Top Chefs in UAE

Recipes from Top Chefs
Chef Saradhi Dakara
It started when I was a child back in the South Coast of India before moving to Dubai, UAE. I came from a large family and there were many get-togethers which revolved around food. My family had a farm and my mother would cook a traditional seven course Thali using produce from our garden. I would help my mother in the kitchen so she could join the family at the dining table, and eventually she inspired my love for cooking. When I do get a chance to cook with her, I still get amazed at the way she prepares the food. I learned the importance of time management through family gatherings. If you organise yourself and gather the dietary information from guests before they arrive, life becomes a lot easier in the kitchen. Because my mother knew the likes and dislikes of family guests, she made sure they were never disappointed. I apply the same ethic to my present role and understand my guests, what they want and deliver that. My style of cooking is very simple, when I create a dish, it all starts with one main ingredient in that season. I don’t like to overcomplicate dishes with too many ingredients. I am a great believer in using local ingredients and proud to be associated with FRESHONTABLE’s ethos.
Saradhi Dakara
Donovan Clive Christian
Chef Donovan Clive Christian
Born in the beautiful Cape Town in South Africa, I grew up in Ireland near the mountains within County Clair called Ennis. When I was twelve years old, I started working in the kitchen at the only local pub in town during the long summer holidays and eventually progressed in the kitchen. After winning a cook-off in France I was granted scholarship at the prestigious culinary school Le Cordon Bleu in Bordeaux, which is ranked amongst the top culinary schools in the world. After I finished two years in the pastry and hot kitchen, I began working with Alain Ducasse at the age of eighteen for three years and became the youngest chef in Paris to work at a three Michelin star restaurant, before moving to the UK to work with Heston Blumenthal as a senior Sous-Chef for two years. I then decided to head back to my roots in Cape Town and began consulting with restaurants as a Senior Sous-Chef. My cooking style include techniques I learnt from France and the UK, combining a fusion of South African, French and Asian style cuisines. With 1 Michelin star under my belt, I decided to move to the UAE and have been living in Dubai and love the diversity of the city. I am a great believer that local ingredients do magic to food and I am proud to be associated with FRESHONTABLE’s ethos.
Chef Giovanni Ledon
Chef Giovanni Ledon is no stranger to the quality and service expected of a high-end, fast paced restaurant environment. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, his earliest memories are of only wanting to be a chef. Chef Giovanni’s parents owned a restaurant and seeing the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, he was instantly hooked. In 2007 Chef Giovanni graduated from The Culinary Institute of Las Vegas. Studying under Chef Raimund Hofmeister (CMC/AAC) he had the chance to learn more technical aspects of the restaurant industry. During the same time, Chef Giovanni started working at Nero’s Steakhouse at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. A few years later, in 2009 he went to work for Chef Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill in Caesars Palace. This opportunity transitioned into a promotion at Mesa Grill in the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas as the Executive Sous Chef. In 2010, Chef Giovanni became Sous Chef at Yellowtail Japanese restaurant at the Bellagio Hotel under Chef Akira Back. He spent seven years refining his skills and exploring his passion of Asian flavors and cuisine. Of the many things he has inherited from his time with Chef Akira, is to look at things from a different perspective. Through experience, Chef Giovanni believes in order to resolve an issue, you need to look at it from the perspective of the guest, manager, server or commis, to really understand what is going on in the restaurant. Chef Giovanni’s favorite dish at Akira Back is the Tuna or Eringi Mushroom Pizza. For the one reason that, from the outside, it looks like a simple dish, but actually all the components have to be executed perfectly for this dish to shine. In his new role at Akira Back Dubai, located at W Dubai – The Palm, Chef Giovanni’s main aim is to ensure that the guest has the best quality food and experience that Akira Back has to offer.
Giovanni Ledon
Giovanni Ledon
Seabass that wanted to be a tuna pizza
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Dima Al Sharif
Chef Dima Al Sharif
I am a Palestinian chef, author and entrepreneur residing in Dubai, UAE. After years of working with NGOs in the field of social development, I decided to change my career path and joined the food industry in 2006. I kicked off my new career with a catering service, creating bespoke menus for private and corporate events. In 2009, I also began providing culinary training to home cooks and industry professionals and took on food writing, where I regularly wrote for different in-print and online publications, my articles spanned across culinary travel, culture, food history, recipes and insights into the art of cooking. My blog www.dimasharif.com had become one of the most celebrated food blogs in the UAE, winning multiple awards. With time, I had expanded my services into an all-encompassing food training and food communications service, incorporating workshops, writing, blogging, photography and film. In 2015, I published my cookbook Plated Heirlooms, an extensive exploration of Palestinian cuisine’s story, history and culture. In 2016, Plated Heirlooms won “Best In The World” by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Currently I am the CEO of MOONEH LLC, an artisanal foodstuff supply and catering company that I have founded in Dubai. I am a huge supporter of local organic farms and produce and happy to be associated with FRESHONTABLE’s ethos.
