Five minutes with Marriott chef Essam Nabhan

Essam Nabhan recently joined Dubai properties Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf and Marriott Executive Apartments Al Jaddaf as executive chef.

What attracted you to the role?
Marriott seemed the perfect fit for me for achieving my future ambitions as a chef. At Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf, Dubai I will have the opportunity to oversee six different restaurants, each with their own distinct cuisine and concept. In addition to this I will oversee all room service, banquet and outside catering operations.

What knowledge do you bring to the role?
I will be bringing 23 years expertise as a culinary leader to the role, including 16 years in Dubai. During my tenure in Dubai I have been blessed with the opportunity to work at Burj Al Arab Jumeriah, Tamani Hotel and Resort and Millennium Plaza in pre-opening stages, which gave me the opportunity to enhancing and staying true to restaurant concepts. I will be focusing on enriching social activities in my property and driving awareness of local products. 

What are you most looking forward to as part of your new role?
I am very excited to take on this new role with Marriott and most of all add new touches and flavours to some outlets that already have a popular foundation in the local market. I am looking forward to engaging with my customers and building a strong loyal base for our business. In addition to this, I am always excited to be part of a new team and serving as a mentor to up and coming chefs.

How do you intend to make Marriott more profitable?
I am determined to continue introducing local produce into our business, such as organic fruits and vegetables. I believe that this will increase our customer loyalty as well as create new local business partners.

What exciting things can you tell us about that you’ll be doing?
My determination to continuously improve our food and beverage offering is never ending and I am committed to find ways to deliver memorable experiences to my guests and strive to develop future culinary leaders. A part of this will be looking at new suppliers, creating new menus, challenging my staff, introducing new ideas and food items, and above all getting to really know my customer base.

Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf, Dubai has already set a high standard for hospitality and I am committed to continue to drive this forward. We have already started to change and enhance our all day dining and Marriott Great Room menus, our central hub of operations at Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf, Dubai. Our main focus right now is delivering a memorable Ramadan experience to our local and international guests. In addition to this, the hotel is planning to launch a new brunch offering showcasing the best foods of Italy, Scotland and America at our signature outlets Scots American Grill and Merletto.