Cuisine Focus: MENA

How popular is Middle Eastern cuisine is in the region?

Mohanad Alshamali: It is very popular, everyone is always looking for a local experience and one of the best ways to discover a place is through food. You have all kinds of Middle Eastern food here, from five-star to street eats, but it all originates from the same roots.

El Bourji: Middle Eastern cuisine is extremely popular, simply because we are in the Middle East. However, as Dubai is such a melting pot of expats from all over the region, this means we have an amazing plethora of styles of authentic cuisine to choose from. In recent years, I have noticed a real resurgence due to many chefs contemporising Middle Eastern cuisine, which has also been boosted by celebrities and influencers across the region.

Ibrahim Osseiran: Middle Eastern cuisine has been continuously growing for many years, I believe it’s up there with the top cuisines already. It seems like 2018 is the year for Middle Eastern cuisine, which is very exciting.

Gilles Bosquet: Middle Eastern cuisine is very popular in the region, and Dubai is home to many great restaurants, with many of them focusing on a specific country of origin. I think that this is one of the interesting elements of Ninive, the fact that we offer a melting pot of recipes from all around the Middle East and North Africa.

Ahmad Al Alami: Middle Eastern food is very popular not only in the region but globally, where it is becoming one of the most popular and fastest-growing cuisines. With increasing familiarisation of the cooking style, spices and dishes, it is enjoyed by a cosmopolitan clientele from both the Arab world and the expatriate community.

Have you noticed any trends in Middle Eastern cuisine?

Alshamali: Middle Eastern food is traditionally very home-orientated, so now we’re starting to see more commercial opportunities for the cuisine — such as falafel shops, kaak carts, and late-night shawarma stands — in places where they might not have been before.

El Bourji: I honestly think that 2018 is going to be the year for Middle Eastern cuisine globally. One of the main reasons is due to the rise of the heathy eating trend, an increase of the vegan lifestyle, with less meat being consumed. Middle Eastern food works perfectly due its strong thread of vegetarianism and ways of cooking. Many cultures are also a lot more familiar with the cuisine now, and due to an influx of tourism in many Middle Eastern countries, people are a lot more open to trying it. Traditional Middle Eastern ingredients such as pomegranate, eggplant, parsley, mint, tahini, tomato jam, and dried fruits are also being used more across a variety of cuisines, which is in turn opening up our own. 

Osseiran: The new trend is our type of food, which is the seafood mezze style, as it is very healthy. For example, the fish shawarma is trending and popular amongst our guests. The menu at Flooka has been designed to offer quality Middle Eastern food with high-class service that caters to the target customer.

Bosquet: Lebanese cuisine has been popular for years. But recently, we’ve witnessed a craze for Turkish cuisine. Actually, one of our ‘must try’ dishes at Ninive has Turkish origins: it’s the ‘manti’, a delicious dish featuring small raviolis served with mint yoghurt and tomato sauce.

Al Alami: Middle Eastern cuisine is moving from its much-loved traditional dishes to a more innovative style with new blends of ingredients and spices. A new generation of chefs is integrating cooking styles and approaches, incorporating influences from other regions and cultures to create something that is truly different. However, Leila is famous for fusing traditional authentic tastes of Lebanese cuisine with a modern touch. Leila creates a homely ambiance, with dishes that transport you to back to historical Lebanon.

What are some challenges you face?

Alshamali: I think the biggest problem right now is sourcing local products. I like to use ingredients from the region but because of the political instability it is sadly hard to guarantee access to the goods from some areas.

El Bourji: Honestly, the main challenge is the time it takes to prepare. Everything always needs to be prepared and cooked from fresh, from bread to hummus, to more intricate dishes like shrimp kunafa. This is done daily, and nothing is carried over from the previous day because of the amount of garlic and onion used in the dishes, which spoils if it sits too long.

Osseiran: Lots of challenges like the taste, precision in every ingredient. In general, the standard of food delivery is always challenging as every day there will be something new. Our culinary offering is a combination of authentic, traditional food with modern touches that explores and celebrates the richness, history and splendour of the region’s cuisine.

Bosquet: One of the challenges in Middle Eastern cuisine is to find the right balance of spices for the right dish. The same dish can have many different versions. For example, our kibbeh recipe is different from that of other Middle Eastern restaurants.

Al Alami: The challenges with Middle Eastern cuisine are all about quality. Ensuring that ingredients and raw materials are as garden-fresh as possible and the cooking methodology brings out the natural flavours of the ingredients without compromising on its nutrients is our key objective in preparing food. We don't cut corners in either sourcing or preparing food to ensure that our guests enjoy the best of traditional Middle Eastern cuisine.

Is it easy to source the ingredients that you need?

Alshamali: Luckily, we can source a lot of quality ingredients in the UAE, especially seafood. However, we are looking to experiment more with some exotic ingredients, like Japanese spices, as a way to make up for what we aren’t able to purchase from nearby countries.

El Bourji: When it comes to sourcing original produce from Lebanon or Egypt, I wouldn’t say it’s easy. That said, if you look hard enough you can find pretty much everything in Dubai now, which is excellent. Some of the products I source regularly from Lebanon includes mountain tomato, Romaine lettuce, eggplant — which we smoke and use for moutabal and baba ghanoush — and fresh za’atar.

Osseiran: We have established a relationship with a number of suppliers who help us source ingredients that previously were unavailable in the UAE. Our celebrated dishes, including desserts, are made fresh in the kitchen with all our ingredients and products imported directly from the region.

Bosquet: Sourcing ingredients has been very easy for us so far. We are in a Middle Eastern country, cooking Middle Eastern food. Plus, we tend to cook dishes featuring ingredients that are in season. This practice makes sourcing easy, sustainable and also ensures that our ingredients will have that great fresh taste.

Al Alami: The majority of the ingredients used in our cooking are sourced either locally or from Lebanon to ensure that they are both authentic and fresh. With Dubai's excellent logistical hubs this means that ingredients picked one day can be with us the following day ready for the preparation of Leila’s meals.