HOTEL VIEWS

A FEAST FOR ALL

Chef William Chaaban, executive chef at The Oberoi Beach Resort Al Zorah, elaborates on the culinary offerings at the property located within the emirate of Ajman in the UAE

What are the main culinary

choices at The Oberoi Beach Resort Al Zorah?

At Aquario, we have designed a concept with specialties from the Mediterranean coastline spanning France to Italy. Respecting traditional preparations and ingredients, we have delivered the dishes with a slightly modern twist of flavours. Vinesse, meanwhile, is our international all-day dining restaurant and serves Indian and Arabic food as well as signature offerings prepared in our Josper oven charcoal grills.

Based on the feedback of our guests, we constantly adapt our menus and raise the level of our dishes with each menu update. I use my personal experience to implement, develop and learn from the best chefs I have worked with previously from around the world.

Are there any food festivals or special experiences offered for the property?

We have started to incorporate dining experiences and promotions mainly in Vinesse, which have been largely successful. Throughout the week we have implemented different dining experiences such as Saturday roasts and mussels nights on Mondays.

A chocolate and honey tasting experience is also available for our guests. The chocolate experience involves our pastry chef explaining the entire process of making chocolate by way of our in-house chocolate production process called ‘’Bean to Bar’’. As for the honey experience, we have built a strong relationship with an organic raw honey farm that provides efficient practices with regards to stock management; and ensuring that orders and preparations are tailored and continuously adapted to current occupancy levels at the hotel.

What are some of the sustainability practices within the hotel’s culinary

operations? Sustainability is at the core of what we do and it begins with the process of searching for the right ingredients and buying them as close as we can, wherever possible. We choose the ingredients that match our sustainability programme to help the environment and we also educate the next generation of chefs on sustainable practices.

Over the last few years, I have seen our guests paying increasing attention to sustainability, and I’m very proud to see that the UAE has undertaken a lot of measures on that front and made investments toward sustainable farming, etc.

How does technology play a role in

the hotel’s dining operations? We like to personalise experiences with our guests. Having arrival reports coordinated with the reservations department and front office daily allows us to anticipate the needs of our guests and ensure that we can proactively cater to their requirements. Based on their history of preferences and our internal communications platforms, we can coordinate between departments to meet their needs and enhance their experience during their stay at the hotel.

us with its best honey. We share honeys from over eight countries with our guests, explaining its health benefits and combining it with different fruits throughout the tasting session.

What are some of the food waste reduction practices undertaken at

The Oberoi? The three main aspects that we undertake to limit food wastage include smart measures to control portion sizes; consistent and

FROM TOP: Chef William Chaaban; Vinesse; Aquario

Do you have plans to introduce new

restaurants? Our expansion plan will take place in 2024 with the addition of a third restaurant based on a ‘trattoria’ Italian cuisine concept, serving authentic Neapolitan pizzas, pasta and antipasti.