Group Exec Chef Mike Reid with a cow, aka Sous Chef Danny

Steak has just been voted the UAE’s most favourite dish – not surprising given the carnivorous culture we live in – but almost two thirds of this vote is from women. Now that’s a refreshing revelation. Either that, or us ladies are more likely to enter surveys .

So it seems quite apt that I should introduce you to a very accommodating ‘cow’. Well that’s how the Group Executive Chef for Gaucho, Mike Reid enthusiastically and rather humourously explains the different Argentine beef cuts. But for you I’ve got an illustration.

The three most popular cuts for meat-lovers are the chorizo, otherwise known as sirloin with its layer of fat on one side, the marbled ancho (rib-eye) and my fave picanha (top rump) with its juicy strip of crackling. There’s also the cuadril (a leaner rump) and the even healthier, tender, but not as flavoursome lomo (fillet). Some are spiral cut which works well for churrasco-style marinades. All of Gaucho’s beef is imported from its very own pampas in Argentina where mainly Scottish Aberdeen Angus, as well a few other breeds are grass-fed. On a separate note, its wine list is purely Argentinian too..aside from champagne of course .

Picture credit – Wikipedia

When buying your own beef,  a few of my own tips:

• Buy beef from a reputable butcher. Prime Gourmet is where I go for quality and proximity (they also deliver), but Lafayette Gourmet is also a goodie.
• Pick beef that is bright red and shiny in appearance, whilst firm and springy to the touch.
• Remove from the fridge about an hour before cooking so it reaches room temperature, especially important if you like your steak blue, rare or medium-rare (frankly the only way you should eat it!) A cold steak contracts when it hits the heat which will make it tougher.

If you prefer to cut your own beef, here are some tips from Chef Mike that I picked up:

• Firstly, handle the meat as little as possible – be gentle otherwise you will bruise it which will make for tougher and less tasty steak.
• Lomo (fillet) – the top is for churrasco, the spiral cut. Cut the rest for chateaubriand (centre), bife de lomo (fillet steak) and medallions (the eye). So as not to waste the tail end, score rather deeply in three places, fold and voila one chunk of steak! No wastage in restaurants for sure.
• Ancho (rib-eye) - cut a thick ribeye steak, a cinta de ancho (spiral cut), and the same but smaller tira de ancho.

L to R: The lomo (fillet) beef cuts, the ancho (rib-eye) cuts, all cuts grilling away.

Cooking beef, whether grilling, pan-frying or roasting, all can be tricky. A couple of extra minutes and the meat’s overcooked. So Gaucho has the following instructions for grilling a steak:

• Start by brushing a little corn oil which has a high smoke point and no flavour, unlike olive oil which smokes at 120 degrees, and with cooking at 180 burns, making it very bitter.
• Squeeze some lemon into the steak, and crush whole cloves of garlic on it.
• Put it face down on the grill – that’s the sexy side that people see. And leave it. What you want is for the fibres to start opening up.
• Then you put a little oil on top and salt. That’s the only side to salt. You can put as much salt as you want as the meat will only absorb what it needs.
• Then you see juices coming out – the change in the colour of the juices determines how it’s cooked. If it’s clear it’s rare, if it’s clear with a little red, it’s medium rare. The more brown the juices are, the more cooked it is.
• Cook it 65-70% on one side, and then turn it over to cook the other side (only turn once). Salt is a retardant of heat – the reason we don’t salt that side is it stops the caramelisation.
• Whatever the meat doesn’t need will fall onto the grill.
• By the time the steak is plated and served, it has rested enough.

If you prefer pan-frying or roasting beef, watch this brilliant two-minute video from Dubai’s online gourmet grocer, Chez Charles. As for steak cooking times, here’s a guideline but it really depends on the cut and thickness:

• Blue - 1-2 minutes each side.
• Rare - 2-3 minutes each side.
• Medium rare – 3-4 minutes each side.
• Medium - 4-5 minutes each side.
• Medium well - 5-6 minutes each side.
• Well done - 6-7 minutes each side.

For those who don’t fancy beef, the new Gaucho menu features a higher proportion of seafood, chicken, lamb and veggie dishes. I can vouch for the Ecuadorian shrimp ceviche with roasted tomato and pepper sauce, onions and coriander…pretty sublime.

Now Gaucho at DIFC is not the only Argentine restaurant in town. Asado at The Palace Downtown is a goodie and hugely atmospheric – steaks aside, do try the signature dish, roasted goat on the spit, which incidentally is locally sourced.

Dubai is brimming with steakhouses, so if you prefer meat other than Argentine, here’s what makes the cut for FooDiva

• Prime 68 at the JW Marriott Marquis – bag the one and only window table overlooking Burj Khalifa.
• Rhodes Twenty10 at Royal Meridien – steaks aside, try the burger topped with foie gras on a bed of mashed potato.
• The Rib Room at Jumeirah Emirates Towers – a steakhouse that bridges the gap between formal and romantic. Grab one  of the banquettes.
• The Exchange Grill at Fairmont Dubai – a damn good classic especially the chateaubriand a deux.
• Seafire at Atlantis The Palm – for grain-fed beef from its very own farm in Australia.
• West 14th at Oceana on Palm Jumeirah  - the most affordable licensed steakhouse in town.
• Le Relais de L’Entrecôte at Dubai Festival City or its rival Entrecôte Café de Paris at Dubai Mall – nothing else but steak in a sublime secret sauce with frites and green salad.

And hot of the press, we’ll soon have a couple more steakhouses in town – celeb chef Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse concept Cut knocking on our door or rather the Address Downtown Dubai’s. More here, as well as a newbie at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.

I presume if you’ve read so far, steak ranks high as one of your favourite dishes. But is it number one? Any more steakhouses to add to FooDiva’s list? Or do you prefer cooking steak at home? What’s your favourite cut?

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

Disclosure – I was a guest at a cooking masterclass and ENBD Bon Appetit dinner at Gaucho. Rest assured, my views are as always mine alone. For a different perspective, check out fellow food blogger Life in a Food Lane’s post.

