“It just goes to show that Dubai has definitely moved up in the food world; reason being that there’s a lot more variety of restaurants in terms of what people want. Before it was very much high-end fine dining, hotels only. There weren’t that many standalone restaurants, and now because Dubai is not viewed as a ‘through city’ just for business, and people are coming here for holidays, bringing their families, they want a better variety of places to eat and not just to eat in a stuffy restaurant in a hotel.
“So the casual market is definitely growing a lot more and I think it’s nice that other chefs are coming and opening things up in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It’s good for chefs to explore… and it’s a great way for us to learn new habits. That’s what I enjoy about coming to different countries and being able to try different food and different techniques. It’s always something that I really relish, and when opportunities like that come along, it is sometimes difficult to say no.”
There is a caveat, he says. “It’s great fun to be able to go to different cities around the world, but as you’ve seen yourself within Dubai — just because you’re a very renowned world famous chef, it doesn’t always go according to plan. Three-star chefs have come here and failed.
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“I don’t think it’s ever a question of the name of the chef but it’s also looking at your local market, the cultures, the eating habits. When I came up with the idea, I definitely checked out the local market. You can see which ones are going really well, the style of food that people like to eat. If you get that right, you can be very successful.
“Some chefs go into a city, and say ‘I’ll do my food, I’ll do it the way that I want’, and in a way that’s kind of the wrong attitude. I think you’ve got to embrace the local culture, and the food.”
And it helps that he has a head chef on the ground, Ibraheem Musleh, whom he can trust and knows well.
Calling him ‘Ibi’, Aikens says: “Ibi worked with me previously at Tom Aikens in Chelsea for a couple of years. He’s been in Dubai for three to four years already so he understands the supply and the setup, which is really helpful.”
Aikens continues: “He’s told me some of the horror stories: getting supplies in and how long it can take and the resistance they [suppliers] have. If you want to, for instance, have a new herb, it can literally take six weeks to get that herb into the country through your supply chain. But it is a little bit easier now.”
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