Chef Mohamad Chabchoul
With more than 15 years of invaluable culinary experience both locally and further afield, Executive Chef Mohamad Chabchoul has a wealth of expertise in the F&B and catering industry. Originally from Lebanon, Chef Chabchoul began his career as Commie Chef 1 at le brasserie restaurant at Le Meridian Hotel in Damascus. He then re-located to Dubai where he assumed more senior role of Chef De Partie at InterContinental Dubai Festival City as part of the hotel opening. After two years at the helm of Belgian Beer Café Kitchen and Bistro Madeleine within InterContinental, Chef Chabchoul was appointed Room Service Chef at Fairmont Bab Al Bahar in Abu Dhabi in 2009. In 2010 Chef Chabchoul returned to Dubai to become the Garde Manger De Cuisine at The Ritz Carlton DIFC where he stayed for almost three years. From there, he worked at a range of restaurants within the IHG Group at Dubai Festival City, leaving as Chef De Cuisine Cluster before embarking on his next role as Executive Chef at Fauchon Paris. Two years later he took on a new challenge working for Binhendi Enterprises in its hospitality division as Executive Chef. Chef Chabchoul has continued to set the culinary pace throughout his career in terms of both quality and growth. His passion for kitchen operations and innovative concepts knows no bounds and in his role as Executive Chef at Grand Millennium Business Bay, he brings his wealth of culinary knowledge to seven different restaurants. He is highly experienced, creative and dedicated to the food and beverage industry; his drive is certain to keep each and every outlet within the hotel ahead of its competitors.
Mohamad Chabchoul
Mohamad Chabchoul
Pan Seared Seabass with Glazed balsamic beetroots and leeks
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Yusuf Sujee
Chef Yusuf Sujee
Mohamed Yusuf Sujee is an Executive Sous Chef at ME DUBAI Hotel, where Mohamed Is second in command of all kitchen operations; holding responsibility and assisting the Executive Chef for maximum guest satisfaction, directing, and controlling the kitchen and administrative functions.Mohamed has worked with International Brands, namely, One & Only, Royal Portfolio, Leeu Collection, Maze Restaurant, Nobu Restaurant, among others. Mohamed is a football lover and car enthusiast. During his spare time he makes the most of exploring the Food and Beverage scene in Dubai and internationally. His love for food came from his grandmother who inspired him to cook from the age of 6 years.Mohamed goal is to become a Executive Chef of a leasing Hotel Chain and then one day have his own restaurant on the coast somewhere beautiful.Mohamed has won the 2014 Ultimate Braai Master Competition in South Africa and was named Best Young Chef Of The Year 2012.
Yusuf Sujee
Oven roasted Seabass| wild rice| garden vegetables
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Chef Roberto Segura
Roberto’s passion for cooking started at a young age in his native Peru. In 2005 he started the Culinary School and since there he didn’t stop working in renowned restaurants in Peru. Some of the restaurants He worked in Peru are La Rosa Nautica, Bravo Restobar within other in the top 10 restaurants in Lima, with chefs of great name as Christian Bravo. By 2008 he moved to Argentina to specialize in vanguardist cuisine and different techniques in the IDLA institute and started worked in the best restaurant in Buenos Aires by that time, Osaka restaurant that offers Nikkei cuisine. In 2010 he did different stages in Chile and Peru including one with Rafael Osterling at one of the 50 best restaurants in Latin America, the time there was amazing discovering a different kind of cuisine. The same year he went to Mexico to open a new restaurant, it was a great success and everyone loved the Nikkei Cuisine. By 2011 he started working with chef Richard Sandoval who took him later on to New York and later to Dubai to work in his restaurants Maya, Pampano and Toro Toro.By 2014 he started working as Executive Chef of The Act Dubai offering the first ever Peruvian menu in the Middle East. In 2014 he went to London to do a stage at a French bistro called Terroir and after that went to Lima – Peru to do an stage in Central Restaurant number 4 of the world of the chef Virgilio Martinez. Since then he didn’t stop creating new concepts and developing many recipes as Culinary Consultant, that took him to be awarded as chef of the year 2 consecutive years in different completions and opening different restaurants and dinning concepts in addition to a catering company. In 2019 he launched his own YouTube cooking channel as well an IGTV channel to teach and show recipes and tips to all his followers with the handle @cookingwithchefroberto He keeps researching and developing food and beverage concepts internationally with the aim to bring unique concepts to the Middle East market.
Roberto Segura
Roberto Segura
Two-Way Tiradito
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