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Let the Ingredients Do the Work—We Are Just Cooks

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Exclusive Interview with Joey, Culinary Director at Foodie Holdings

You’ve worked in Michelin-starred and rosette-awarded kitchens in London. How has that shaped your approach to fine dining in Dubai’s dynamic food scene?

Coming from the world of Michelin-starred restaurants to catering is a completely different challenge—there’s no direct comparison. I wanted to push myself in a new environment, learn different operational skills, and work across a wide range of demographics and themes. Joining Foodie Holdings was an exciting opportunity because the company already had a strong reputation in the catering world. I was able to take my fine dining background and adapt it to the diverse environments we work in. It’s an exhilarating process—I’m constantly creating new dishes and evolving ideas every day.

You redesign Dish’s menu every year. How do you stay ahead of global culinary trends, and what inspires your creativity?

I’m always exploring—whether it’s traveling, dining out, or scrolling through Instagram and TikTok (even my son keeps me updated on trends). I constantly take photos of dishes that inspire me and log flavors throughout the year. When it comes time to refresh the menu, my team and I analyze the balance of flavors, the visual impact of the dishes, and how we can execute them at the highest level. It’s about blending creativity with flawless execution to deliver an unforgettable experience for our clients.

What’s one culinary trend you’re excited about right now, and how are you incorporating it into your menus?

I love revisiting classic dishes and bringing them into the modern world. Some timeless flavors deserve a fresh perspective. Take tiramisu—it’s a traditional Italian dessert that has made a big comeback. I reimagined it as a Tiramisu Cannoli canapé—fun, exciting, packed with bold flavors, and visually stunning. It’s all about respecting the classics while giving them a new life.

When creating a bespoke menu for an event, how do you balance client expectations with your own creative vision?

It all starts with understanding the client’s vision. I gather as much detail as possible—mood boards, cuisine preferences, colors, even plating styles. Then, I research modern techniques and presentation ideas while considering the operational side. I keep an open mind and work collaboratively with clients to bring their vision to life, guiding them through the process while ensuring the dishes are both visually striking and full of flavor.

What are the unique challenges of catering for large-scale events compared to traditional restaurant service, and how do you manage them?

In a restaurant, service is staggered throughout the day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—allowing chefs more time to focus on each dish. Catering is completely different. We have to create stunning plates with intense flavors at scale, in a short time frame. My approach is to build maximum flavor into the mise en place stage, so when it comes to execution at the event, the process is smooth, efficient, and delivers the same level of quality as a plated restaurant dish.

As Ramadan approaches, how do you approach crafting special menus that reflect the spirit of the season while adding your own creative touch?

For Ramadan, I honor Arabic flavors and classic dishes but always with a creative twist. I also draw inspiration from across the Middle East—incorporating Moroccan, Turkish, and even Serbian flavors. Each region has its own unique spices and techniques, and blending them into classic Arabic dishes creates something fresh and memorable. It’s about celebrating tradition while adding an unexpected flair.

Hospitality

SAN CARLO, THE ITALIAN RESTAURANT UAE TRAVELLERS ARE BOOKING THIS LONDON SUMMER

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As Dubai residents pack their bags for a London summer, San Carlo is quickly becoming the go-to booking for UAE travellers craving authentic Italian food, with two London locations ready to welcome them.

Tucked just steps from Harrods on Hans Road, San Carlo in Knightsbridge has been a staple part of London’s Italian dining scene for over three decades, loved for its glamorous dining room, classic menu and warm, family-run hospitality. On the edge of Mayfair, Cicchetti brings its Venetian-inspired, all-day small-plates menu to Piccadilly, with a fresh new interior that’s perfect for sharing good food and good company. Whether travellers fancy a classic, glamorous dinner or a laid-back share-plate evening, both spots sit just minutes from Knightsbridge and Mayfair’s favourite hotels and boutiques.

For the many UAE visitors who make London home for the summer, both restaurants offer something special, a dining experience that feels instantly familiar, like catching up with an old friend. In addition, both restaurants also offer private dining for those travelling with family or friends, making them a lovely choice for group bookings this summer.

Founded by the Distefano family in Birmingham back in 1992, San Carlo Group has won over food lovers across the Gulf through sister restaurants Signor Sassi and Cicchetti, with locations in Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Al Khobar and Jeddah. The same spirit, authentic Italian food, genuine hospitality and no pretence, runs through every restaurant in the group, whether it’s in London or the Gulf.

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Hospitality

SERENITY – THE ART OF WELL BEING CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY

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Serenity – The Art of Well Being is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, marking a decade devoted to the art of caring, to continuous innovation and to building a new vision of well-being. Over the past ten years, the brand has established itself as one of Portugal’s most prestigious names in the world of luxury well-being, distinguished by an approach that elevates well-being to its fullest, most transformative expression.

Founded in the Algarve in 2016, Serenity embarked on a journey defined by sustained growth and a relentless pursuit of excellence, expanding its presence both nationally and internationally to destinations such as Lisbon, Cascais and Dubai. In 2024, the brand marked a significant milestone in its international expansion with the opening of Serenity at Fairmont The Palm, Dubai, bringing its distinctive approach to well-being to one of the city’s most iconic destinations. In 2026, Serenity is preparing to open three new spaces – two in Portugal and one in Dubai – reinforcing its mission to make deeply meaningful well-being experiences increasingly accessible across different geographies.

More than a spa, Serenity represents an integrated 360° well-being ecosystem, designed to meet the physical, mental and emotional needs of the contemporary individual. Its offering brings together complementary concepts such as ACTIVE by Serenity, dedicated to movement, performance and recovery, and the healthy restaurant ZEST, where mindful nutrition plays a central role in promoting health and vitality.