Antonio Carluccio in Dubai at the LitFest

He’s a self-taught chef and a rather famous one at that, but otherwise he would have become an anthropologist. His cooking ethos is all about “minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour.” Jamie Oliver worked for him, whilst Raymond Blanc, another self-taught chef, writes the foreword in his autobiography where he confesses to multiple suicide attempts. With 19 books to his name and a new pasta one in the making, he boasts knighthood titles of Commendatori and OBE for his contribution to the food industry in both Italy and the UK respectively. Meet the endearing Italian chef Antonio Carluccio who I interviewed in Dubai on his last visit.

1. What role do you play in Carluccio’s these days? I created together with my ex-wife the first Carluccio café in Covent Garden. Our investors said we should look at selling the company within five years. And then the company went public, and we sold our shares. My ex did something else, but I remained a consultant with the company which I still am today. And then [Dubai-based] Landmark bought the company in 2010. I was watching to see if they would move away from the original idea of what Carluccio’s was about but they didn’t and that’s very good. A sort of island of excellence with simple Italian food. So now [they are expanding] slowly with five units a year around the world.

2. Italian food varies drastically from region to region. Do you believe one restaurant can be all things to all people? No. I try to observe regionality because I know Italian food well. To cook good Italian food you have to come from the region. Most of the chefs don’t know another region. But I made it a task for myself to learn all Italian food. From food and drink programmes with the BBC and from my own initiative, I went from region to region learning what’s the best. I was born in the south [Amalfi coast] and brought up in the north [Piedmont] so I respect every region. The chauvinist Italians don’t! Every region is different because it uses local produce.

3. You have publicly said it’s important to remain loyal to ingredients and Italian cooking traditions. Personally I agree when it comes to Italian cuisine, but isn’t creativity also important? How do you marry the two? Up to a certain extent. You see quite a lot of Italian chefs going berserk with creativity. With fusion cuisine and the temptation with the produce on the market, many chefs want to make a point and become famous for a combination of things and sometimes it doesn’t work. The taste of lemongrass with mozzarella doesn’t fit! So it is better to focus on regionality with a little twist perhaps. For example, let’s take a traditional starter, parma ham and melon. I undertook to make it completely different as a soup and it worked fantastically. You take the melon and process it, so it becomes liquid. You add lemon, salt, pepper and a cube of ice. You then make a chiffonade of parma ham and put it on top and it’s wonderful. Same ingredients, but still Italian. Innovation in Italian food is not a great deal. But it’s preferable to cook something that is original and right in the proper way. Taste is the most important thing. When you have achieved that, you have achieved a lot.

Carluccio’s Cafe – Signature Penne Giardiniera

4. I’ve heard the PR story about the origin of your signature and best-selling dish Penne Giardiniera, but would love to hear the true one. I was in our Ealing branch and the team there asked me could we have a vegetarian dish? So I asked them, do we have in the kitchen some spinach, penne pasta and courgettes? [Yes]. Well that’s all I need. So I went into the kitchen and I made a basic sauce of grated courgettes, a bit of garlic and chilli. Then separately I made those spinach balls which are fantastic – cook some spinach, squeeze it, add some parmesan, eggs, nutmeg and a few breadcrumbs. I made them into balls and fried them. I mixed the penne with the courgette sauce and added the spinach balls on top. Later on we donated 50 pence per portion of this dish to the charity Action Against Hunger raising [GBP] 750,000.

5. If there is one dish you cook to impress, what is it? And secondly, what would you have as your ‘last’ meal? A very good risotto always impresses. As my last meal – very simple – freshly cooked spaghettini with a tomato and basil sauce.

6. What do you think of Italian cuisine in restaurants here? I am not curious about other restaurants not because I don’t believe they are doing a good job, but because it looks like I may be going there to spy. I know my friend Giorgio Locatelli has a restaurant here that I believe is good. The fact is when am here I have so little time.

7. What’s your favourite restaurant in the world? A Chinese in Melbourne, Flower Drum, which was wonderful. There’s also good Italian cuisine there – Ronnie di Stasio’s café. In London there are more and more serious Italian restaurants focusing on regionality, quite a few Sardinian [restaurants].

8. Who was your mentor? Me! I never had any formal teaching because all my cooking came from the fact that I was alone in Vienna and I wanted to eat the food that my mother cooked so I had to make it myself. In doing so, it was a great way to reach people. I’d say to the girls, come and eat my pasta! I cook for passion, for interest. I’ve written 19 books, I’ve done 30 years of television and still do bits and pieces. That’s what gives me satisfaction.

9. If you hadn’t become a chef, what would you have done? I like to think a lot. I am never happy with just an explanation. In fact I would have liked to become an anthropologist. I like human beings. I speak five languages. It’s very satisfying.

There are five Carluccio’s cafes in Dubai (Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai Mall, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and the new Dubai airport terminal). My favourite by far is the former – from the take-away antipasti and wood-fired pizzas to pure soul food like the sublime chicken and lemon risotto, and of course the penne Giardiniera. Antonio Carluccio’s autobiography A Recipe for Life makes for an enthralling, yet sad read.

Do you think Italian restaurants in Dubai try to over-deliver? Should they focus on one regional cuisine? Where do you go for your Italian fix?

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

Photo credit to Picante

I had high hopes for Picante, one of two new Portuguese restaurants to open in Dubai this year. High hopes because Dubai desperately needs a decent Portuguese – who remembers Da Gama at Century Village? Well best forgotten even though it’s still open. Portuguese is one cuisine hugely under-represented here. Secondly, I’ve been privy to a tasting in the kitchen where as a small group of food bloggers, we were invited to give an honest opinion on the dishes BEFORE the menu was finalised. Now I don’t know many restaurants here that go to such lengths when developing their menus.

Anyhow, a few months later, our party of four weaves its way through Bur Dubai’s Thursday night traffic arriving late around 9ish to find Picante rather empty, bar a handful of tables. On the plus side, we pretty much get to pick our table. It’s a beautiful balmy evening, but the outdoor pool area overlooks a brick wall, so sadly we settle inside which has a little more vibrancy. Taverna-style rustic wooden tables and chairs, bright ceramic tiles and mock shutters create a quaint and homely feel.

