Q&A with SARA AQEL

When did you know you wanted to become a chef?

The minute I first cooked for my family and friends; I was probably 14!

Almost everyone thinks that going to culinary school is when your culinary journey starts; I’m here to tell you it’s not. For me, it started when I first cooked in a professional kitchen, with a team that was a lot more experienced than I was, in a restaurant that caters to the top class of Hong Kong and that pressure and sense of responsibility for learning better, doing better, delivering better was where the journey really started. What does success look like for you as a chef? (fame, Michelin stars, your own restaurant, your own cooking show etc?)

It’s building a community through my own restaurant.

What does a signature dish need to have for it to be a signature?

Identity, history, and personality. My experience working with award winning culinary destinations from around the world has taught me to see food and heritage from a different perspective every time.

How do you come up with your signature dishes?

Nostalgic flavors, sceneries, smells, faces, and traditions are my key ingredients to any signature dish.

How did The Abu Dhabi EDITION collaboration come to be?

I’ve always wanted to visit the capital and explore its culinary traditions and get to know the community. I wanted to create signature dishes that represent my personal culinary philosophy while also blending in key ingredients and dishes from the region. Thankfully, The Abu Dhabi EDITION made that happen and the result was a beautifully cohesive menu.

The EDITION Hotel group is an unexpected and refreshing collection of individualized, customized, one-of-akind hotels that redefine the codes of traditional luxury. The opportunity to collaborate with The Abu Dhabi EDITION was a chance that I couldn’t miss! The property is modern, edgy and is famous for its dining venues, it simply aligns perfectly with what I do.

How do you want people to experience your food?

By making it their own experience and creating memories out of it.

Your favourite childhood dish?

Chicken Fatteh for lunch and rice pudding for dessert.

When you aren't cooking what are you eating?

Makloubeh, ramen, tacos!

BY PANOS LOUPASIS,

MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR