Chef Interview: Michael Caines

If all goes to plan, by the time you read this article, Pearls by Michael Caines will have opened at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers (JET) in Abu Dhabi — on the site of the former Scott’s seafood restaurant, the vaguely oyster-shaped protuberance that straddles the hotel’s pool and beach.

I meet with Caines and the JET senior management team in Ray’s Bar on the 62nd floor of JET overlooking the restaurant as he makes a final reconnaissance visit ahead of a soft launch in mid-September — to test the restaurant’s menu, systems and processes — and the planned full-scale opening on October 1, 2015.

And I’m immediately pleased with myself that I remember to offer Caines a left-hand shake (the first time I’ve done that since the Cub Scouts) on account of the fact that he lost his right arm in a horror car crash in 1994. His prosthetic limb is realistic enough that you wouldn’t notice if you didn’t know, but it’s presumably not the precision instrument he once had in its place.

The injury never held him back, as he rose to prominence in the British culinary scene, opening restaurants in ABode hotels in Exeter, Chester and Manchester, as well as informal Café Bar & Grills and Taverns in the same venues. Then there’s The Coach House by Michael Caines at the Kentisbury Grange in North Devon. And more recently, The Townhouse in Oswestry. All alongside his media work, book launches and prime-time TV appearances (on Masterchef and Saturday Kitchen, among other shows).

Britain’s shores were unlikely to remain a boundary for Caines for long. He says: “While my commitment to Gidleigh Park [and other ventures] remains absolute, I am also now at the stage of my career when I am looking to pursue new projects in the future.

“These are exciting times. For those of you who have been a part of my journey, I thank you for your support. For those who are new to Michael Caines, I look forward to seeing and meeting you soon.”

He reveals that he had been exploring opportunities to launch a restaurant at JET — the 5-star, 66-floor, 382-room hotel at the end of the Corniche — since February 2014, when he was hosted by the property for Gourmet Abu Dhabi. Readers will remember that Caterer Middle East broke the news about Caines considering an outpost in the UAE capital.

And he has been back and forth between the Emirate and his home in the UK on several occasions since — doing his best to keep the partnership quiet in the meantime. “We wanted the timing of the announcement not to be overcrowded by other news,” he says — surely referring to the recent regional activities of his busy peers Jason Atherton (Marina Social), Tom Aikens (Pots, Pans and Boards), Gordon Ramsay (Bread Street Kitchen). With celebrity sometimes comes attitude (no offence intended to the aforementioned culinary superstars), but not so with Caines, according to JET’s director of F&B. “He’s so flexible and easy to work with,” says Loughlin Druhan, out of his new chef’s earshot.

That’s not to say Caines doesn’t know what he wants, nor demands the highest standards. “The brief was quite obvious to me,” he says — good food served with friendly style, for everyone.

Caines says he built his reputation on “a signature style of cuisine that is at once modern… yet which is also rooted in classic cooking techniques and traditions”.

Affordability

“The market in Abu Dhabi is different from Dubai,” he notes. “People here care about their food quality and service, but they also demand good value for money.”

Druhan adds that, as a result, the menu has been designed with key price points in mind. “We’re doing costings now,” he says. “We’ll price the restaurant to the market and our clientele. We want a restaurant that anyone can come into — not exclusive fine dining. People think hotel restaurants are expensive. But we’ve sought feedback on our pricing and it’s been very positive.”

By way of example, he suggests that starters will range from around AED 45 to AED 105 [US $12-29], and mains will start at AED 85 [$23]. “Eating here will not just be for special occasions. I’m hoping to see regulars here for lunch and dinner three times a week.”

The “affordable and accessible” menu will feature eight starters, eight mains and six desserts, as well as a nine-course tasting menu, matched with wine. “Specials will include oysters and smoked salmon” — a nod to the site’s seafood past, and the restaurant’s name, of course.

Talking of which — why Pearls by Michael Caines, I digress? “Well, it’s an amazing location,” says the eponymous chef. “And it looks and feels like an oyster shell. But there are lots of Pearl and Pearls restaurants out here. So Pearls by Michael Caines was the only way we could register it.”

Back to the food. “There will also be a desserts bar at the front at the front of the restaurant serving cocktails and champagne,” Caines reveals.

The menu will change four times a year. “Although seasons don’t really exist here, we do want some seasonality in the menu,” says Caines, who will visit Abu Dhabi with each change to communicate the updated selections to customers and receive their feedback.

“I’m obviously not going to be here cooking all the time,” he acknowledges — probably six times a year in total. “But in my absence, I need to ensure the quality and style of service I want.”

Druhan reveals that Caines has been looking at using web-enabled GoPro cameras so he can keep an eye on operations from afar. But the chef’s influence will be felt more directly in the form of his hand-picked team.

“We’ve taken one of his chefs from the UK, and two of our chefs from here have been to London to work with him on the menu and dishes,” says Druhan. There will also be some continuity and local knowledge provided by some of the former members of Scott’s team, who are joining Pearls by Michael Caines.

Teamwork

Caines says: “I consider my relationship with my chefs to be deep and meaningful. We are more than just professional colleagues: we share friendships based on mutual respect and shared values.” If he remains true to his UK leadership style in Abu Dhabi, Caines will allows his chefs at Pearls to have the freedom and the platform to develop their own creative and personal dishes.

Caines himself has made the most of his several semi-secret visits to date, speccing and sourcing crockery and glassware and menu design. He has also visited local fishermen and been in touch with the Abu Dhabi Farmers Association. “I’m conscious of the local supplier market, and also local tastes,” he says. “The food will be subtly spicy without heat, there will be vegetarian options and non-alcoholic drinks, of course.”

The 80-cover Pearls by Michael Caines will be one of eight main restaurants at JET (there are 12 if you include bars). Ray’s Grill on the 63rd floor reopened in February as a steak restaurant. Druhan says: “It was previously pan-Asian, but we did some guest research, and steak came first. Second was Mexican, but we don’t currently have room for that!”

Perhaps surprisingly, given the arrival of a new flagship restaurant carrying the name of a celebrity chef, the interior design of Pearls by Michael Caines will remain largely unchanged from its previous Scott’s incarnation. It’s more about Caines’ food than the F&F, Druhan insists.

That said, the venue remains pretty special. With floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and panoramic views of Abu Dhabi’s inlets and islets, and the wider Arabian Gulf seascape, it also features a private landing jetty offering yacht access.

One new feature that will take advantage of the restaurant’s location is the upstairs deck, which was not previously used by Scott’s. It will feature a DJ booth and a bar serving food, “including beef burger marinated in miso paste, Singapore chicken satay, and other retro dishes”, according to Caines.

There will be a live DJ set three nights a week. Druhan is particularly pleased with the sound system that’s been installed by supplier Music Concierge, which manages to keep separate the music upstairs and downstairs — enabling a different vibe above and below deck.

This will no doubt come in handy for some of the functions the restaurant is set to hold in the coming months.

Caines has links with the Williams Formula 1 motor racing team, and hints at an exclusive event with the team and its drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas at his Pearls restaurant in November, around the time of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — bringing new meaning to the term ‘fast food’.