The chef de cuisine is Portuguese and he’s helming the stove in the show kitchen. Whilst we peruse the overwhelmingly large menu, I order a portion of dates wrapped with beef bacon (no pork licence here) which sadly is the first disappointment of the evening. The bacon is burnt making it tough, chewy and tasteless. Pre-prepared am sure as they arrive pretty pronto. The wine list is small and not very inventive, but we taste a Portuguese red which is too tart, and settle for a Chilean Merlot (followed by an Australian Shiraz Cabernet) – as well as a Pinot Grigio for my white wine drinking friend.

Remembering my star dish from the tasting, I start with sautéed clams, which arrive as a huge main course portion – perhaps because my friend orders the same dish as a main? They are drowning in a little too much olive oil (do we detect a tad of butter too?) but the garlic, lemon and coriander sauce makes for moreish bread mopping. On that note, the bread is baked in-house and it’s damn good. The sautéed shrimps with garlic, piri piri and coriander (two orders) is a similar dish but a spiced up version. As an aside, click here if you’d like to know how to distinguish between a prawn and a shrimp. The sautéed mushrooms with thyme, olive oil and garlic is served like a tartare which my friend relishes.

For mains I try the signature Portuguese dish, charcoal-grilled chicken marinated in a spicy red chilli-based piri piri sauce. Sadly the chicken is bony and the meat stringy, making it messy and awkward to eat. The accompanying chunky chips are good enough – crispy on the outside and soft within. The beef and clams marinated with red pepper paste resembles the clams dish, but with the addition of beef cubes. The fried beef steak with a light mushroom sauce is topped with crispy beef bacon, fried egg and crisp-style potatoes, freshly cooked – heart attack on a plate I reckon…but you do get to choose your own steak knife . All dishes are a little too oily disguising the true flavours.

The highlight I am told is the traditional Portuguese sweet ending, egg custard in puff pastry, which my dining companions wholeheartedly salute. Whilst the odd dish may impress and the portions are huge, the food is pretty average with no wow factor. I am surprised to not see sardines feature given their popularity in Portugal. My sole foodie memory of an Algarve holiday many moons ago is a simple dish of grilled sardines with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon. And they are available locally from the fish market. Perhaps focus on fewer dishes and get these right?

Service is friendly and accommodating without being over the top, but it’s a shame not to even see one Portuguese waiter, whereas the Portugal Genuine Piri Piri restaurant at the nearby Seaview hotel has plenty (so say our chatty neighbouring table). I have a 50% voucher which makes the bill very reasonable, but otherwise if you’re not on a deal, you’re looking at AED 340 per head for three courses with vino. RoundMenu offers a 20% discount, and the table next to us is on a Groupon deal so do shop around.

Picante has tremendous potential despite its location (after all the Indian restaurant Antique Bazaar in the same hotel is a goodie), but the menu requires refining and the atmosphere spicing up before FooDiva returns. Here’s to a three out of five FooDiva knife rating.

Picante is located at the Four Points Sheraton in Bur Dubai on Bank Street. T; +971 4 3977444. E; restaurants.burdubai@fourpoints.com Open daily for lunch and dinner. Price per person AED 340 including wine. Licensed.

Have you dined at any of these Portuguese restaurants? How did they fare?

Enjoy the long weekend folks

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

Baked camembert – one of my many guilty pleasures

She devised the walk-in cheese room, a little library that the likes of Wholefoods Market and other gourmet stores have since copied. Her love affair with cheese started when she bought a nugget of Beaufort Chalet d’Alpage from a cheese shop in Meribel in the French Alpine Savoie region after a grueling day skiing, only to return to London with a 35 kilo round, selling chunks from her garden shed and then a Camden market stall before opening her first shop, La Fromagerie in Highbury, followed by Marylebone with the addition of a café. She’s published two books – the second an encyclopedia to all things cheese that I can’t believe I, the cheesaholic, have only just bought despite visiting her Marylebone shop a few times over the years. Jamie Oliver’s written the foreword. Well she does supply many a celeb chef’s restaurant. Would you believe the first recipe is labneh?

Patricia Michelson – owner of La Fromagerie

Meet Patricia Michelson who was in Dubai to launch Jones The Grocer’s cheese club…they do have a walk-in cheese room after all. Not only does she patiently and passionately answer my numerous questions, but I probe her for a wealth of tips on cheese from selecting and pairing to storing and serving. Say cheese and read on!

1. What do you look for when selecting/ buying cheese for your shop?

I am always looking for real artisan cheese with provenance and terroir. That’s the land, weather, animals have to be grazing, milk and traditional recipes. I like to get to know the independent producers and farms. The cheese has to have real identity. I just came back from Savoie where we go a few times a year to choose the cheese that we keep aged in the mountain cellars for two to sometimes three years. I source cheese from many European countries and the US. 

The pissaladière on the left at Jones The Grocer’s cheese tasting is made to a Patricia Michelson recipe from her cheese encyclopedia. I call it ‘French onion soup on a tart’ – a more rustic version of La Petite Maison’s. Parmesan straws on the right also from her book.

2. Explain how seasonality with cheese works.

The seasons change because of when the animals have babies. The milk is left to build up so they can feed their young. Once they have weaned their babies, the cheese making starts again. In particular for ewe’s and goat’s milk, the quantity is much smaller than cow’s milk, so the season goes in and out all the time. Some larger farms stagger the season by plotting the animals to have babies at certain times of year so they have milk throughout the year. For this to happen the pasture has to be rotated as well. You can also utilise animals in different ways to get different cheeses – like with the Vacherin Mont d’Or cows where you can get Mont d’Or, Comté and Beaufort at different times of the year.

3. What do you think of blends like cambozola?

Sometimes, you have to have these sort of cheeses to understand the real thing. Sometimes you need something a little creamy with that little bit of blue. Start off with that, but then go onto others. But for me personally it tastes antiseptic and that doesn’t smell of cheese to me.

