Caterer ME Power 50 2016: Influencers
1. Sunjeh Raja
Director and CEO, International Centre for Culinary Arts (ICCA Dubai)
In May, Raja saw the first 24 chefs graduate after completing the first ICCA Dubai Culinary Scholarship, the centre’s AED 1 Million (US$272,300) Continuing Education Award for UAE-based young chefs, and the roll-out of the second scholarship programme, in October. The TV-based culinary learning platform Raja conceptualised and launched last year — Fatafeat ICCA Academy Online — has received widespread recognition in the past 12 months, and won Best Digital Initiative of the Year 2016 at the ASBU BroadcastPro Selevision Awards this year. ICCA Dubai also won two awards from one of its accreditors, City & Guilds London: International Centre of Excellence — Middle East and International Centre of the Year. The latter of which saw ICCA come first out of more than 1,300 centres from 80 countries. Key priorities for the next 12 months include completing a 22,000ft2 expansion of a new culinary training facility in Dubai in January and opening ICCA KAEC (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), a 42,000ft2 culinary training facility next November. In addition, Raja will oversee the entry of, and support for, a UAE team in the culinary segment of World Skills Abu Dhabi 2017, at which 1,000 candidates from over 72 countries participate.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 12
Number of years with this company: 12
Number of years in this role: 12
Number of years working in the Middle East: 12
Number of people you are responsible for: 45
Nationality: Indian
2. Michael Kitts
Director of culinary, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management
Kitts joined The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management (EAHM), part of Jumeirah Group, in 2001 as a lecturer and executive chef and worked his way up through the ranks. He is involved with all culinary and F&B activities related to The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management including course content, electives, external commitments, F&B competitions and consultancy — while being responsible for shaping the talent of the yearly in-take of students (40-60 per trimester). One of Kitts’ highlights in 2016 was mentoring Gabriela Hristova in the Young Chef Olympiad 2016, which was held in India. Out of 52 competing culinary students, she came in second, taking home the silver medal. As EAHM's reputation continues to go from strength to strength, Kitts remains very involved in Dubai’s culinary scene. He prides himself on his ability to motivate, inspire and build up team spirit, which he knows is paramount in the development of successful businesses and the careers of good chefs.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 41
Number of years with this company: 16
Number of years in this role: 12
Number of years working in the Middle East: 16
Nationality: British
3. Naim Maadad
Chief Executive Officer, Gates Hospitality
Maadad has over 36 years’ experience in the hospitality industry across senior management roles worldwide though his career has specifically focused on the Middle East. He is the CEO of Gates Hospitality, the parent company of several successful concepts. One of which, the home-grown Ultra Brasserie, is due to add its third outlet in Dubai next year. Another — the consistently high-performing Reform Social & Grill — celebrated in June when its head chef Ryan Waddell won Head Chef of the Year — Independent at the Caterer Middle East Awards 2016. Gates Hospitality’s portfolio, which encompasses ownership and operation of The Black Lion at The H Hotel, Dubai, and ownership of Six Senses Zighy Bay, expanded with the addition of original concept Bistro Des Arts in Dubai Marina this year. In the next six months, Maadad will launch Folly by Nick & Scott and Publique, both at Madinat Jumeirah, as well as café and retail concept Tub of Butter on Sheikh Zayed Road. Two more Dubai concepts are in the pipeline, due to open in Q3 2017 — Buns & Bubbles and BeefTRO — as Maadad continues to diversify, all the while shaping Dubai’s F&B industry.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 36
Number of years with this company: 5
Number of years in this role: 5
Number of years working in the Middle East: 30
Number of people you are responsible for: 350
Number of F&B outlets in the Middle East: 8
Nationality: Australian
4. Duncan Fraser-Smith
Founder, The Cutting Edge Agency
Fraser-Smith has spent the past 25 years in hospitality, spanning Australia, Asia, and the Middle East, holding senior management roles. He founded The Cutting Edge Agency to introduce, integrate and innovate the key pillars for success in F&B operations. With concepts like Choix Patisserie and Restaurant par Pierre Gagnaire, Intersect by Lexus, Strata, Prime, Hive and Roux — the latter of which opened on December. Last year, Marina Social by Jason Atherton opened, a project for which Fraser-Smith laid the groundwork, almost four years ago, and Intersect by Lexus in DIFC, which paved the way for other car manufacturers to enter Dubai’s F&B market; at present, Fraser-Smith — a familiar face on the conference and awards circuit — and his team are working on two new concepts for different high-end automotive brands. Across all types of clients, the team is currently engaged in over 45 different region-wide projects and has 38 F&B concepts in the pipeline across the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, indicating the scope of Fraser-Smith’s impact on the culinary scene.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 25
Number of years with this company: 4
Number of years in this role: 4
Number of years working in the Middle East: 10
Number of people you are responsible for: 5 directly, 105 indirectly
Number of F&B outlets in the Middle East: 7
Nationality: Australian
5. Robert MacLean
Principal, National Hospitality Institute Oman
Scotland-born MacLean, who started working in hospitality when he was 12 years old, studied hotel management and, later, became a qualified teacher. He moved to the region in 1995 to help open the National Hospitality Institute (NHI) in Muscat, Oman, where he was promoted to principal after two years. MacLean has helped establish NHI’s stellar reputation in the region for hospitality training and he has led initiatives in everything from food safety training to assisting hotels reach Omanisation targets. The Gulf Chef School, which NHI launched in 2003, has trained hundreds of chefs, and MacLean followed this success by launching the Oman Chefs Guild in 2009. NHI is an Investor in People Company (IiP) ISO 9000 and has accreditation from several awarding bodies including. City and Guilds UK, AHLA, IATA. NHI aims to train more people in Oman for the country’s growing tourism industry and convey to the younger generation in the Sultinate how many opportunities there are in their home country, and wider region.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 40
