A Little India, A Little Middle East: How Food Is Bringing Cultures Together in the UAE

The UAE’s food culture is a reflection of the many communities that call the country home. Indian, Middle Eastern and international flavours have become part of the everyday food landscape, with familiar dishes often picking up new influences along the way. For Za’atar Day on 23 September, iD Fresh Food is bringing two of these food cultures together with its Za’atar Parota.

The idea is simple, a familiar Indian staple meets one of the region’s much-loved flavours. The result is a crispy, flaky, layered parota with aromatic za’atar, bringing a distinctly Middle Eastern touch to an everyday favourite. It is a combination that fits naturally into the UAE, where different food traditions regularly come together.

iD Fresh Food’s Za’atar Parota

The Za’atar Parota brings the bold, aromatic flavour of za’atar inside a hot, flaky and layered parota. At iD Fresh Food, clean label is an uncompromising standard – no preservatives, no artificial colours, no artificial flavours, no emulsifiers, no stabilisers, no raising agents, no anti-caking agents and no unnecessary chemicals. The same standard applies to every ingredient that goes into making the product.

The Za’atar Parota can be enjoyed straight off the pan with hummus, labneh or your favourite dip. It also reflects iD Fresh Food’s approach to building its presence in the UAE. The company entered the market in 2013 and has since expanded its portfolio to suit the tastes and eating habits of a diverse consumer base, while continuing to follow its clean-label approach.

The product is one example of how familiar food formats can be adapted for the local market without losing what makes them familiar in the first place, bringing together the comfort of a parota with a flavour that is already well known across the region. Availability: The Za’atar Parota is available across selected hypermarkets in the UAE and on noon.

IDeaS, a SAS company and the world’s leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, has deployed the G3 Revenue Management System (RMS) at Giza Palace Hotel & Spa in Cairo, Egypt.

A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Giza Palace Hotel & Spa is a brand-new luxury hotel in a prime location in West Cairo. The grandiose hotel features 560 rooms, eight distinctive dining venues, a spa, and extensive conference and meeting facilities. Blending architectural excellence with a curated art collection, the hotel is renowned for its exceptional service and guest experience.

The hotel is owned by Travco Group International, whose hospitality arm, the JAZ Hotel Group, is one of the region’s most prominent hotel operators, with a growing portfolio of over 68 hotels and resorts across Egypt and Zanzibar.

The deployment of IDeaS G3 RMS enables the hotel team to optimize revenue management decisions through precise forecasting, dynamic pricing, and inventory management, as well as streamlined group displacement evaluations and the automation of routine tasks.

A key factor in Giza Palace Hotel & Spa’s selection was IDeaS’ ability to effectively manage the complexity of its inventory. With more than 11 room and suite types across three room categories and eight suite configurations, the property requires advanced predictive analytics to position each room type competitively in one of the region’s most dynamic markets.

IDeaS’ Group Pricing capability addresses another critical segment of the business – the projected impact of displaced demand across their diverse inventory mix – by delivering real-time insights into the value of group business. Designed for speed and simplicity, the feature enables better-informed decisions that account for the full depth of the hotel’s offering, while preserving commercial flexibility.

Alaa Akel, CEO & Chairman JAZ Hotel Group commented:“Giza Palace was created with a clear ambition to set a new benchmark for luxury hospitality in Cairo.  Our partnership with IDeaS supports that vision bringing advanced revenue management capabilities to our commercial strategy, allowing us to make smarter decisions, respond to market demand and drive sustainable growth.”

Ibrahim Saba, Principal Sales Director – Europe, Middle East & Africa at IDeaS commented: “Giza Palace Hotel & Spa is exactly the kind of landmark property where intelligent revenue management makes a measurable difference. With a large inventory and a significant conferencing operation, the team is managing considerable complexity across multiple revenue streams. G3 RMS gives them the forecasting precision and group pricing intelligence to ensure every booking reflects the true commercial value of each piece of business.”

VEGO Cafe and Confectionery is entering a new chapter with the launch of its full-service kitchen concept, transforming the homegrown brand from a neighbourhood café into a comprehensive vegetarian dining destination. 

Built on years of customer feedback, catering experience and growing demand for more diverse vegetarian options, the expansion reflects VEGO’s commitment to offering greater variety without compromising on quality or flavour. 

“While Dubai’s dining scene continues to evolve, we identified a gap for a concept that brings together premium ingredients, innovative cooking and accessible pricing within a fully vegetarian setting. This expansion has allowed us to move beyond café favourites and introduce a broader menu that spans everything from street-style chaats and handcrafted dim sums to pizzas, pastas and traditional Indian curries.” said Kashyap Sajnani, Co-founder and Managing Director of VEGO Cafe and Confectionery. 

Inspired by Indian flavours, family traditions, global travel and Dubai’s diverse culinary landscape, the new menu reflects VEGO’s philosophy of combining comfort food with thoughtful innovation. Signature dishes include the Ghewar Chaat, Gochujang Tofu Bowl, Sindhi Curry, Indian Handrolls, Dim Sums and VEGO’s signature Mango Dessert. The expanded menu is also available for catering, extending VEGO’s new offering beyond the dining space for private gatherings, celebrations and events. 

Nearly all components, including sauces, spice blends and key ingredients, are prepared in-house to ensure consistency, quality and value, while the breadth of the menu has been designed to appeal to diners of all ages. 

Complementing the culinary expansion is a refreshed visual identity that reflects VEGO’s growth while retaining the warmth, vibrancy and approachable character that customers have come to know and love. As part of the expansion, the space has also been renovated and the brand logo refreshed, giving the café a renewed look to match its next chapter. The updated look reinforces the brand’s long-term vision of becoming a go-to destination for vegetarian dining in the UAE. 

“We wanted to build a place where grandparents, parents and children can all sit around the same table and find something they genuinely love,” added Kashyap Sajnani, Co-founder and Managing Director of VEGO Cafe and Confectionery. “If people leave feeling like they’ve had an incredible meal at a fair price and can’t wait to come back, then we’ve achieved exactly what we set out to do.” 

To mark the expansion, VEGO is offering guests 15% off all dine-in orders until 31 October. Pricing across the menu remains aligned with the brand’s long-standing commitment to value-driven dining.