4. The import of unpasteurised (raw) cheese in Dubai appears to be a bit of a grey area. What are your thoughts on this?

Parmesan [Reggiano] has to be made with raw milk. So the parmesan that goes to Dubai is not pasteurised but it is two to three years old which is deemed free of any harmful pathogens. On the other hand, for very soft, delicate cheeses there’s a lot going on until you eat it. So with a very hot country like Dubai and with the air conditioning you have to be careful what sort of cheeses you have. The hard, ripened age cheeses are fine. But you have to be careful with the soft ones. 

 5. What cheese is in season now?

• Goat’s cheese is in season now and then again August/ September
• Cow’s milk cheeses are in season throughout the year
• Wensleydale
• Cheshire
• Lancashire
• Brie
• Blue cheeses

6. Seasonality aside, what makes a great cheeseboard?

The range on a cheeseboard should always start with something light and palate cleansing like a goat’s cheese, followed by a simple crumbly cheese like a Wensleydale, then something creamy with a bloomy rind like a Camembert. Next should come a harder, fruitier cheese, then a washed-rind cheese with a rich, full-bodied flavour and aroma. Then try something with a strong outer coating like herbs or vine leaves and finally a blue cheese.

 7. Could you give a few examples of what some cheeses should be paired with?

• Cheddar – apple
• Gruyère and Beaufort style cheeses – almonds
• Parmesan and goats cheeses – pear
• Fresh tangy goat cheese – Sauvignon Blanc
• Saint-Nectaire, Roquefort, cheddar and sheep’s milk cheeses like pecorino – Merlot
• Stilton and Camembert – demi-sec champagne
• Beaufort, Comté, dry goats cheese – super dry champagne
• The heavier the wine, the lighter the cheese
• The drier the wine, the less fruity the cheese
• Beware chutneys can kill cheeses – make sure they’re not too sharp and full of malty vinegar

8. How should you store cheese?

• Take it out of its store packing and rewrap each cheese in grease proof or double wax paper.
• Line a Tupperware box with a slightly dampened (but clean!) blue jay cloth.
• Place the cheeses side by side in the box. Remember to keep your blue cheeses separate because of their molds.
• Add three sugar cubes.
• Close the box and pop into the fridge.
• You have created your own little cheese room. The humidity is controlled by the sugar cubes and they absorb the air, whilst also releasing enough humidity to keep them fresh. Hard cheese can keep for three weeks if stored this way.

9. How should you serve cheese?

• Remove from the fridge 30 to 40 minutes before serving.
• Place on your cheeseboard and top with a damp tea towel until you are ready to serve.
• Never cut the ‘nose’ from the pointed end of cheese as it’s considered bad etiquette!
• In most countries, the cheese course is the link between the main course and dessert, although in Britain cheese is served at the end of the meal with a glass of port.

10. What cheese has the lowest fat content?

Here’s a little tip if you’re looking to reduce your fat intake. Take brie or camembert as an example. Cheese ripens from the outside to the centre, so all the fat is on the edge of the cheese. If you want to reduce the fat intake, take off the rind, which is a shame, and you will lose nearly half of the fat. Low-fat cheeses like Emmenthal are about 30%. The lowest fat cheeses are fetta, mozzarella and parmesan. Cheeses with added cream are 70%, but just have a little, 50g. Choose a time of day to enjoy your cheese and have that as your main course or your snack meal.

11. Last but not least, I love asking foodies this question…Stilton, Roquefort or Gorgonzola?!

I love them all! It’s how you want to eat, when you want to eat and with what you want to eat it. Roquefort with its meatiness and real sharp attack of metallic blue is absolutely sensational with a sweet wine. The density of a Stilton with its lovely nutty earthy edge and its wet rocky face – with apples and pears. Gorgonzola is so rich and voluptuous, it goes well with an Amarone wine and heavenly with walnuts on the side. I want all three!

10 cheese tips from Jones The Grocer

Jones The Grocer has launched what appears to be Dubai’s first cheese club. For AED 200 annually you get:

• One cheese per month with tasting notes
• 10% discount on all cheese, cheese accessories and accompaniments
• 50% discount on two cheese events per year
• African & Eastern AED 200 voucher

T; 800 JONES E; events@jonesthegrocer.com 

Where else can you buy good cheese here? Aside from Carrefour with its focus on French cheese, and the likes of Waitrose and Spinneys, the following three gourmet retailers offer a wonderful selection of cheese – Market & Platters at Dubai Marina, Lafayette Gourmet at Dubai Mall and Finer Things next to Barracuda in Umm Al Quwain. Let’s not forget locally made Italian mozzarella and burrata from Italian Dairy Products.

I am constantly changing my desert island dish, but cheese is high up there as one of my all-time favourite foods. I’ve been known to eat one huge round of parmesan by myself in one evening. And out of the three blues, my loyalty lies to Stilton, but I will never turn down a baked camembert or a Swiss cheese fondue.

Do you share my love for cheese? Which is your favourite? Where do you buy your cheese from?

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

P.S – one last chance to win a Philips and Jamie Oliver steamer and hand blender before the competition closes tonight at midnight – click here.

There’s a two-course daily changing menu, plus the option of dessert so what you see here is what we ate, but you won’t get the same combo another day. In addition, there’s a small selection of wraps. Juices and smoothies are made on the spot, evident in my rather tasty beetroot and apple purification juice. The menu has been developed by American chef Chris Clark (don’t worry I had to google him), a nutritionist and macrobiotic expert who specialises in low-temperature cooking, steaming, blending, and food combining. Many of the ingredients are locally sourced like the wonderful Baker & Spice, of which some are even grown in-house and others organic and gluten-free. Dishes are prepared with techniques designed to boost digestion and maximise nutrient assimilation.

Our food is certainly healthy yet filling. The tuna, egg and veggie spread with accompanying crudités are wholesome and moreish, whilst the rather unusual salad of crunchy green beans with julienne strips of refreshing, juicy and very seasonal mango makes for a hugely palatable combo. My only qualm is the two main courses (veggie stuffed tomatoes and steamed veggies) are a little lukewarm – not sure if this is intentional in spirit with the macrobiotic ethos, but I would have preferred them hot.

