5 minute read
NEWS BITES
CULINARY NEWS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND BEYOND
Advertisement
Food and Beverage group, Lincoln Hospitality has announced its decision to accept franchise proposals from the GCC and globally, for La Serre and Distillery. The company aims to create opportunities for global and regional food and beverage players by expanding Dubaiborn culinary concepts.
Ralph Homer, CEO and Founder of Lincoln Hospitality and Co-Founder of Restaurant Secrets Inc. explains that through this franchising programme, people can become a part of the brand’s story. Additionally, those looking to franchise the brands will also have full support.
KRUSH BRANDS REVEAL TWO NEW JOINT VENTURES
Viking Bageri and Jetlagged Chef have joined the full-service, multi-kitchen, food technology, operating, restaurant, franchising, and last-mile delivery company, KRUSH Brands. The family now comprises Freedom Pizza, Wildflower Poke & More, Coco Yogo Vegan Kitchen, and Salad Jar, on top of supply relationships with My Fruitful Day and Hapi Restaurant (local Chef Paul Frangie), as part of its financially and technologically efficient ecosystem that supports local restaurants and foodpreneurs.
Viking Bageri, founded by Magnus and Maria Ericson (affectionately known as Mr. and Mrs. Viking) has rapidly developed a cult-like following for its signature baguettes. Meanwhile, Jetlagged Chef founded by Chef Eliza Veitch offers incredibly healthy and delicious meal plans. By teaming up with KRUSH Brands, both brands will now expand from seamless in-house orders to delivery service.
KRUSH Brands is also looking to partner with founders who want to lead and grow their businesses. This can be a restaurant concept or an awesome product that can be made available to customers through their digital and delivery platform.
For more information, email foodpreneurs@krushbrands.com.
EVGENY KUZIN AND CHEF IZU ANI JOIN FORCES WITH ACCOR CHEF LUISA FERNANDA CAICEDO JOINS MONDOUX
Homegrown hero Chef Izu Ani and influential restauranteur Evgeny Kuzin have partnered with the augmented hospitality group Accor to launch Kitch-In, an intelligent food technology platform. The forces behind successful restaurant concepts including Gaia and Shanghai ME, Evgeny Kuzin and Chef Izu Ani aim to deliver premium cuisine and high-quality flavours at affordable prices.
The value-added F&B innovation launched last month with plans to revolutionise home delivery and in-room dining through intelligent infrastructure that manages and maintains consistent quality control. The development of a custom-made digital framework allows Kitch-In to enhance and elevate the lives of its users, as well as transform room service, across the hotel industry worldwide. By working with Accor, Kitch-In and its users benefit from the wide reach and accessibility of hotels, as well as operations, logistics and professional kitchen teams trained to oversee food production processes and standards to the highest quality. The team merges award-winning expertise with the knowledge of food scientists and nutritionists, led by CEO Adrian Azodi, who brings forth skills and insights from his previous role at Deliveroo.
Kitch-In currently has four digital brands, however, more are planned to go live before the end of the year. For now, users can get a taste of fine Italian food as well as Greek, Japanese and Korean street food specialities. European-inspired restaurant, Mondoux, at Dubai Creek Harbour, has appointed Luisa Fernanda Caicedo as the new executive chef. Hailing from Medellín, Colombia, Chef Luisa - who graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City - launched her career at Perry Street, the brainchild of renowned Michelinstarred Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Jean-Georges’ son, Celebrity chef Cédric Vongerichten, helmed the kitchen at the time and over their 10 years of collaboration, has proven to be a great mentor and source of inspiration to Luisa.
Chef Luisa also spent three years in Jakarta, Indonesia, heading up Vong Kitchen and Le Burger, both curated by Jean-Georges and Cédric Vongerichten. At Mondoux, Caicedo is currently serving an international menu with a back-tobasics approach. Expect dishes made from scratch, with locally sourced produce.
JUAN RAMON SOBERO LLACA JOINS CASA DE TAPAS
Renowned Spanish eatery, Casa de Tapas, has announced a new Chef de Cuisine, Juan Ramon Sobero Llaca. An ardent Spanish food lover, Chef Juan has curated a menu brimming with authentic flavours and innovative twists. He previously worked as a Chef de Cuisine for several renowned restaurants including Vegamar Bodegas, before moving across the globe to take charge of The Tapas Bar at J by Jose Andres in Mexico. The chef then returned to Europe where he took the culinary reigns at Quisitapas, Westin Excelsior in Florence. In 2017, he set his sights on the Middle East and took command as Chef de Cuisine in both La Liga Lounge in Doha and Mercado Andaluz, St Regis in Amman, Jordan.
At Casa de Tapas, Chef Juan leads his culinary team in alignment with the laid back, ‘mi casa es su casa’ ethos that the restaurant is known for. Expect an exciting, flavour-packed menu showcasing huevos rotos con ibérico (eggs served Spanish-style), pulpo a la gallega (Galician-style octopus with confit potatoes and smoked paprika), and arroz de Senyoret (Spanish rice with prawns, cuttlefish, sea bass and saffron), amongst other dishes that pay homage to Spanish culture.
In another milestone for the company, Fresh Del Monte MENA recently announced the launch of its latest e-commerce store in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Following the success of the UAE platform, Fresh Del Monte launched the e-commerce store to provide consumers in KSA with a seamless grocery-buying experience. The platform features high-quality fresh fruit, vegetables, snacks, freshly squeezed juices and meals, and makes it easy for shoppers to find the right foods for their specific needs and health objectives, whilst providing tailored and informative recommendations based on consumers’ preferences.
Visit sa.myfreshdelmonte.com or ae.myfreshdelmonte.com.
WHERE FOOD AND CHEFS COME FIRST
