HEBA RUMHEIN WHY ME? WHY NOT

BY SEYMONE MOODLEY

Siraj Restaurant Dubai was awarded the Best Middle Eastern Restaurant at the prestigious Leaders in F&B Awards 2022. The fine dining venue is renowned for its authentic Emirati Levantine cuisine and its name, 'Siraj' which means 'lamp’ in Arabic perfectly embodies the warmth and hospitality the restaurant strives to offer guests.

The restaurant's interiors are elegantly designed with traditional Emirati elements, including intricate wooden screens, patterned rugs, and ornate light fixtures.

The menu at Siraj Restaurant is a tribute to Emirati cuisine, featuring a wide range of traditional dishes prepared with the freshest ingredients. The restaurant prides itself on using only the finest quality ingredients sourced from local markets, and the chefs use traditional cooking methods to bring out the authentic flavours of each dish.

Some of the signature dishes at Siraj Restaurant include lamb machboos, which is a spicy rice dish made with tender lamb and aromatic spices. Another must-try dish is the grilled hammour, a local fish marinated with herbs and spices and served with fragrant rice. The restaurant's famous luqaimat, which are small fried dough balls drizzled with sweet syrup and are an absolute must for dessert.

The woman behind Siraj is, Heba Rumhein is of Syrian origin. Born in a city called Qamishli, located on the Syria–Turkey border to hotelier parents, Heba’s path into hospitality began at a very young age. She recounts, “When I was 13 years old, I developed a passion for cooking. I regularly read recipes from magazines and collected them with the aim of cooking in my mother's kitchen. However, my mother was very protective of her kitchen and did not allow anyone to enter it, fearing it would become messy. So, I had to wait for school holidays and sneak into the kitchen while she was at work. After preparing meals, I cleaned the kitchen and left a portion for my mother to taste. Initially, she thought that our neighbors had sent us the dishes to taste, and she never believed that I had cooked them. I had to show her the recipes I had taken from the magazines to prove that it was my work. Eventually, she gave me her blessing to cook every Friday for the family.”

Being a professional chef and running the operations of their family hotel, Heba's mother was an expert in the kitchen. Therefore, when she gave her thirteen-yearold daughter her blessing to cook, it was a special recognition and honour for Heba.

During Heba's childhood, her father held the position of Head of Agriculture in Syria, and Qamishli was recognised as the primary area for the agriculture sector. The town was a melting pot of cultures, including Armenian, Assyrian Christian, and Kurdish. As a result, people were exposed to a diverse range of cuisines, which inspired Heba to explore culinary offerings from each culture.

When Heba moved to Damascus, she encountered a new style of cooking that differed from what she had grown accustomed to in Qamishli. However, she learned new recipes from her grandmother, which had different techniques from those she observed in her hometown. Although they were the same dishes, the cooking methods were entirely different.

Heba further strengthened her hospitality career when she moved to the GCC over twenty years ago. She recalls, “Nineteen years ago, I began my career in hospitality as an Event Manager at Madinat Jumeirah. In this role, I oversaw the events and catering department for five years before receiving a promotion to Associate Director of Events at Jumeirah Group. Dur- ing my time at Madinat Jumeirah, I organized various events, including weddings, the Dubai Film Festival, and car launch events. I collaborated with the chefs to create menus, supervised the food plating and presentation. As part of a large team of experts, I played a key role in establishing the Majlis and contributed to designing the food menu with the assistance of the chefs.

After leaving Madinat Jumeirah, I joined Atlantis

The Palm as Director of Events and Catering. There, I contributed to the creation of Asateer, a venue that is not only used for Ramadan Iftar and Suhour but also serves as a strategic venue for hosting major events and weddings.”

After many years of successfully managing the Majlis in Madinat Jumeirah, the Asateer tent in Atlantis The Palm, and the setup of MBC Ramadan Tent, Heba began to receive recognition for her exceptional operational and logistical skills. People took notice of her ability to run large-scale events and were impressed with her behind-the-scenes management style. This recognition gave Heba the confidence to pursue her dream of owning her own restaurant. She thought, "Why not? I've been running tents that cater to almost 1000 guests regularly, so why couldn't I run my own restaurant?" The answer was clear: she could, and she did.

