While progress towards equality is continuing apace, there’s little question the upper echelons of Dubai’s restaurant industry remain male-dominated.
Now, one DIFC eatery is looking to redress the balance, handing over its acclaimed kitchen to seven talented female chefs for a seven-week kitchen takeover.
BOCA, which was named sustainable kitchen of the year in the Gault&Millau UAE 2022 guide, has unveiled plans for a series of three-night dining events to take place between January and May, each with a new female chef at the helm.
Founder and GM Omar Shihab says the line-up came together very organically. “The initial idea wasn’t especially focused on female talent – I’m not really a big fan of a theme,” he smiles.
“But I wanted to create an agenda of events for the start of the year and as I was pondering who we would like to invite, I realised a lot of the people I was thinking of were women.”
Running the gamut from supper club founders to independent restaurateurs to fine dining and hotel chefs, the line-up covers a diverse range of cuisines and approaches. Taking over in late January will be Célia Stoecklin, one of Caterer Middle East’s 30 under 30 best chefs. Stoecklin, who started working in professional kitchens at 14 and most recently led the team at Jumeirah’s French Riviera, will serve a four-course Mediterranean menu.
House of Fig founder Bethany Kehdy will then take the helm in early February, serving a West Asian and North African menu focussed on local ingredients, before Sara Aqel, formally of Fi’lia, takes over for a regional Italian-themed Valentine’s weekend.
Fusión Ceviche founder Penelope Diaz will follow in early March with a menu of ceviches and seafood dishes featuring Dibba Bay oysters, before Latin American chef and Girl & The Goose supper club founder Gabriella Chamorro takes over for a dining experience which will aim to explore the concept of culinary cultural heritage.
Finally in May, Sheerin Ghaffar, who was named Gault&Millau’s pasty chef of the year for her work at Teible before her recent move to Hakkasan Dubai, will take over for a session which will showcase her unique approach to pastry. Tandoor Tina’s Trisha Henault will then close the programme with a tandoori tasting menu.
Shihab says the roster of guest chefs shows the diversity of female talent working across the UAE’s food and beverage scene – and the need to celebrate it. “The industry still struggles, I think, with achieving equality in the kitchen,” he suggests. “We’ve always had women at the helm front of house and in the bar, but it’s been tougher to achieve back of house where the focus is so often still on male chefs. I really do want to redress that and each of the chefs we have invited has been selected, not because they are female but because they deserve to be showcased and celebrated on their own merits. We’re really looking forward to giving them all a new platform.”
Each of the line-up, Shihab explains, will take over the BOCA kitchen for three-nights, working with the existing brigade there to serve a menu which represents their own unique approach.
For Shihab, offering free reign in the kitchen was paramount. “The initial brief wasn’t themed,” he explains. “Rather, we asked each chef to represent what they stand for individually, as each of them has such an incredible story to tell. So we’ve got some doing four-course dinners, some doing sharing plates, the menus are very varied.
“Our only request to them has been to try and maintain our sustainability ethos where possible in terms of using local ingredients and reducing food waste. And that’s something everyone was very happy to do.”
The programme comes at a time of change for BOCA, with recruitment still ongoing for a new head chef following the departure of Matthijs Stinnissen late last year. “We have expansion plans so we’re currently looking for two chefs, actually,” Shihab confirms. “One for the upcoming expansion of one of our brands into Saudi Arabia and one to continue our work creating a truly sustainable kitchen here at BOCA.
“That person will be working closely with our suppliers and exploring new ingredients while taking a really innovative approach to reducing waste, so it’s not a typical role and we’re being very selective. We’ve had rounds of interviews all over the world already and it’s looking very promising but in the meantime, I think this takeover programme will be a really interesting and positive experience for our existing team here. We’re very excited.”