An Icon Goes Global – Interview with Founder of Orange Hospitality, Omar Saideh

WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS

An Icon Goes Global

Homegrown restaurant concept Il Borro Tuscan Bistro Dubai is going global. The group’s founder, Omar Saideh, discusses global expansion for the restaurant and what the future holds for Orange Hospitality

Can you talk us through your career history? I started my career in the family business where I put my entrepreneurship background to practice and eventually discovered my passion for the hospitality industry. Shortly a er, I decided to found my own hospitality company and launched Orange Hospitality. My longterm vision was to expand globally and translate cultures, cuisines, and cra manship into authentic and immersive hospitality experiences. Today, our competitive F&B portfolio consists of three unique dining concepts across Dubai – with three exciting new launches set to take place in Q4 of this year. What inspired you to launch Orange Hospitality? When starting Orange Hospitality, I saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market with extraordinary culinary concepts and complement the industry rather than oversaturate it. I challenge myself to always bring something new to the F&B industry. Our concepts are representations of real culinary journeys from different parts of the world. In building our brands, we travel across countries, we study the roots, we magnify the details, we immerse ourselves, and we tell a story. With a continuously growing portfolio, we have come far from when we first launched Orange Hospitality, but our journey is just beginning.

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At Orange Hospitality, we own and operate a diverse collection cessfully established our restaurants in the UAE, the global expanof food and beverage concepts. Our reach extends deeply in the mar- sion plan for Orange Hospitality is the next step for us, and we are kets we operate in as we have a diverse team of hospitality profes- thrilled to begin this journey in the UK. sionals who have both local and international expertise. By immers- How does the F&B industry here di er from other locations globally? ing ourselves in every detail of a project from feasibility and market Dubai is one of the most competitive and exciting food hubs worldresearch to menu engineering and kitchen design, the F&B concepts wide and we are excited to lead the way with new culinary openings. we create at Orange Hospitality have a distinct niche and competi- This city has successfully established itself as a noteworthy food tive market advantage. destination, with a wealth of both homegrown and internationally Since launching in 2016, how has the brand evolved? Within a span known brands. It has become a breeding ground for entrepreneurs of five years, Orange Hospitality has proved itself to be an industry looking to establish a presence and grow internationally. The F&B leader, achieving numerous awards for Il Borro Tuscan Bistro Dubai industry in Dubai is also highly influenced by rapidly changing and Alici Dubai, with Il Borro Tuscan Bistro Dubai being recently consumer behaviour, so we are always innovating and anticipating crowned as the Restaurant of the Year in town. Orange Hospitality trends to stay ahead of the competition. remains at the top of its game, not only with the launch of Il Borro How do you think Il Borro will stand out in the London market? What Tuscan Bistro London, but with an exciting line-up of new concepts will set Il Borro Tuscan Bistro London apart is the fact that it’s not set to open in Dubai later this year, Josette in ICD Brookfield and just an Italian restaurant; it’s a culture, a lifestyle, and a philosoMaya Bay in Jumeirah Al Naseem Hotel. phy that we take from the Ferragamo family and the Il Borro estate’s Your hero brand is Il Borro Dubai. What was your aim for the restau- vision to promote Tuscan cuisine with the use of wholesome and rant when it launched in 2016? Originating from the illustrious Fer- quality ingredients. Il Borro Tuscan Bistro London translates these ragamo family, the Il Borro Estate in Tuscany promotes biodiversity beliefs through an authentic Italian dining experience in an elegant with its farm-to-table vision. I sought to bring a piece of the estate’s and refined atmosphere. The restaurant will also feature an exclurich heritage to Dubai, to showcase tra- sive Private Dining Room overlooking ditional Italian dishes using fresh and Berkeley Street, giving our guests a seasonal ingredients. Set against Jumeirah Al Naseem’s picturesque turtle “Our success in more intimate and personalised experience. We are bringing something timelagoon, Il Borro is a place where guests can enjoy authentic Tuscan flavours in creating unforgettable less and truly distinct to the market that is impossible to replicate. a refined dining atmosphere. I was inspired to bring an original and elegant culinary experiences What are the hurdles you’ve experienced during your career to date? restaurant experience to Dubai that would make every guest leave with the has been recognised When COVID-19 devastated the F&B industry, our company was put to desire to come back. Our success in creating unforgettable culinary experi- throughout the years the test. Both Il Borro and Alici were forced to close as part of the governences has been recognised throughout the years and we continue to garner ac- and we continue ment’s e orts to curb the pandemic. It was definitely challenging for all of us, colades along the way. Can you talk us through all of your ven- to garner accolades but at Orange Hospitality, we made it a priority to look a er our people. At a tures in the region? Our growing portfolio of F&B concepts includes award- along the way.” time when most companies focused on recovering their loss from the months winning restaurant Il Borro Tuscan that the restaurants were closed, we Bistro Dubai which opened in 2016, did not allow the pandemic to comproAmalfi-coast inspired seafood restaurant Alici launched in 2019 and mise our team’s future in the company. It did not come easy, but we recently opened homegrown chef concept Fulvio’s. Il Borro Tuscan have managed to overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic, Bistro Dubai continues to deliver a true farm-to-table concept in a and I owe it to my team’s solidarity and determination. sophisticated setting. We are proud to have been recognised as ‘Res- On the opposite end of the spectrum, what have been the key miletaurant of the Year’ for three years and also hold the title of ‘Best stones? Winning our first Restaurant of the Year award during Italian’ for four consecutive years now. With our South Italian sea- our opening year for Il Borro Tuscan Bistro Dubai was a defining food restaurant Alici, we bring genuine flavours from the southern moment for all of us. And shortly a er opening Alici, we received Italian coastline to Dubai. Our culinary team, led by chef Domenico multiple recognitions including What’s On Newcomer of the Year Santagada, has curated a selection of Amalfi and South Italian spe- in 2019. It has been a pleasure to watch our restaurants go from cialities including a wide range of raw seafood delicacies. strength to strength, and the awards only motivated us to strive

The latest edition to our culinary lineup is our homegrown, for more and continuously improve. The key to achieving this is by chef-driven Italian concept Fulvio’s. Headed by Chef Fulvio Opalio, constantly innovating, adapting to market changes, and investing in Fulvio’s opened earlier this year at Time Out Market Dubai and fo- our strongest asset – our team. cuses on wholesome, homemade Italian cuisine. Q4 in 2021 will be What’s next for Orange Hospitality? The possibilities surrounding a very exciting time for us as we launch Il Borro Tuscan Bistro in Orange Hospitality’s growth are coming to the fore this year, with London, our Parisian dining concept Josette in ICD Brookfield and the opening of Il Borro Tuscan Bistro London, the launch of our very Maya Bay in Jumeirah Al Naseem Hotel, Dubai. own Parisian concept Josette in ICD Brookfield, and the opening of You’re now opening Il Borro in London, how did the opportunity arise Japanese-Thai concept, Mayabay Restaurant, also set to open in to do so? Since opening in Dubai, Il Borro Tuscan Bistro has consis- Jumeirah Al Naseem later this year. Our vision for Orange Hospitaltently provided a world-class dining experience, and we are looking ity is to introduce more innovative concepts to the world, take our forward to delivering the same distinctive hospitality to our guests brands global and continue to expand our footprint in every major in Mayfair taking over Nobu on 15 Berkeley Street. A er having suc- city – Paris, New York, Riyadh and Monaco.