“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.
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