The culinary team at Dukes Dubai is also doing its part, using urban cultivators in-house, with plans to start herb and vegetable boxes after the summer: “There’s a cost incurred but when you raise it up and you show whoever signs the cheques that it’s sustainable and over time there’s a return on investment. It’s the way forward.”
Have access to quality produce and manipulating it as little as possible is a key concern for Cahill: “I say to my chefs, the less you handle produce, the better it is. Beef — trim the fat off, cut it, salt and pepper, perfect. The less you do, the better it is.”
According to the chef, Dubai has a real eating out culture and, with constant openings, the restaurants to support it: “There are places opening everywhere and there are numerous pros and cons the pros are healthy competition is good, keeps you on your toes. New chefs are coming, celebrity chefs are coming and it’s good. The cons are that there’s a real cut throat market. Some restaurants have 300 to 400 seats and you have to fill them.
“Dubai is becoming heavy on F&B. Every hotel that opens would have a minimum of three or four restaurants and you have to times that by what’s coming up around just The Palm and Downtown. It’s a very heavy industry now. But with GBR, Kyber or West 14th if you stick to your USP and your concept, you’ll always do well because people associate that with quality.”
In terms of creating an experience for his guests, Cahill places importance on: “Service, value for money and consistency. People don’t want to come on a Monday and have a great steak and come back on a Friday and have it be terrible. That boils down to training and sourcing the right ingredients.”
Location is another variable that can make or break a restaurant. Cahill explains: “People don’t want to travel too much in Dubai. That’s a real business factor — location. I know people in the UK who will travel three or four hours for a meal. Take San Sebastián in Spain, people will travel there just to eat. I know friends who will fly out to Napa to eat at French Laundry just because they appreciate great food. But in Dubai people don’t want to travel outside of a certain radius.”
Guests do seem to want to travel to the hotel for its Friday brunch. When asked why it’s been so successful in spite of fierce competition from every other hotel in town, Cahill says: “A big one for Dubai is value for money. People want to feel like they’ve paid a fair price for a fair offering.”
The authenticity of the concept has also struck a chord with diners: “We’re sticking to our roots — the rotisseries, the roast chickens and the à la carte menu. We haven’t given in to the whole buffet where we serve sushi and sashimi. We’re sticking to our guns in terms of Britishness and I think now that the season’s back, guests will vote with their feet and say ‘yeah this place is authentic’. The service is very interactive and the restaurant is beautiful.”
“In Dubai I look at some menus and it’s like ‘Around the World in 80 days’. We want to do what we do well and stick to it,” Cahill concludes.
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