For a weekday lunch, the place is busy, but then again there’s only a handful of tables. Service is prompt and pretty switched on. At AED 75 for two courses, Comptoir 102, named after the villa number, offers good value for money. But beware, the integrated lifestyle store it sits in, whilst housing some covetable and quirky home accessories, is ridiculously expensive. I may treat myself to the bird cage lamp though

Comptoir 102 Café is located on Jumeirah Beach Road, opposite The Beach Centre mall. T; +971 4 3854555, E; contact@comptoir102.com Open Saturday to Thursday 10am to 7pm. Shame it’s closed on Friday. Two-course menu AED 75, plus AED 18 for dessert.

Fellow food blogger, Pear Tree Diaries’ review is here.

Have you been? What’s your take on it?

A bientôt!

FooDiva. x

P.S – if you fancy a Philips and Jamie Oliver steamer and hand blender, click here to enter the competition.

P.P.S – whilst on the subject of local ingredients, I have started penning a monthly column for Atlantis’ F&B customer newsletter – click here for my musings on seasonal produce.

The Philips and Jamie Oliver steamer

Dubai; We know how much you love competitions, so here’s the second in a series from the Philips and Jamie Oliver kitchen collection, where we’re giving away one steamer and one hand blender to two lucky winners.

So what are they both about?

The steamer comes kitted out with a large bain marie and vent holes to stop any finger burning, an egg steaming rack, plus three stackable baskets. Unclip the bottom of each basket and you can even squeeze in a whole plump chicken! The beauty of steaming is that it retains all the nutrients in your food, whilst this particular contraption has a unique flavour booster allowing you to pop in herbs and spices infusing your food with that extra kick. There’s also a 60-minute timer, a ready steady go signal and automatic shut-off.

The Philips and Jamie Oliver hand blender

Meanwhile, the hand blender with its powerful 650W turbo motor lets you chop ingredients like onions and prepare rich sauces, batters and pestos. Pop on the whisk attachment and you will be on your way to making a perfectly smooth hollandaise. An accompanying one-litre beaker with a lid keeps your concoctions fresh in the fridge.

Oh and all removable parts are dishwasher proof!

FooDiva Friends in Dubai, we have two prizes – one Philips steamer with Jamie Oliver recipe book and secondly, one hand blender with apron to give away. All Jamie Oliver kitchen appliances come with his recipe cards. Just tell us what you would cook with these two appliances. Leave your answer as a comment on this post AND using the submission form below. You can increase your chances of winning by also Liking and commenting on FooDiva’s Facebook page, following me on Twitter and retweeting my tweet, plus following me on Pinterest and Instagram. The giveaway competition closes on 2nd June when the clock strikes midnight, and two winners will be picked randomly (through random.org) on 3rd June. You will have 24 hours to claim your prize otherwise we’ll have to select another winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you’re not so lucky, the steamer retails for AED 295 and the hand blender for AED 299 at all major hypermarkets across the UAE, along with Jamie Oliver’s other kitchen must-haves, the food processor, blender and of course the HomeCooker with Cutting Tower. Don’t forget to also like Philips’ Middle East Facebook page here.

Good luck and a bientôt!

FooDiva. x

Colourful Burj Al Arab view from Uptown bar at Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Set menus for business lunches are aplenty here in Dubai, but when it comes to dinner, we have to pay full whack for à la carte or an umpteen-course degustation menu. Why can’t we have prix fixe menus à la the Parisians, day AND night? Well we can for a few days only, thanks to the folks at Jumeirah who are running their hugely popular Restaurant Week promo for the second consecutive year in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and for the first time across their international hotels - starting next week. Modelled on the long-standing New York Restaurant Week, 50 plus restaurants will offer three-course set menus with a choice I should add, for dinner and/ or lunch every day – and that includes signature dishes.

I don’t tend to run food promotions here reserving these for my social media channels, but this one is such a goodie (believe me last year I pretty much dined out every night on that deal), it’s worth sharing. I guarantee you will be restaurant hopping every night of the week. And fingers crossed, Jumeirah will extend the promo like last year.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel – La Parilla

I tried and tasted the deal at La Parilla, Jumeirah Beach Hotel’s top-floor Latin-American restaurant. On a Friday evening, the restaurant is buzzing, helped by a sexy tango duo twirling to Latino tunes. We nab a window table with sweeping views of the Arabian Gulf and Burj Al Arab – it’s the one pictured here. Here’s a sneak peek at the menu which gives you three choices for starter, main, and a couple for dessert, plus amuse bouche, a sorbet palate cleanser and a pre-dessert – not bad eh for AED 180 each?

The empanadas, both the shredded chicken and the provolone-like cheese fillings are marvelously moreish. Our Angus sirloin is cooked perfectly rare as requested (by the German chef I should add). The carved fruit platter on a watermelon carpaccio makes for a pretty picture. Portion sizes are good, bordering on too much given the endless flow of side dishes.

Don’t leave the hotel before grabbing a night-cap at Uptown, one of Dubai’s best kept secrets – the al fresco lounge bar one level down with staggeringly stunning views of Dubai by night.

So La Parilla aside, where would I recommend? Well here’s my top 15 picks, and where FooDiva has reviewed, you will find links to those posts. Otherwise I have eaten in every single one, and can happily vouch for the dining experience.

Casual dining

Alfie’s – British brasserie at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Boulevard.

Al Nafoorah – Lebanese. There are two but my favourite is the original at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Boulevard, and with a little bit of luck you may still be able to sit on the terrace.

Rivington Grill – British. Both locations are goodies, but nothing beats dining in tandem with the magical fountains, so Souk Al Bahar it is. As an aside, Riv has just introduced its new summer menu – more here.

Tokyo at the Towers – rather formal Japanese at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Boulevard, known for its teppenyaki and tatami rooms.

Honyaki – Japanese sushi joint at Souk Madinat Jumeirah…it may be casual, but at least you are guaranteed sake.

The Noodle House – Asian glammed up ‘street food’. Head to the inaugural eatery at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Boulevard.

Signature dining

Amala – North Indian feast at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.

MJ’s steakhouse – Al Qasr, Madinat Jumeirah. Steaks aside, you get to choose your own knife.

Pai Thai – Al Qasr, Madinat Jumeirah. And don’t forget your mode of transport is the abra.

