INTERVIEW: Ajaz Sheikh

Zuma Dubai’s new director of operations, Ajaz Sheikh, talks to Caterer Middle East about life outside hotels, brand expansion and the Middle East’s culinary progress…

You came to Zuma Dubai from the UK about four months ago — but you’ve worked in this region before, haven’t you?

Yes, in fact I grew up in Dubai, from 1987 to ’93.

Then I went to Switzerland to study hotel management, after which I moved to the States to do a Bachelor’s Degree in hotel administration.

During that, I spent time working at the Marriott Marquee, which is the second largest Marriott in the world; and when we opened their steakhouse there, I realised I had a real passion for F&B.

After that I returned to the UAE, and my first job was at Le Méridien Abu Dhabi in around 1999, opening their F&B Village.

After that I transferred to Le Méridien Picadilly, in London, where I was assistant F&B manager for two years, then joined Mandarin Oriental on Hyde Park Corner, also as assistant F&B manager.

Two years later I went to The Conrad in Chelsea Harbour, then I got picked up by the Lanesborough, which was a fantastic opportunity.

I was hired as F&B director, then promoted to executive assistant manager.

One of my main projects was refurbishing the restaurants. We brought Heinz Beck there, and got a Michelin star in five months — just before I left — which was a fantastic achievement.

Why did you decide it was time to move on?

It was a lot of fun, but I wondered whether I would be able to do the same sort of thing somewhere else — The Lanesborough was not very corporate, and I’m not sure how I would handle the change to, say, a large brand.

So I decided to go and work in a different kind of role; I knew Rainer [Becker, Zuma co-founder], and when the role came up they asked me if I was interested.

The idea of coming back to the Middle East did appeal to me, being close to family and so on; but also Rainer is a real visionary who speaks form his heart and knows what he wants, and I think he was looking for people who understood where he was coming from.

I mean, your heart’s got to be in it — the Middle East is probably going to be the biggest expansion for us over the next couple of years.

And I really believed in that vision and philosophy that Zuma is built on.

So what’s the plan regarding further expansion?

Obviously, we’re going to expand in the States further at some point, but after the Miami outlet we’re just a little bit dubious, because it’s been so hard opening a concept there.

So now that’s done and dusted, the Middle East is our next focus — and there is a lot more to do here.

Zuma Dubai has done so well for us; the people understand the concept, it’s been welcomed. Obviously there are things we need to work on here, to consolidate what we have, but there’s so much more potential as well.

Of course, we’re not going to go rushing in, opening up outlets all over the place; we like to get established, train our staff and secure the basics before moving on.

Zuma is self-owned, so there are no partners or shareholders to answer to; the brand is the most important thing, for us. We will not franchise, we want to control it 100%, and that’s one of the reasons we went to DIFC for the first outlet here, rather than a hotel.

We can’t have anyone telling us we can’t do this and that — we work very differently to a hotel, and I know that because I’m a hotelier!

Here, things get done. There are no questions or red tape, and I love that about stand-alone outlets.

Well, we would rent space from a hotel, and independently operate it.

We’ll be looking for a space for Roka [another outlet in the group’s portfolio, offering contemporary Japanese robatayaki cuisine], but we’d like to do something in Jumeirah Beach or Dubai Marina area, and obviously the whole alcohol licence thing comes into play there, as they do not have a DIFC. So for that we would have to tie up with somebody.

But if we did that, it would have to have a separate entrance, separate kitchen, separate delivery, otherwise it’s not going to work out.

Where else in the region are you looking to expand?

We’re not entirely sure yet; we want to do Beirut, we want to do Abu Dhabi, we want to do Dubai — but I think in Dubai right now we can wait, because there’s no point opening when the market’s already saturated, with all these new Japanese restaurants coming in.

Lebanon has a lot of people, there’s a lot going on, and they’re dying for top outlets.

We were looking at a site at Le Gray there, but they wanted something quickly and we couldn’t do it then because we were opening in Miami.

We haven’t set ourselves a timeline for expansion, though; I want to get comfortable with the brand and the region first. After Ramadan I think we’ll start looking.

But the important thing is that we’re here for the long run, and we want to stay true to our brands. We’re here to stay and we’re here to lead.

Looking at your new role, what have you been focusing on since your arrival here?

A lot of recruiting! I’m going to be here for a few years, and everyone I hire today is going to be working in one of our outlets tomorrow, so it’s important that whoever we hire now actually wants a career.

We have a large team — I think there’s 160 staff at Zuma Dubai.

Some staff want a career, some don’t, but if you’re opening a new place in under a year, you need those staff who want to be a part of that future — and this is why I’m hiring now, so that we can find the real superstars, the drivers, people who can progress.

And this is why we’re prepared to make that investment, because Zuma Dubai will be the training ground for our outlets across the Middle East.

In the UAE in general, the whole staffing issue takes up so much time — I have already spent a lot of time re-negotiating the staff housing contracts. It’s the sort of thing you never have to worry about in London, for example. It’s so different.

Then of course, because everyone’s on an ex-pat package we also have to manage their travel, their insurance, all that. And that takes up 30% of your time before you even get started.

But I do like to be involved in everything, and really have my finger on the pulse on what’s going on — and that’s important for the first few months, so I can really get a handle of what’s going on.

Is there anything so far that you’ve identified as an area you want to focus on in future?

Yes —consistency in suppliers is a huge one for us.

I don’t know if I can do it or not, but I’d like to get together with the other Japanese restaurants here so we can build up some buying power.

There are a lot of monopolies going on when it comes to suppliers, so I’d like to get together with other hotels and restaurants and really drive the buyers.

I appreciate that some operators in the UAE are in it to make a fast buck, but I think there are enough players in the field of Japanese cuisine to really strengthen our purchasing.

What’s your view of Dubai’s culinary status, compared to other international hubs?

Since 2000, when I was working here last, I think the region has come a long way. There are a lot more serious restaurateurs opening outlets here, which is a good sign.

But there is still a long way to go before you can compete with London, Hong Kong, Paris, New York — there is no comparison yet.

And I think the issue is partly about supplies, and partly about the number of restaurants that hotels here seem to have — they’ll develop a concept for the sake of having a concept, with no real thought behind it, and that kind of place can be very disappointing.

First comes the music, the décor, the style — and the actual food is somewhere way down the bottom of the list.

This is why concepts here keep coming and going; food has to be fundamental to any restaurant.

But I think, hopefully, we are now moving in the right direction.