Beef is not Chef Thomas’s favourite meat. Bison is. He’d served it at the G7 summit when he was executive chef at the London Marriott. He’d had it Fed-Exed in (and, yes, it was heavily scrutinised). He’s not a fan of Argentinean beef (nor am I), preferring US beef. His rib-eye comes from Omaha and is aged for 40 days; he gets his lamb from Canada (born in Toronto, he learned to cook beside his restaurant-chef father before going to culinary college there).
He’s driven by seasonality and being true to the ingredients. Referring to the silken velouté that was our third course, he told us: “Food has all been done, it’s about interpretation – what you know will go together. Cauliflower grows in the ground; truffle grows in the ground; they’ll go together; it’s a great marriageâ€Â. Complex, creamy and garlicky, tiny nibbles of just-blanched cauliflower added crunchy interest with heady notes and contrasting colour from shavings of black summer truffle. He strains his soups four, five, six times, seasoning as he goes and, for this pale-coloured soup, and in the finest French tradition, using white pepper. “It’s about the layers. If you can make a great soup you can make anything. It’s the first thing I eat when I eat out – to test the restaurant.â€Â
He considers Marcus Wareing to be the best chef in London and thinks the Dubai food scene is 10 years behind London. “I’m trying to move it on, thinking always’how can I elevate it?’â€Â. With a brigade of 72 (everything, apart from ketchup, is made in-house), he changes the menu every five to six weeks. Coming soon are five, six, eight course menus with choices, “to let the guests decide what they wantâ€Â. This is, after all, Dubai where everyone gets what they want.
What Allah loves
Some think this is wrong. Reading Gulf Today, I chuckled to learn that an Imam had told his followers that “life should be lived by following a middle course in everything. What goes beyond is excess and Allah loves not extravaganceâ€Â. How does this square with Lamborghinis and Ferraris paraded through Dubai’s streets in the evenings, drawing up outside stunning hotels where people dine at exceptional gastronomic or geographical heights? Or, more starkly if less showily, with the fact that coverage of the Imam’s plea took up one tenth of a broadsheet page that was otherwise devoted to articles about shopping including Dubai’s Summer Surprises shopping fest with everyone encouraged to buy raffle tickets for 17 prizes of one million Dirhams (£180,000); shopping vouchers for, yes, even more shopping; and eight BMW cars?
A huge conundrum
It all makes sense when you visit the Dubai Museum (admission 50p) and watch the video explaining what His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler (by succession) and prime minister of the UAE (elected, unopposed) wants it to be: a “luxury lifestyle destinationâ€Â.
An escapist bubble
It’s all about international food
On average, people eat out 11 times a week here. Unfortunately, we didn’t eat out as locals do, in neighbourhood cafés. Which was a tragedy. (Read our editor’s 2012 article about eating as a Dubai local).
It takes a huge team – 98 chefs and 36 stewards – to run the 10 restaurants here, including Spectrum on One, an entire floor of the hotel with distinct areas for each type of cuisine (including authentic Arabic), a molecular mixology bar; and 28 cheeses from all over the world. Coming soon are blind dining (presentation doesn’t matter, it’s all about texture and flavour) to raise money for Sightsavers, and Dupper, a playful take on brunch but combining dinner and supper. Life in Dubai is lived in hotels – remember, they are licensed – so it’s all about differentiation to grab market share.
Friday brunch
Executive chef John Cordeaux currently manages four restaurants at the hotel; at peak season, he runs seven. Coming soon is a Chinese restaurant. He finds the lack of local produce “very disappointing†and imports from Cyprus, France and, surprisingly, Belgium.
The good taste of Armani
More Italian
We lunched in the Ronda Locatelli restaurant (endorsed by Giorgio Locatelli and one of the few restaurants with pork on the menu). The salads drew the highest praise, which is not to denigrate the pizzas which were as authentic as is possible outside Italy.
More steak
Our last supper, as if we could eat any more, was in the Exchange Grill of the Fairmont Dubai – declared, for the fifth time, Dubai’s best steak restaurant. My seafood and radish salad, with lobster, king prawns and scallops, was the prettiest dish of my stay here, beautifully presented on slate with tiny slivers of pink grapefruit and pea shoots. After a lemon sorbet palate cleanser, I was ready. The steak – Angus or Wagyu, everyone perfectly cooked – comes with four sauces (the veal jus tipped slightly into overpowering; I preferred the béarnaise; shallot worked very well) and five mustards (including tarragon). Chef Colin Haskell pays as much attention to the sides – a particularly good blue cheese mash; fabulously rich creamed spinach; and the much-praised garlic, parmesan and truffle sprinkled chips, as crunchy and fluffy as you’d want them to be. Our flight beckoned; we had time only for coffee (the decaff was excellent, everywhere) and the chef’s signature chocolate cigars.
Service with an endless smile
Missing a trick
In a country that depends on other nations to provide its services (80 per cent of the population comes from beyond the Arab world) it is inevitable that hotels provide for international palates. Dubai is missing several tricks with foodie tourists. We are intrigued by its culture and customs – and will remain critical of aspects of local life until we can experience more of it first hand, not as reported in propaganda-rich, reality-poor media. Authentic middle-eastern food does exist in Dubai – in swish hotels and dotted around town. It is a shame I can’t help you seek it out.
Must dos
- Drink glamorously in At.mosphere: On the 122 level of the Burj Khalifa, 442 meters above ground level and two levels down from the observation deck. The lift travels at 10 meters a second, taking a minute to reach the top. Yes, your ears will pop. Most curious fact: because of Dubai safety regulations, the chef can’t use dry ice at this height. Next most curious fact: the minimum spend in the bar is Dh200 per gent; in the restaurant, it’s Dh350 at lunchtime and Dh500 in the evening. Yes, that did say “per gentâ€Â; this is Dubai. www.atmosphereburjkhalifa.com
Visit the spice souk: My quick dash through resulted in a pack of garam masala, three dried limes I have no idea what to do with, a few strands of saffron in a ridiculously large-for-the-contents bottle, and a bag of pistachios of decidedly variable quality (many dried up or empty). With more time to explore, compare and bargain I am sure I’d have ended up delighted. Travel to the souk across the Venice-like Dubai Creek in an abra (a traditional wooden boat).- Experience the Dubai Fountain: Just outside Dubai Mall (with shops you’ll recognise, from Boots to Bloomingdales), crowds gather to see synchronised fountain displays. Try to catch them all (in daylight and illuminated). Refreshing antidote to the hideous world’s largest fish tank that dominates the mall – but is it tasteful or kitsch? www.thedubaimall.com/en/Entertain/TheDubaiFountain.aspx
- Take a guided tour: We were driven to and from our dining dates, the souks and on the dune bashing desert safari by Travco. Charmingly informative, and safe-driving, we picked up snippets about Dubai life we wouldn’t have discovered any other way. Be inquisitive.
- Fly to Dubai on the A380. I first travelled on this amazing plane, to Australia, when they had returned to service after being recalled for engine failure. Comfort, spaciousness, phenomenal service from Qantas, the 23-hour journey whizzed by in a haze of treats and smiles. This time I travelled, courtesy of Qantas, overnight in business class, achieving a little sleep on the flatbed. The shiraz was excellent. www.qantas.com
Dubai Tourism: For more information about Dubai call Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing on 020 7321 6110 or visit www.definitelydubai.com
Fairmont Dubai: Three nights at the Fairmont Dubai on a room only basis including flights with Qantas from London Heathrow – prices start from £699 per person. To book call 0871 703 4240 or visit www.travelbag.co.uk www.fairmont.com/dubai