PODCAST: an interview on the first Michelin Dubai guide
The first Michelin Dubai guide revealed a flurry of surprises. So we interviewed the inspiring gent who brought Michelin to Dubai – the CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Issam AbdulRahim Kazim – in a podcast for The Lighthouse Conversations. As a co-host with Hashem Montasser (The Lighthouse’s co-founder), we discussed Dubai Tourism’s role in this 69-strong restaurant guide, the tourism big picture, and Issam’s own go-to restaurants. He may have also indicated a change in timing for the 2023 guide. Tune in HERE from your favourite podcast provider.
Below is a breakdown of the Dubai guide, along with my own personal analysis:
- 2 two star restaurants
- 9 one star restaurants
- 14 Bib Gourmand restaurants
- 1 green star restaurant
- 3 people awards for young chef, sommelier and service
- 44 ‘selected’ restaurants (i.e a listing in the online guide without an assigned accolade)
Of the 25 restaurants that made the top cut, my key take-aways:
- 14 are hotel-operated restaurants in five-star premises
- 11 are independent homegrown concepts
- 9 are imported concepts, of which both two-star restaurants are celeb chef helmed
- 6 serve Middle Eastern cuisine
- 6 are unlicensed (no alcohol)
- 1 champions local produce
- 0 are located in DIFC, often referred to as Dubai’s most sought-after restaurant destination
It’s a good sign that only 25 made the top cut, ensuring some kind of aspiration for future guides, whilst also driving quality and consistency. Of the 11 one and two stars, only two are independent concepts. The Bib Gourmands overall make for a far more intriguing selection, a reflection of the real Dubai with its thriving homegrown dining scene. I do hope tourists who ultimately are the main target audience for this Michelin guide, will not be swayed by the two and one stars only – and will dig deeper to discover a true taste of Dubai. Perhaps the Michelin inspectors could also dig a tad deeper next time? Or maybe they did, and weren’t impressed with the rest of our restaurant scene. In the meantime, whilst we all have strong opinions on this guide, one thing’s for sure, Michelin does put Dubai on the global culinary map. Everyone is discussing it after all.
Huge congratulations to all the ranked restaurants – chefs, restaurateurs, front-of-house, and heart-of-house teams. Let’s remember the term ‘Michelin chef’ is incorrect. The criteria may revolve around the quality of the food, but the stars go to the restaurants, not the chefs.
Any restaurants you would like the inspectors to visit when compiling the next guide? Name them here 🙂
A bientôt.
FooDiva. x
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