CHEF’S SPECIAL

THE BEST DISHES CURRENTLY ON MENUS AT RESTAURANTS ACROSS DUBAI – AS CHOSEN BY CHEFS THEMSELVES

IVANA BOGICEVIC

CHEF DE CUISINE, LA COCO, ANDAZ DUBAI THE PALM

What is your favorite dish on the menu?

Our Salt Dough Baked Beetroot Salad. This dish is vibrant and beautiful, the attention to detail needed to execute this makes the plating exciting and challenging.

Tell us about the dish.

Every element is meticulously picked and/or made; from the dough itself to the rocket leaves that are grown – we will soon be picking straight from our own container farm. As the star of the dish is beetroot, we have ensured the freshest produce from around the world has been picked in order to highlight its beauty. Fresh local beetroot, candied beetroot from South Africa and the Chioggia beet from Italy, all of the elements get elevated by light, crisp ingredients such as Greek yogurt, orange and green apple.

What makes it a standout dish?

It’s the epitome of La Coco and encompasses everything it stands for; fun and playful yet beautifully elevated. But apart from this, it also provides numerous health benefits, it is low in calories and is the perfect palate cleanser to start off a meal.

Where do you source the ingredients from?

We strive to get predominantly local ingredients to preserve the nutritional value. In order to do so we have introduced a container farm right here at Andaz Dubai The Palm. Here we grow our own produce. However, we also source top quality products from Italy and South Africa in order to provide the most delicious sensory explosion.

RAHUL SAJNANI

CEO & FOUNDER OF DISHTRICT & MOSHI

What is your favourite dish on the menu?

It's super tough to choose one as the Dishtrict menu is full of fusion dishes that I have created overtime and through my travels. I have a real passion for fusing flavours from various countries together, to create something unexpected and surprisingly delicious. As I can't choose one, how about the Dishtrict Volcano Maki and then the Thai Green Risotto as my favourite vegan dish on the menu.

Tell us about the dishes.

We have over nine fusion maki rolls at Moshi that include flavours from Mexico, Italy and India however my personal favourite has to be the Dishtrict Volcano Maki. This roll is a fusion of Middle Eastern flavours on a shrimp base. It also incorporates spicy mayo and four types of my favourite crisps including Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Oman, Blue and Tortilla Chips making it an explosion of flavours and textures. As for the Thai Green Risotto, this is a dish I created in homage of my love for the incredible country. I have always found it really interesting to play around with Thai herbs and who doesn't love risotto? So when experimenting, I fused these flavours together and it resulted in something mouthwateringly tasty. We predict this will be a best seller at Dishtrict for many months to come. Best of all, the standard dish is vegan and gluten free, you then have the options to add chicken or shrimp if you desire, making it suitable for pretty much everyone!

What makes it a standout dish?

The Dishtrict Volcano Maki really stands out due to it being sushi with a Middle Eastern twist. It's also interesting and fun to look at with all of the chips crumbled atop, some of the flavours also lend a bit of nostalgia to people who grew up here. As for the Green Curry Risotto, it's the versatility and crowd pleasing nature. The basic offering is vegan and we have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love it.

Where do you source the ingredients from?

We source our ingredients from a wide variety of countries. It is important for us to work with different suppliers from around the world depending on their origin, as we have to ensure whilst making fusion dishes, the original flavour remains untouched. Quality is always the most important factor for us, so we are always looking to connect with new suppliers and often book meetings on our travels to ensure we are sourcing the best of the best.

AHMED BOUNAJI

CHEF DE CUISINE, AL RIMAL RESTAURANT, ARMED FORCES OFFICERS CLUB AND HOTEL

What is your favourite dish on the menu?

Machbous Diyay (chicken)

Tell us about the dish.

Machbous is a popular Emirati Khaleeji rice dish made with either chicken or lamb. The word 'Machbous' actually means pressed in Arabic. It is a staple in most Gulf countries with slight variations from region to region.

What makes it a standout dish?

Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel has always been known for its Arabic/Khaleejii cuisine. I feel our preparation at Al Rimal is close to the one I have in Morocco, where I come from. I feel the same harmony and balance in the spices, the chicken's tenderness, ending with the rice that has a fantastic fluffiness, further enhanced with the use of saffron which provides that rich flavour. It's a great one-dish meal to share with everyone.

Where do you source the ingredients from?

There is no place better than the local market, and the ingredients are readily available all year round. I like to work with cage-free chicken, especially for this dish, and I use Iranian saffron, which is one of the best you can procure.