Interview: The rise of Michelin-starred chef Tim Raue

Sitting across from celebrity chef Tim Raue, with his perfectly styled hair and easy demeanour, one would never know of his hardfought street past. The 43-year-old German has come a long way from the streets of Berlin's Kreuzberg district in the 1980s, where, as a teenager, he used his fists to settle disputes.

For fans of Netflix’s Chef’s  Table, the two Michelin-starred chef’s past comes as no surprise — he had an abusive father and a non-existent mother. In the opening scene of the episode Raue states he’s an egotistical taskmaster in the kitchen. In person, while he maintains his fiery attitude and no-nonsense approach, he could not be more different from his on-screen persona.

Today, the chef is hardly short of achievements. Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin has two Michelin stars, he’s on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and has a hit Netflix episode that has generated a new millennial fan following. So why did he decide on Dubai his next move as his new venture?

“Dubai picked me. I don’t want to spread myself around the world so it has to be a very special place if I am to lend my name to a project,” Raue told Caterer Middle East during an interview at his CityWalk restaurant, Dragonfly by Tim Raue.

Raue’s unlicensed restaurant opened six months ago. By his own admission, things haven’t been great, but he doesn’t seem worried about the restaurant covers just yet.

“What we learnt in the last six months is that there are two different types of clients: the locals who have a different taste in food and what they want, and then you have the expats and Westerners. So if you want to be there for Westerners you have to have an alcohol license. Sometimes when you open in an environment that’s not a 100% finalised like City Walk then you have to wait for a bit, and I’m okay with that. I’m not in a hurry,” he says.

In Dubai, licensing can make or break a restaurant but Raue remains hopeful.

“I’m not worried about the fact that we aren’t licensed in Dubai. If you see the reviews that we get people are happy and satisfied. "It’ll help Westerners come to the area. Westerners come here once and give great reviews, but for them to come back they need the booze.”

Raue has brought his award-winning menu to Dubai, but with a twist. His new Ramadan experience will cater to local diners by keeping flavours uncomplicated. The Ramadan menu at Dragonfly by Tim Raue will consist of dim sumsand signature dishes such as the wasabi langoustine.

But the chef is of two different minds when asked if Dubai is ready for the Michelin Guide.

“Dubai is not going to get dozens of Michelin stars. That’s just not going to happen. Mainly, the quality of the restaurants is not that high,” he says. According to Raue, Dubai restaurant customers aren’t ready for Michelin fare in Dubai. “You need the kind of client who wants that quality of food. In Dubai they like yummy food, like Zuma, Nobu, Hakkasan and then P.F. Chang’s but this has nothing to do with cooking for one, two and three Michelin stars, or what the guide expects,” he adds.

Raue believes that Dubai is a destination people visit more for the weather and entertainment than for its unique restaurants. But according to him, places like Play Restaurant & Lounge at the H hotel are slowly changing the scene. He believes that it’s one of the places that could be in the Dubai edition of the Michelin guide.  “Dubai has to think what they want to do and they’re doing well without the stars,” he adds.

But for the German chef, getting stars meant filling up his restaurant and surviving in the highly competitive European restaurant industry.

“From no stars to the first Michelin star there was a 40% increase in revenue. From the first to the second Michelin star it was another 25%. And then from the second to being on the World’s 50 Best list, now we’re packed three months in advance.”

The Berlin flagship restaurant is doing so well that it will be closed from the 24th of December until the 2nd of January in 2018. A time when most chefs would be trying to make the most of the holiday season.

“We only open the restaurant reservation system for three months at a time. The Netflix show was the cherry on top of the cake. Now we have more Americans coming to try our food and more millennials between 20 to 35 years of age. And American clients love double seating. So if four come at 7pm we know that we can seat another 4 at 9:30pm because they are used to that. If you double book a German or European client they will kill you.”

For the chef, Netflix opened him up to a whole new demographic comprising  mainly American customers.

“I wouldn’t say Netflix put me on the global map. That was the second star. The global-global level was the 50 Best list [sic]. I already had my accolades before the Netflix show but it opened my doors to a completely different type of clientele,” he adds.

Raue also opened up to Caterer Middle East about just how difficult the selection process for Netflix’s Chef’s Table really is.

“I had the luck of meeting David Gelb when he was making Jiro Dreams of Sushi a few years ago. The chef in the film has a tiny three Michelin-starred sushi restaurant outside a metro station in Ginza, Tokyo and I met him at the culinary cinema at the Berlin Film Festival where they were screening the film. I got so inspired by the film that I cooked a four-course menu after watching it. Of course Gelb was surprised that a white boy from Germany could cook Japanese food at that level. We didn’t really stay in touch but then just before the filming of the new season Gelb emailed me as he knew I had an interesting story to tell,” he says.

Raue ended up showing Gelb around Berlin and soon after, he got an email asking if he wanted to be a part of the next season. It was the fastest yes he has ever said in his life. But the production team made the terms very clear from the beginning. In Raue’s case, it was 11 days of non-stop filming.

The show doesn’t allow for any skeletons in the closet or secrecy. The toughest part  for the chef was opening up the doors to his house. He is normally not one to show people his private life, especially after his recent divorce. He volunteers that his ex-wife is still his business partner, but nothing further. Raue likes to keep some things private.

One tough pill to swallow for the German was despite the episode being about him, he had no editorial or final control over what would be screened.

“At first, I didn’t like what they showed me. The episode really displays me in the rudest way I’m living these days when I’m in the kitchen where I’m lacking my usual charm and humour. And you have no chance to say no I don’t like that, I don’t want to screen that. When they showed it to me there were three things I didn’t like and they made two of the three changes but that was it, and I had to accept that. At the end of the day, your episode resonates with people when it’s more open.”

 The chef is keen to point out that he has different sides to him — some nice, some not so nice. It also shows him as a one-man army but that’s not true. “I have an entire team around me and they interviewed them for hours but eventually cut them out,” he adds.

 It’s taken Raue years to get to this point. He is now confident enough to make simple dishes. “It is evolution," he adds.  Had fate not taken a different turn, we might not he having this conversation in one of the swankiest, upcoming neighbourhoods in Dubai.

“There were a lot of guys my age in my 20s who were winning awards but they didn’t make it because they didn’t have the stamina to keep going. They didn’t have the determination to succeed. You have to invest more than you have — invest everything without any doubt.”

For Raue, his grit, determination and personal evolution have all been key to his success, allowing him to rise from his humble beginnings to his current status of world-famous chef. But does he think his food has evolved with him?

“I've changed my way of cooking so much before 2007 and I wasn’t sure of who I am or what I wanted to be. But since then, there is a more clear thought-out process. I’m more confident and clear-headed and my dishes reflect that. It’s a mark of who I am.”