Inside the new Zuma Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island which follows the style brief by Rainer Becker of using natural materials, followed by Tokyo-based designer Noriyoshi Muramatsu from Studio Glitt.
Recipes and Consistency
Becker says that while he doesn’t interfere in the running of the kitchen, he gets involved in recipe development. He reveals that he sits down with Othman and develops ideas for dishes with his feedback in a collaborative manner.
He has an interesting way of explaining how he creates dishes. “When I create a dish, I eat it first in my mind, and I then try to replicate what I achieved there. Sometimes it takes months because you need to get the taste right.”
Stressing the importance of chefs getting down and dirty with their own dishes, Becker says: “I believe 95% of chefs never eat their own food. They taste it, that’s it. And I know how I was when I was young — taste it with your finger and think it works together. It doesn’t. You need to sit down like a customer and experience the full thing.
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Only then if you think you want to eat it again, then you’re there.” He says his chefs who follow this method give him feedback that customers truly enjoy the dishes created with this technique — which he dubs a “chef’s secret”.
Recipe development is not a cake-walk. Becker reveals that to get a recipe right, it can sometimes take three or four months. However once this is nailed down, a dish becomes a “signature” and has to be consistently created.
He adds: “The most special thing [about us] is that we are very consistent. Once you have identified a successful formula, you have to do it consistently and not mess around with it. Many times people try to make a product better — and it is right to do so, but not for the sake of trying.”
In addition to consistency, Becker says design and service is very important too. He says, after a pause: “It’s a combination of everything linked to each together to make a place successful, and keep it successful.”
London Skyline
Speaking of successful restaurants, Zuma and Roka is not all on Becker’s ever-expanding plate. Last year, he opened Oblix on the 32nd floor of the tallest building in Western Europe, The Shard, which marks a departure from the Asian element of his ventures so far. A contemporary grill restaurant with rotisserie duck and chicken, Becker describes it has having “simple food with lots of bold flavours”.
After the building’s developer failed to get Becker to launch a Zuma in the building, Becker
paints an interesting picture when he reveals he commutes in London with a scooter, and when doing so, saw The Shard slowly starting to dominate the metropolis’ skyline.
He reveals his thoughts at the time: “I thought if I’m not going to do something in there I will regret it.”
The interiors follow the design of Zuma in that it uses natural materials like stone, something which Becker admittedly loves. The restaurant, which opened in May 2013, is doing well, he says. “We had 700 people waiting for a Valentine’s Day table, and in the first two weeks we had 1200 phone calls per day for a table. I’m not joking! I was overwhelmed by the response.”
He says the fact that it is located in a high-rise building and with the knowledge that it came from the same stablehouse as Zuma helped its popularity. “That adds quite a lot of weight on our shoulders as the expectations are very high. We had all the critics in the first week. I think it is so wrong to every restaurateur to come in the first week and judge it. We had a very tough opening, but if you believe in what you are doing, you go pass through tough times, and now I am very, very happy.”
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