INTERVIEW: BiCE's Raffaele Ruggieri

Caterer Middle East chats with BiCE Ristorante president Raffaele Ruggieri, in town to launch the family-run firm’s new seafood concept, BiCE Mare, at Downtown Dubai’s Souk Al Bahar

BiCE has developed from a family restaurant to an international chain; what’s the secret to expanding without compromising on the original appeal?

We are still a family-run business and I am the third generation of a family that is really doing this from the heart, so that’s a major factor — that we the founders are doing this because it’s in our DNA, not because we just stumbled upon it.

The second thing is that we’ve been fortunate enough to find team members that share that same vision and passion, and we transmit that on to our guests.

You had to close some outlets in the US this year; overall, how has BiCE weathered the economic storm?

We’ve had fluctuations everywhere — the economy was hit worldwide, although some places have felt it more. I live in the US, and I’d say it was one of the worst-hit.

But the major benefit of being family-run is that we can quickly adjust to any situation and don’t have to worry about massive overheads, like many big brands. When the time came to roll up our sleeves, we all did — and as a result we were able to downscale and still make it profitable.

We have seen the number of outlets we’ve been opening slow down since 2007; last year, I opened only two [in the US]. But we are not a public company, we do not have that pressure to grow. So we’ll take good opportunities when we find them, but we’re in no rush.

Moving on to the new outlet, why is now the right time to be expanding into the Middle East?

A couple of years ago my father and I started considering the idea of BiCE Mare, and we were waiting for the right location to launch the concept. Then they offered us this prime location and of course when such a great opportunity comes up, you’re not going to turn it down! This is the centre of Dubai today, and I don’t think there’s any better area — the kind of place you don’t find any more in the older cities in the world, because they’re all gone.

Tell us a bit about the new offering.

I haven’t eaten meat in a long time, around 15 years, and I love seafood. In the US market over the past decade, steakhouses became popular so the market is full of them — so we thought we’d look at a seafood concept. It’s very healthy, and health awareness is growing worldwide. We believe we’ll see a lot of demand for this kind of offering.

What will set BiCE Mare out in the crowded Dubai arena?

I think it’s the overall experience: we have a reputation, which obviously helps; we have the location; we have the quality of food — honestly, it’s mind-blowing; and finally we also have the great staff and service, so we have all the right ingredients.

I’m not arrogant enough to say we’ll be better than all the other outlets here, but I know we have the right elements to offer a really memorable experience, and I think that’s what is needed today to become successful.

Do you have any further plans for the MENA region?

Our plans for 2010 include opening BiCE Ristorantes in Bahrain and Miami, one BiCE Mare in Doha and another in Chicago, and we have an outlet under negotiation in Cape Town. We actually have a steakhouse, BiCE Beef Bar, in Monte Carlo and we would like to bring that to Dubai, so we are considering that. It’s very different to a traditional steakhouse, and we think it would work well in this market.

What’s the secret to running a great Italian restaurant?

Italian food — and I believe one has to go to Italy to truly understand what that is. There are many great Italian restaurants, but it’s not real authentic Italian. When you experience real Italian food in Italy, with fresh produce in season, then you know what great Italian food really is.