Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw had to keep a secret for nearly a year, and he admits it was a difficult task. In March 2016, however, Outlaw was released from the bonds of secrecy when it was revealed that Jumeirah Group’s Burj Al Arab in Dubai will re-open its seafood restaurant, Al Mahara, under the auspices of Outlaw.
Al Mahara, which translates to ‘the oyster shell’ in Arabic, will undergo a refurb over the summer, while keeping the signature aquarium as a centrepiece. The menu will also change, with inspiration coming from Outlaw’s existing concepts: Restaurant Nathan Outlaw and Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen in Cornwall together with his London restaurant, Outlaw’s at The Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge, as well as his traditional public house, The Mariners.
Hotelier Middle East was treated to a taster of what’s to come in the latter half of 2016 — a four course menu including scallop tartare “tartare”, crispy oysters, baked turbot with seaweed crust and lime hollandaise, and treacle and raspberry tart. We meet the chef the next day at Al Mahara, and Outlaw tells Hotelier the dishes he served are in line with his cooking ethos, which has stayed consistent since he entered the F&B industry.
And Outlaw wanted to be a chef as far as he can remember. His father is a chef, and Outlaw says that when he was eight, he was already in a professional kitchen, “helping him out”. Loving the camaraderie found in kitchens, Outlaw decided to pursue life as a chef. “I’m very lucky, I don’t ever feel like I’ve got a job,” he enthuses.
His first job at the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel was instrumental in introducing him to different cultures, which he enjoyed. After that, Outlaw reminisces about showing up at Rick Stein’s doorstep to ask for a job — which he got.
“I did a couple of years with Rick and learned everything that I possibly could from him. Then I decided when I was 24 — and it was probably too young — to open a restaurant. Within eight months of opening, we got a Michelin star. From there it’s just been a roller coaster. I’m 38 now, and the last 14 years, [my career] evolved from one little restaurant where I had just GBP 15,000 to spend... But the one thing that has been consistent is that the style has always stayed the same. I have not really changed my style and what I believe in food is always fundamentally the same as well, which is a true, organic journey.”
His journey so far includes four restaurants in the UK, three books, and a few TV shows thrown in. Last year, Burj Al Arab general manager Anthony McHale approached Outlaw to pitch opening what will now become his fifth concept and first international restaurant.
“Like a lot of things in life, it was coincidence that he [Anthony McHale] had come to my restaurant in Cornwall on a trip before he moved to Dubai to start the job at the Burj Al Arab,” reveals Outlaw.
When Outlaw got the call, he was already talking to someone on the restaurant development team at Jumeirah Group about concept creation, and he “thought it was linked to that but it was completely separate”.
He continues: “So I’m here on pure culinary merit which is quite nice — because somebody enjoyed the food.”
The Michelin-starred chef was then invited to visit the hotel and restaurant, take a look at the challenge, and meet the team on the ground.
“The biggest reservation I had, if I’m being completely honest, is whether the quality of ingredients was going to be good enough. It may sound like a bit much but that would have been the point where I would have said no. If I didn’t think I could get the ingredients, then the sort of cuisine that I do would fail. And as you saw, it’s quite a simple approach to food, so you have to have great ingredients,” he says.
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