Opening a new restaurant is stressful. The days leading up to the launch are, no doubt, fraught with last minute troubleshooting and sleepless nights.
Getting some face time with the chef who is not only driving the concept, but who has his name front and centre just two days before the doors open is seemingly impossible.
Not so, with Michael Mina, who not only made time to sit down for a leisurely breakfast of steak and eggs with Caterer Middle East (more on that later), but provided a breakdown of the menu that he and his team have spent the past year carefully curating, explaining the creative process behind each dish.
The Egyptian-born and US raised chef’s enthusiasm for his new venture, Firebird by Michael Mina — located in Four Season DIFC, a hotel which itself opened just last month — was far more apparent than pre-opening jitters. Perhaps having launched 27 restaurants under his management company, the Mina Group, has something to do with it.
Speaking about why he has chosen Dubai for his first establishment outside of his home country, Mina reveals: “Culturally, I have always wanted to do something outside of the US and Dubai has always intrigued me.
"When the opportunity presented itself to create something in Dubai for Four Seasons — to bring this Americana experience to the region but having it be a collaboration and a partnership with a company that is as established for quality and standards as the Four Seasons is — I seized it.”
Additionally, it was also an easy decision to make as soon as he heard who the Four Seasons had secured as its designer.
“The same designer did the restaurant as did the hotel — Adam Tihany — and he’s one of the top designers in the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with him numerous times, so I know him really well and I love how he designs,” he explains.
Another part of the appeal was also the allure of being able to marry the casual concept of a diner with the high-end experience associated with the Michael Mina brand.
“It was really fun to create a place that is true to a what a diner in the US is about, with the dishes and the food, but put my stamp on it — in terms of the culinary experience you’re going to get and the style of dining — in a way that really fits Dubai, where the dining scene is amazing.”
Elaborating further, Mina says that Firebird by Michael Mina presents creative and quirky ideas based around an all-American diner while catering to the “sophisticated clientele” expected of Four Seasons DIFC.
“We want the diners to feel very comfortable and know that this is a serious restaurant — but one with a fun Americana flavour.
"Something I’ve done a lot in the US is take a traditional American dish and make it a lot more fun, whimsical and high-end. A great example of this is chicken pot pie — every diner in the United States has chicken pot pie on the menu and so here, what we do, is a lobster pot pie. It is served in a beautiful copper pot, it has a truffle cream sauce, and it’s carved tableside.
“It’s still what a pot pie should be but it’s [got] a little more of that high-end flavour and it’s what’s going to fit the scene here,” he asserts.
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