Number of years with this company: 21
Number of years in this role: 19
Number of years working in the Middle East: 21
Number of people you are responsible for: 27
Nationality: British
6. Kim Thompson
Owner and Partner, Raw Coffee Company
Thompson founded the first roastery in Dubai to offer speciality coffee that uses certified organic and Fair Trade beans. Since then, with her business partner Matt Toogood, she has opened Raw Café in Emirates Academy of hospitality, founded coffee boutique Mokha1450, which will get a second outlet in March 2017 on Palm Jumeirah, and opened an internationally-certified training school for baristas. Next, Raw Coffee Company — which is achieving year-on-year growth of 40% — will launch two new coffee brands (Refinery by Raw and Fundamental) and unveil an app called Refuel that allows people to give feedback, focusing on the barista, in order to acknowledge this skill and improve coffee education. Thompson also revealed to Caterer that the company will be developing sales in Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, opening a one-off coffee lounge in a large hotel, and venturing into Iran through a joint venture.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 11
Number of years with this company: 9
Number of years in this role: 9
Number of years working in the Middle East: 20
Number of people you are responsible for: 40
Number of F&B outlets in the Middle East: 3
Nationality: New Zealand
7. Ilir Caushi
Operations director Middle East, Zuma
Caushi's hospitality career began as a teenager in London, working with Sir Terence Conran restaurant group in St James's and The City. A move to the UAE saw him open Mourad Mazouz’ first restaurant in Dubai and he realised he had a natural aptitude for the business — enabling him to quickly rise through the ranks to achieve management status, covering all areas of front-of-house. He joined Zuma Dubai in 2009 as an assistant manager and within five years he had become assistant general manager. He then transferred to Zuma Abu Dhabi to be its general manager for a year, tasked with facilitating and managing the new venue’s team and launch. When he returned to Zuma Dubai, Caushi took up the reins as general manager and, this year, was promoted to operations director Zuma Middle East. In this role, he is instrumental in driving the continued success of both UAE outlets. Another 2016 highlight was Zuma Dubai maintaining a place on San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants list for the fourth year in a row. This is a feat that no other Middle East-based restaurant has been able to do; the only other restaurant in the region to be included has not maintained this status consistently.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 15
Number of years with this company: 8
Number of years in this role: 1
Number of years working in the Middle East: 8
Nationality: Albanian
8. Dennis McGettigan
CEO, Bonnington Hotel and McGettigan’s Irish Bars
McGettigan created Irish pub concept McGettigan’s in the UAE in 2010 and there are now eight McGettigan’s branded outlets in the UAE. This year saw the launch of a new branch, which can accommodate 400 people, at tourist hotspot Madinat Jumeirah. Since McGettigan’s launched in the UAE, the concept has been exported to the UK, US and Singapore, and joined forces with Think Events to create DGT Events, the company behind DXBEACH and Party in the Park. By March 2017, McGettigan’s will open in Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort, as well as in Al Ain and Doha. It will also soon introduce its Ireland-based live music, casual dining and nightlife concept Warehouse Bar + Kitchen, which opened in July, to Dubai.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 20+
Number of years with this company: 8
Number of years in this role: 8
Number of years working in the Middle East: 8
Number of people you are responsible for: 1,750 (600 in UAE)
Nationality: Irish
9. Emma Banks
General manager, Jumeirah Restaurant Group
As the corporate leader for F&B operations within JRG, Banks manages more than 30 F&B outlets, overseeing everything from concept development and execution to day-to-day operations. Her industry knowledge and flair for brand concept development led to the successful launch of new concepts, such as Perry & Blackwelder’s, as well as the development of existing eateries, such as Pai Thai. Other concepts in her remit include The Noodle House, Pierchic, The Agency, 360, The Ivy, Segreto, Trattoria Toscana and Al Nafoorah. Tasked with achieving streamlined Jumeirah service standards and raising the profile of JRG’s portfolio, Banks’ strong business acumen and quick comprehension of shifts in the local market has seen several JRG venues win awards and accolades. She is currently leading the Q1 2017 launch of a new concept at Jumeirah Emirates Towers and is responsible for repositioning several of JRG’s other concepts throughout next year. She is also overseeing a strategy to develop The Noodle House’s home delivery service with the launch of its first hub in Dubailand in January 2017.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 20
Number of years with this company: 3
Number of years in this role: 0.7
Number of years working in the Middle East: 4
Number of people you are responsible for: 694
Nationality: British
10. Laura Allais-Maré
Founder and President, Slow Food Dubai Convivium
Allais-Maré embarked on a career in hospitality in 1985, attending the Principi di Piemonte Hotel School in Torino, italy. She then worked for 18 years as chef and executive chef at La Petite Ferme in Franschhoek in South Africa, as well as at several highly respected restaurants and agri-tourism businesses in Italy, and taught life skills, hospitality management and environmentally-friendly growing methods at Learn To Earn in Hermanus, South Africa. She is passionate about ethically sourced, sustainably produced food and founded the non-profit Slow Food Convivium in Dubai in 2013 to teach people how to grow food more sustainably. Slow Food is a movement that began in Italy more than 25 years ago to promote culinary traditions and awareness about local, clean and fair produce that is full of flavour. In the past 12 months, Allais-Maré and her team of volunteers have worked on their first urban rooftop garden at Time Oak Hotel in Barsha Heights, growing organic fruit, vegetables and herbs, showing how easy it is to grow food and herbs in the UAE from October to May.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 29
Number of years with this company: 3+
Number of years in this role: 3+
Number of years working in the Middle East: 3+
Nationality: Italian/ South African