The Siraj story began during Heba's vacation in Oman when she dined at a restaurant owned by the Late Sultan bin Qaboos of Oman. The restaurant served Omani food in a fine dining presentation, and it was Heba's first experience witnessing Khaleeji cuisine served in this manner. The Late Sultan bin Qaboos was personally involved in all restaurant details at that time, making the whole experience a "WOW" moment in time. On her way back to Dubai, Heba realized that there was no Emirati restaurant in the UAE that offered traditional Emirati food in a fine dining style. Given Dubai's reputation for being at the forefront of innovation across all offerings, she saw an opportunity to create the first Emirati cuisine concept with a fine dining touch mixed with her traditional Levantine heritage to the menu.

At the time, the main challenge was finding a prime location for the restaurant since these locations were only given to established franchises and well-known brands. This was a disappointment for her. However, an old shisha supplier who had worked with her in the past reached out and offered to partner with her to establish his own restaurant. Impressed with her success at such a young age, he offered her a 60% ownership stake in the restaurant with him holding the remaining 40%. The available venue was located in Souq Al Bahar in 2015. Inspired by the Omani restaurant she had visited, she aimed for an upper casual dining concept with 360 seats instead of fine dining due to capacity limitations. Creating the menu and presentation was a challenge as Emirati cuisine is rich in main course dishes, but lacks variety in appetiz- ers, salads, and cold and hot mezze. To address this, she merged Levantine cuisine with Emirati cuisine to offer a wider range of dishes and added value to the concept.

The moment guests step into Siraj, they are captivated by the blend of Levantine and Emirati cultures reflected in the restaurant's interiors. Poetic phrases by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, adorn the walls made of sand and stones, which respectively represent the desert and Levantine heritages. The authenticity of both cultures is further enhanced by the freshly baked Saj and Reqaq bread, and the unique presentation of dishes like the Biryani wrapped to perfection. It's no wonder that guests absolutely adore their experience at Siraj.

According to Heba operating an F&B business in Dubai is an uphill battle, given the cutthroat competition that has set a high bar for service quality, culinary offerings, staffing, and resources. Surviving and thriving in such an environment is a heroic feat in itself. Keeping up with the latest culinary trends and striving to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction are crucial in this industry while keeping standards for food and service remain exceptionally high.

Heba is also the owner of The H Concepts and Events, an organisation that offers event concepts, entertainment, production, catering, and other logistical services.

She adds, “After joining MBC, I founded Eventique, the event management arm of the MBC Group, and ran it for seven years. Under the Eventique umbrella, we successfully managed numerous high-profile events, including the Arab Economic Forum, Dubai Film Festival, and Souq Okaz. However, when I left MBC to start my own restaurant, the company was closed down as I was the only person who knew how to run it. Therefore, I acquired all of Eventique's assets and, together with the original team, established The H Concept. We continued Eventique's successful legacy, managing and executing various large-scale events, including royal weddings in UAE, Oman, KSA, and Azerbaijan. Our services encompassed event concept development, entertainment, production, catering, and logistics, among others. The Dubai Film Festival holds a special place in my heart, closely followed by Souk Okaz, which were among the first events hosted in KSA.”

Heba says the most rewarding aspect of being a hospitality entrepreneur is the constant challenge of surpassing oneself. Every day presents an opportunity to achieve new milestones and excel. She wakes up each morning and asks herself how she can differentiate her business, add value for her customers, and become a role model in the industry. As a culinary professional, she is constantly pushing herself to be innovative and creative in her endeavors. She is now the sole owner of Siraj after buying out her partner's share, and according to Heba it's time to expand the brand and open new restaurants, particularly in KSA and other potential locations.

“THE MOMENT GUESTS STEP INTO SIRAJ, THEY ARE CAPTIVATED BY THE BLEND OF LEVANTINE AND EMIRATI CULTURES REFLECTED IN THE RESTAURANT'S INTERIORS. POETIC PHRASES BY HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM, VICE PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER OF THE UAE AND RULER OF DUBAI, ADORN THE WALLS MADE OF SAND AND STONES, WHICH RESPECTIVELY REPRESENT THE DESERT AND LEVANTINE HERITAGES."