The Ivy – Brit menu with Asian influences at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Boulevard.

The Rib Room – steakhouse at Jumeirah Emirates Towers. Go for the banquette seating.

Villa Beach – another best kept secret, smack bang on the beach at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the shadow of Burj Al Arab.

Voi – opulent French-Vietnamese at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.

Vu’s – formal European dining at the top of Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

Zheng He’s – classic Cantonese, one of Dubai’s best, at Mina A’ Salam.

Jumeirah Restaurant Week runs from May 23rd to June 1st at 56 restaurants in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and around the world. Three-course menus are priced at AED 90 (Noodle House only), AED 120 (casual restaurants), AED 180 (signature) and AED 270 (Burj Al Arab). All menus are available online. If last year’s success is anything to go by, start making reservations pronto.

I do hope other hotel chains and restaurants are taking note of this damn good dining deal. Wouldn’t it be great to see an emirate-wide initiative like New York, or London? Now there’s an entrepreneurial idea .

So more importantly which restaurant are you gonna book first?

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

Disclosure – I dined at La Parilla thanks to a voucher that rocked up on my doorstep, allowing me to experience the set menu in advance of the launch date.

The chef’s table at Thiptara

Dubai; I dine out a lot, in restaurants that is. But I don’t often dine INSIDE the kitchen. Not my kitchen, even though on occasion I do, but a restaurant’s. Otherwise known as the chef’s table, smack bang in the kitchen or in some cases just outside but with a full view. You can either order à la carte with any special requests, or indulge in a tasting menu – with the chef jotting down your order and even serving you. A sommelier usually takes care of the vino. And there’s no extra charge. Whether you’re after an intimate dinner à deux, or a raucous group celebration, it certainly makes for a different dining experience. Well in Dubai we have quite a few chef’s tables, so allow me to give you the low-down…

Thiptara – The award-winning and hugely romantic Thai restaurant at the Palace Downtown Dubai overlooking Burj Khalifa. A glass-fronted door opens into the kitchen and a cosy chef’s table seating four people, or less if you like. You’re really in the hub of the kitchen here with woks sizzling away, yet the chefs working ever so quietly away at their stations. And if you nab the seat I did, you can even glimpse the magical fountain lake show…worth noting, this is the only restaurant whose sound system is inter-connected to the musical score. Opt for à la carte where you are encouraged to highlight any special requests and dietary restrictions, or just let the chef recommend a Thai feast which is what we did. Here’s what I ate, a rather divine black pepper lobster included, with fellow food blogger Ishita Unblogged. Daily for dinner. T; +971 4 8883444 E; dine@theaddress.com  

Traiteur – Park Hyatt on the creek most probably ranks as my all-time favourite hotel in Dubai for its serene, white-washed design with specks of Santorini blue. Traiteur is the French restaurant famed for its classy champagne brunch served in the elevated show kitchen – think foie gras, crème brûlée and garlic-infused escargots. The chef’s table here is a private room adjacent to the main dining area, with its own open kitchen where you can witness a live cooking show by the chef. Order à la carte or choose from a number of set menus. You need a minimum of six friends though, with a max of ten. Dinner Sunday to Friday. T; +971 4 3172222 E; restaurants.dubai@hyatt.com

Vu’s – This European restaurant on the 50th floor of Jumeirah’s Emirates Towers with panoramic views of the twinkling Sheikh Z skyline is no newbie but remains one of Dubai’s best kept fine dining secrets. The chef’s table sits in the heart of the kitchen’s entrance where a seven-course set menu is served, very similar to this one here, including a coupe of French champagne and canapés. Again, a minimum of six diners with a max of ten. Dinner Sunday to Friday. Bookable through Lime & Tonic. If you’ve not yet registered on the Lime & Tonic site, do so now here to get an AED 50 credit exclusive to FooDiva Friends.

Flow Kitchen – The all-day dining restaurant at the fairly new Fairmont on Palm Jumeirah. The Chef’s Palette as they call this personalised experience here is modelled on a cook-cum-artist’s studio serving family style cuisine from the Middle East, India, the Mediterranean and Asia. Set menu or à la carte with a minimum spend of AED 285 per person. Six to 12 guests. Daily for lunch and dinner. T; +971 4 4573457, E; palm.dining@fairmont.com.

The chef’s table at Table 9

Table 9 – Scott Price and Nick Alvis’ restaurant at Hilton Dubai Creek has its chef’s table just outside the glass-walled kitchen with views straight across the pass, along with a live video screen. A seven-course menu priced at AED 495 is created according to your food preferences, with the chefs serving each and every single dish. You can let the sommelier pair wines with each course for an additional charge, or simply order from the wine list. Dinner for two or up to 12 guests. Dinner Sunday to Friday. T; +971 4 2127551, E; contact@table9dubai.com

Blue Flame – The fine dining restaurant at arty boutique hotel Jumeirah Creekside offers a slightly different interactive take on the chef’s table where you dabble at cooking with the help of a chef, before sitting down to savour your creations – all in a rather hip and funky glass-walled cooking pod. Wine pairing is optional. Food aside, if you book through Lime & Tonic, you’ll get a glass of Moët & Chandon champagne, a Blue Flame apron, and a signed menu thrown in. You can even sign up on your tod, or for a maximum of five. Dinner daily.

Aveqia – London (photo courtesy Lime & Tonic)

Alternatively, head to your favourite Japanese restaurant in town and sit at the robata grill à la Zuma, or sushi bar, like Tomo’s where you can actually speak to the chefs and ask for their recommendations. Perfect tête à tête soirée when there’s just two of you.

Now wouldn’t it be fab to see the chef’s table concept take one giant leap ahead here, like Swedish establishment Aveqia in London marrying a restaurant with a cooking gallery – fully licensed of course – where the chef cooks for you front-of-house? Food for thought…what do you reckon?

Any more chef’s tables I may have missed?

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

P.S – As Geordie Armani so rightly pointed out, if you’d rather not leave the comfort of your home, then why not hire your own chef which also minimises the cost of booze? Here’s an earlier round-up of chefs for hire and caterers in Dubai.

Love, love, love this clever, creative idea from Fortnum & Mason

Earlier this month, I drummed on about restaurant and food trends in London that Dubai should eat up. Well looks like someone’s taken note, as Peruvian restaurant, Coya will open in Dubai later this year (from the same guys who brought us Zuma and La Petite Maison). Anyhow more on that another time. For now, building on those capital recommendations, here’s a few more to take you from breakfast and lunch to afternoon tea and dinner, plus gourmet shopping, and even a foodie escape. Bon appetit!

Breakfast

The Wolseley – If your hotel stay doesn’t include brekkie, start your day here at this London institution and celeb haunt with Eggs Benedict, or as I did with an espresso cup of pure and hot dark chocolate fondant, not the milky version commonly found in Dubai. Reservations essential.

Daylesford – Another breakfast alternative which we only popped into for a fleeting tour, but whose bright and airy café left me wishing I’d skipped the hotel breakfast. Locations in Pimlico and Notting Hill.

Lunch

Pitt Cue Co – Pork glorious pork and not much else at this no-reservations corner joint in Soho with kitsch granny curtains. The pulled pork with bone marrow mash is pure soul food.

Polpo – A Venetian bacaro round the corner from Pitt Cue Co. Italian version of a Spanish tapas bar but a little more refined. The pic above (second row, left) shows pizzette bianca, cauliflower and fontina gratin plus chickpea, spinach & ricotta meatballs – note I was dining with a pescetarian. Additional locations in Covent Garden and Smithfield.

Franco Manca – Pizzerias show no sign of abating in London, but this one’s a little bit different serving easily digestible sour dough pizza baked in a wood-fired oven. Non-central London locations – Chiswick (the one I tried), Brixton, Westfield and Northcote.

The Gun – One of the ETM Group’s ten gastropubs, The Gun sits in the Docklands on the river overlooking the rather ugly Dome. A little off-the-beaten track, but I would return for the black pudding scotch egg, and a riverside pew, weather permitting. Otherwise nab a table by the log fire.

Afternoon tea

Berkeley Hotel – Famous in the foodie world for its Pret-a-portea (that’s no typo) Fashionista afternoon tea, so popular it sells 100 covers a day. The cakes and pastries resemble the latest designer fashion collections, with the piping on some of the cookies taking two days – a miracle they remain fresh.

Athenaeum Hotel – At the time I tried and tasted the Evergreen afternoon tea last month, the Athenaeum was the holder of The Tea Guild’s Top London Afternoon Tea Award 2012, the Oscars for the tea industry – but it has since been eclipsed by The Goring Hotel. Inspired by the enchanting backdrop of a Living Wall, this high tea is a little more traditional infusing botanical, floral flavours – such as the orange blossom scones with lemon curd – in addition to the standard strawberry jam and Devonshire clotted cream. But the highlight for me, were the lightly toasted crumpets, something amiss from afternoon tea here in Dubai.

Dinner

Benares – Atul Kochhar’s one Michelin star modern Indian restaurant in Mayfair. Go for pre-dinner cocktails and if you can, book the chef’s table with full view of the kitchen – simply mesmerising watching the chefs at work, Atul included. There’s a tasting menu with wine pairing, but you can still order a la carte. Worth noting, the lamb and chicken served here is halal. He’s also just launched his second cookbook dedicated to 200 curries from around the world. From Great Britain (balti and chicken tikka masala are wholeheartedly Brit inventions!) to Singapore, from Thailand to North America, and from Cambodia to the Caribbean, the recipes are cleverly indexed by ingredient and then by country. And to top it all off, he’s made the instructions simple for home cooks. Currently only available in Dubai at his restaurant Rang Mahal at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai – or else order from Amazon.

Min Jiang – For cocktails overlooking Kensington Park followed by a Schezuan dinner. The wood-fired Beijing duck, as close as you will get to the real deal, is exceptional, as is the leftover caramelised duck neck dipped in sugar – in my book they are the new pork scratchings.

Roka – Japanese robatayaki restaurant and sister to Zuma coming soon to Dubai. Best pews are infront of the robata grill with full view of the chefs at work. Charlotte Street (across the road from hot dog and champagne joint Bubbledogs whose queue was way too long – hopefully I’ll get in next time) and Canary Wharf.

Shop

Rococo – Award-winning chocolatier Chantal Coady’s shops in Belgravia, Marylebone, Chelsea and Chester where she also runs chocolate workshops and tastings. The dark chocolate ganache with cocoa beans from her farm in Grenada combined with Valhrona is utterly divine – my fave flavours are blackcurrant and violet – mandarin – rose, lychee and raspberry – orange, mango and passion fruit – and jasmine green tea. The Belgravia shop sits opposite Yotam Ottolenghi’s deli-style cafe – well worth a look-in or eat-in.

Paxton & Whitfield – A cheesemonger which opened on Jermyn Street in 1797 with a huge focus on British cheeses. Buy their divinely decadent potted cheese – cheddar cheese rarebit or Stilton with Tawny port – and slather over warm crusty bread. La Fromagerie in Marylebone and Highbury are two other cheese havens.

Twinings Tea Shop – Did you know Twinings started off selling coffee in 1706? The founder Thomas Twining quickly moved to tea when he saw a gap in a market flooded with coffee shops. Now owned by Associated British Foods, its long and narrow store on the Strand stocks over 200 flavours of tea (as does its online shop). The affable, tenth generation Stephen Twining is the Director of Corporate Relations and brand ambassador travelling the world promoting tea. He’ll be in Dubai later this year, so more  on him when he’s here.

Fortnum & Mason – The Grocer to the Queen (I reckon she orders Marmite) at Piccadilly. Go here to stock up on gourmet goodies, sourced from the British Isles only. The cookies in musical tins make great gifts.

Harrods –  A tourist attraction in its own right, worth a visit for the food hall alone which has, would you believe, seven floors beneath it sustaining the operation.

