, are producing a lot of good, fantastic food. So I think it is a matter of time that the Michelin will look at Dubai at some stage.
“There is so much choice here, not just with cuisine and styles, but also the price points. It doesn’t have to be expensive to be Michelin. You can have something of top-quality at mid-price range that is Michelin. So it will come. It is just for the company to see the volume of sales to see if they can justify doing that. It is after all a business for them.”
He admits that when he first passed through the country in the early 90’s he did not think he would ever set up shop here.
“Then I came back in 2004 when Grosvenor House was being built and I saw the changes happening. It wasn’t 100% ready but there was scope. And having said that, in the past three or four years, there has been so much happening. You can import lots of produce which you could not eight or nine years back. There is a lot of choice in supermarkets, and there is variation. And for chefs like us it’s fantastic because there’s so much choose from.”
Leaving A Legacy
Figures such as Alain Ducasse and the famed Quraishi family of India who have produced generations of master chefs inspire Bhatia, and he says, like them, he wants to leave a legacy. “I want to have done something and given something back,” he adds.
But while he is confident about doing so, he says he doesn’t have a plan. “What the future holds, I don’t know. But we will not stop. The day we think we can’t implement, can’t justify, we will not grow anymore.
“I can easily sell my soul now, make tonnes of money and open 50 restaurants, but will that make me happy? No. So we cherry pick our projects, we do things which we believe in. We love to have a challenge and we only try to work with partners who have faith in us and we have faith in them ... life is too short to have fights.”
Quick Bytes By Vineet
On becoming a TV chef: “I would love to do a TV show within the GCC, especially with Emirati food to showcase the overlap between Emirati food and Indian food. There’s so much in common.”
On food trends: “People want to have small portions. The whole concept of ‘grazing like a cow’ comes into the picture. People don’t want stodgy food from 15 years back.”
On important ingredients for cooking: “Passion to cook. Ingredients can come and go, but if you don’t have passion it won’t work. It’s not a methodical thing where we just pick up the pan and cook – anyone can do that. If you put your heart and soul in it, it will all come out well.”
On molecular gastronomy: “Is it a trend? I’m not sure... I think people use it as a gimmick, and make a show in a restaurant by adding one or two things. Either you go all out or you are careful with it.”
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