Not so long ago I was approached by a prospective investor looking to open a restaurant who, despite having no hospitality industry exposure, believed that the dining scene in the region offered a sound business opportunity.
But there was a catch, and it was a deal breaker that I’ve heard a thousand times before. He didn’t want to create something new; he wanted to bring (yawn) yet another ‘super brand’ to the city. But it wasn’t just a restaurant name this person wanted; they asked me if I could “get” the Roca brothers.
For those unfamiliar with today’s culinary greats, Spain’s three Roca brothers are considered the triumvirate of food royalty, and run El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, which is currently ranked number two in the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
When I asked why not break the mould and get a talented young chef with Michelin star experience and give him a chance to shine in all his as-yet-unleashed creative glory, create a truly unique-to-Dubai institution and, effectively create the emirate’s first exportable brand, I was met with stony silence.
They weren’t swayed by my cost-saving argument either – importing a name from a catalogue of global greats comes with a huge degree of financial responsibility, after all – and the ego-stroking angle of gaining a huge amount of credible notoriety by creating rather than imitating was lost in translation.
The rationale was obvious, but still painful for any passionate restaurateur to hear. “It takes too long; there’s too much work involved; it’s too high risk. We have the money and we want immediate success and immediate returns.”
This pretty much sums up Dubai and our slavish dedication to the power of the brand, whether it’s fashion, fast cars or food. We are so ingrained with the need for instant gratification that we are loathe to experiment for fear of losing out.
From a practical perspective, big name brands undoubtedly bring a certain credibility and substance, but surely the UAE has reached a point where it doesn’t need to ride on the coat-tails of others and can look towards developing a sustainable future for its hospitality sector through the creation of homegrown brands that have guaranteed export potential?
It may simply be a question of getting regional entrepreneurs and investors to look at the hospitality sector with fresh eyes – after all, food can be as sexy as a Ferrari – and divert interest and funds into our industry.
But meeting prospective investors with the requisite passion for the food business is still a relative rarity in the Middle East region.
The culinary capitals of the world serve a dual purpose – to house global brands as well as those unique one-of-a-kind places we all love, whether they are of the fine dining variety or a humble food stall at the heart of the local community.
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