Escape

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons – an hour’s drive or so traffic-dependent from London, sits the picturesque village of Great Milton in Oxfordshire, and Le Manoir, as it’s affectionately known. This is Raymond Blanc’s intimate 32-room hotel and restaurant awarded two Michelin stars a year after opening in 1985, which it has remarkably held ever since. The nine-course French-inspired discovery menu served in the conservatory-style room changes with the seasons (click here to see our feast), and come spring and summer most of the ingredients are sourced from Raymond’s organic garden which grows over 90 vegetables and 70 herbs. Even though there’s something so endearing about roaring log fires, if you’re after freshness and purity in ingredients, it’s best to visit Le Manoir in the warmer months…well if the UK ever hots up that is. The on-site cooking school runs full day intensive courses including lunch, which we cooked ourselves of course. Oh and each guest suite has its own theme personally designed by Raymond Blanc – mine was Opium…Orient meets Arabia. Go for two nights if you can.

I tried and tasted all these restaurants and gourmet retailers over two recent trips. Here are more recommendations from an earlier London visit. For further information on all things British, check out the Visit Britain website here. On my trip last month, I stayed at the Royal Garden Hotel in London with spectacular views of Kensington Gardens.

The Raymond Blanc Cookery School Experience at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons starts from AED 9,016 based on two people sharing a superior room with breakfast, a nine-course dinner, a day’s cooking class, recipes and personalised apron.

Last but not least if you’re visiting the capital or live there, do check out restaurant recommendations from fellow food bloggers, The London Foodie, London Eater, Eat Like A Girl and Cook Sister.

Or if you have any other foodie suggestions, feel free to drop in with a comment.

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

Disclosure; FooDiva was a guest of Visit Britain on a ‘Food is Great’ press trip. I may have been plied with copious amounts of food and drink, but rest assured the views expressed here are, as always, mine alone.

Inside Fogueira – I took this pic at 1am when we were leaving and the restaurant had emptied out

Dubai; Traffic is steaming on a Thursday night. Our taxi driver doesn’t know how to reach the hotel, and neither does Google maps so we decide to jump out and make our own way. The entrance is hidden away, in wait for this, a car park, in one of the JBR towers. We stumble in, literally, my heels are killing me. The lift whisks us to the 35th floor, the rooftop. The restaurant is abuzz – a cute, cosy and convivial joint all decked out in oakwood. We’re in Fogueira at the Ramada Plaza JBR, Dubai’s first dedicated Brazilian churrascaria. They are popping up across Dubai as quickly as it takes to skewer the barbequed meat. In the space of six months, we now have three.

The hostess guides us to our reserved table in the corner, but we change our mind and opt for al fresco, overlooking twinkly Dubai. There’s no menu. It’s an all-you-can eat deal, and drink…a trio of hot appetisers rock up. Hot cheesy mini bread rolls – baked with tapioca flour. Am pretty sure the cheese is parmesan, unless it’s the Brazilian equivalent? Warm and stodgy in a good comforting way. Coxinhas – Portuguese for chicken thigh, a typical dish of many South American countries, Brazil included – basically fine shreds of chicken, coated in wheat flour and deep fried. Croquette-like. Yep you’re good, we like you. Deep-fried banana – well that needs no explanation. I would have much preferred this one for dessert.

A quick glance at the salad bar inside, but with pretty standard fare, nothing really stands out – a quinoa salad is by far the most adventurous dish. Ready to commence the churrascaria fest, our waiter tells us (at the start of our evening) to turn over our coasters from red to green. Of course in the dim lighting, we forget until we are reminded. Here the meat is roasted on charcoal, but back in Brazil, wood is sometimes used. Churrasco-style cooking originates from southern Brazil’s Pampa region when the gaucho cowboys cooked their meat over open flames. Infact Fogueira translates to bonfire. Nowadays, passadores, aka meat waiters, arrive at the table with metre-long skewers speared with all types and cuts of meat, which are carved in front of you.

Meat roasting away on the BBQ

At Fogueira, there’s chicken – medallions and chunky thighs, lamb – chops and diced – and every cut of beef you can imagine, but whilst all the meat is succulent and tender, it’s the Brazilian picanha or rump cap with its slither thin layer of fat that truly stands out for its juicy, caramelised flavour. Oh and there’s barbequed pineapple in between the meat fest which makes for a great palate cleanser. Our accompaniments are served on the table in retro Creuset-like pots – rice, polenta, black beans, mashed potato and farofa – the latter a cassava flour mix toasted with beef bacon. We’re so engrossed in all the meat, we hardly touch the sides. And we forget to turn the coasters over when we need a break, so the meat flows endlessly. One thing’s for sure, this is no restaurant for veggies.

The waiting staff certainly know their meat and can’t do enough for us – but they are a little too attentive for our liking which I put down to the fact my cover is blown. I know this because the sweet waiter whips out a photo of me as we are leaving – bless him, we do have a giggle – as does he. Despite booking with Roundmenu, I am clearly gonna to have to don wigs from now on – anyone know a good supplier?

In the meantime, Fogueira offers a reasonably priced deal for quality meat in a buzzing setting, once you figure out how to get there. With a samba show thrown in, it makes a fab choice for a celebratory and raucous gathering with friends. A couple of other dedicated churrascarias have followed Fogueira’s lead, all beginning with F bizarrely (details below). I don’t know if this town can really sustain three Brazilian restaurants in such close proximity, given that many other South-American restaurants here also serve this barbequed feast. Do you?

Fogueira is located on the 35th floor of the Ramada Plaza JBR at JBR Bahar Tower (car park entrance on the side road). T: +971 4 4398888. The all-you-can eat deal is priced at AED 260 per person including soft beverages, plus another AED 100 for unlimited booze (caipirinhas, beer and vino). Book on RoundMenu and you’ll get a 25% discount on food any night of the week! Open daily for dinner, as well as lunch on weekends. Licensed.

Fogo Vivo is located at the Ocean View Hotel JBR. T; + 971 4 8145599, E; ovh@jaresorts.com AED 250 per person for a similar deal. Open daily for dinner and for lunch on weekends. Licensed.

Frevo is located at Fairmont The Palm. T; +971 4 4573457, E; palm.dining@fairmont.com Open daily for dinner (AED 295 per person) and brunch on Friday (AED 295 with soft beverages, AED 475 inclusive of booze – not champagne). Licensed.

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x