In a decade marked by profound shifts in the way we understand self-care, Serenity has stood out for its ability to anticipate and set trends, introducing new concepts and innovative approaches to the national market. From longevity to physical recovery, from health optimisation to nervous system regulation, the brand has continually integrated experiences and therapies that address the challenges of modern life, fostering a deeper balance between body and mind. Intravenous therapies, ice baths and specialised recovery programmes are just some examples of a vision that sees well-being not as an isolated moment, but as a continuous and conscious practice woven into clients’ lifestyles.

Today, more than ever, true luxury lies in the ability to slow down, recover, reconnect and invest in one’s own health. It is within this space of balance, presence and longevity that Serenity continues to assert its identity, creating experiences designed to restore energy, promote mental clarity and cultivate a lasting state of well-being.

“We celebrate these ten years with deep gratitude and a sense of purpose, proud of a journey shaped by our ability to anticipate the future of well-being. This path has been built by the team members, partners and clients who believed in our vision from day one and who, every day, entrust us with their well-being. Throughout this decade, we have sought to contribute to a new way of living well – more integrated, more conscious and profoundly human. More than following trends, our commitment has always been to create transformative experiences that bring physical and mental health together and enable people to care for themselves in a genuine and sustainable way. It was with the conviction that well-being has the power to change the way we live that we built Serenity – The Art of Well Being. After a decade of continuous innovation, that purpose is more alive than ever. We look to the years ahead with a strong ambition to grow, determined to keep redefining the standards of excellence and to lead the future of this industry,” says Maria d’Orey, Founder & Global Director of Serenity.

Internationally recognised through numerous awards and a reference in the well-being and hospitality sectors, Serenity has been honoured over the past decade, among others, at the World Luxury Spa Awards, with distinctions including World’s Best Luxury Wellness Centre and World’s Best Spa Development Group.

10 Years | 10 Days | 10 Offers Campaign

As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, Serenity is turning the tables and sharing the gifts with those who matter most: its clients. Because the best way to celebrate is to share the journey with those who have always been there, the brand has created an exclusive July campaign: 10 days filled with 10 well-being experiences. The anniversary line-up includes unmissable offers such as complimentary access to the pool and beach, 50% off on the Matcha menu at Mashrabiya lounge, personalised physical assessments and a complimentary experience in the Aurum Suite when booking a couple’s treatment, among many others. Prior reservations are required through the spa WhatsApp number.

This initiative marks the start of a special anniversary program that reflects the brand’s ongoing commitment to the evolution of well-being and to creating experiences that are ever more emotional, conscious and personalised.

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Hospitality

FIRE AND FLAVOUR: RODEO DRIVE IBN BATTUTA GATE TEASES THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEW FOOD MENU

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Rodeo Drive, Ibn Battuta Gate is set to launch its revamped food menu that reenvisions that homely, authentic All American grill house feeling. Brought to life by a chef whose cooking draws on decades spent across Mexico, Texas and Dubai.

Built around the restaurant’s centrepiece Asado Grill, especially imported from the U.S.A., to cook over open flame, flawlessly seasoned meats and seafood. A new introduction to Rodeo Drive’s kitchen is its succulent, slow-cooked smoked meats prepared painstakingly inhouse by our chefs.

The new menu offerings trades predictability for something more authentic, a menu that reads like a road trip along America’s Deep South to its border with Mexico. Alongside familiar favourites such as it’s Cowboy Tomahawk Steak, 1.3kg’s of mouth-watering Black Angus meat perfectly catered to be shared amongst friends, Rodeo Drive’s new menu journey starts with smoke and flames.

The Rodeo Drive Mix Grill Plater is a generous assortment of tender meats such as 1kg of tender 15 hour slow-cooked brisket, 7 day cured Pastrami meats, delectable sausage and juicy Blackened Half Chicken served with home-made BBQ sauce and two sides of your choice. The new menu’s range stretches beyond red meat too, with a Whole Blackened Seabream and Cajun Tiger Prawns bringing a coastal, herbaceous counterpart seasoned lightly enough to let the fire do most of the talking.

That same instinct carries through the smaller plates. The Nashville Hot Chicken Burger offers butter-milked fried chicken, dressed with Nashville hot glaze sauce, tangy coleslaw, melted cheddar cheese and served in brioche buns. A sure-fire favourite being introduced is the Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata Skillet, a dish with a sensory assortment of textures and flavours with blistered roasted tomatoes, fermented spicy honey, rich and creamy burrata cheese drizzled with chilly basil oil and served with toasted grilled sourdough bread.

Nothing on the menu reads as an imitation of a genre. It feels closer to raw material, reworked.

Behind that instinct is Head Chef Walter Melo, a Mexico City native whose 23 years cooking across Mexico, Texas and Dubai inform what he calls Cocina de Autor, a personal style built on curiosity and restraint in equal measure. Formal training at Mexico’s Colegio Superior de Gastronomía sharpened that instinct early, and years spent across demanding kitchens since have only deepened it. “I cook the way I grew up eating, honest and full of flavour,” said Chef Melo. “This menu is simply that instinct on a plate, nothing dressed up, nothing hiding behind the fire.”

That philosophy shapes the whole dining room, not just what lands on the plate. Rodeo Drive’s live fire cooking takes centre stage in its theatre. Deliberately visible, the Asado Grill is positioned as the heart of the space, so the drama of the flames becomes part of the experience itself. It is a menu built on decades of cooking across cultures, brought together on one plate rather than kept apart.

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