By Pramod Prabhakaran
Gordon Ramsay, Guy Savoy, Alain Ducasse, Vineet Bhatia -- names most food lovers are familiar with through television shows or recipe books -- now have a presence in Doha. All these chefs, with many Michelin stars among them, have opened restaurants in various parts of the city in the last few years. Many more are expected in the near future and the most anticipated one is Nebu at Four Seasons by Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
The food scene in Qatar is going through an interesting phase. There is a new food outlet opening almost every week and you can be sure that it would be first of some kind -- first Argentinean restaurant, first Brazilian Churrascaria, first jazz bar, first diet restaurant and more. Just a few months back, we got the biggest restaurant in the country, Oriental Pearl at the Corniche.
Even luxury hotels are following the ‘be different from others’ mantra. Celebrity chefs are brought in to open signature restaurants, as Chef Gordon Ramsay did at The St. Regis Doha. The celebrity British chef started the avant-garde Gordon Ramsay restaurant and the casual dining Opal and they are both run by another Michelin star chef, Gilles Bosquet.
If they can’t get a celebrity in the kitchen, then they go for unique promotions like the special fugu menu at Pan Asian restaurant Nusantao: Sea Kitchens. The flesh of Fugu fish (Japanese puffer fish) is a delicacy in Japan, but its eyes, blood, liver and intestines contain poison and only a trained, licensed chef like Nusantao’s Chef de Cuisine Toshikazu Kato is allowed to handle it.
Chef Guy Savoy opened his Quisine at The Pear-Qatar with all his signature dishes like Artichoke and black truffle soup and Sautéed mussels and meadow mushrooms. Alain Ducasse’s Idam, situated on the top floor of the Museum of Islamic Art, is the “first in the Middle East” for the top chef and dishes out “contemporary French Mediterranean cuisine with an Arabic twist”.
Chef Vineet Bhatia’s Saffron Lounge is located at Katara Cultural Village and is already a popular destination for pan-Indian cuisine. Then there is New York-based French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s award-winning Spice Market at W Hotel.
More restaurants mean better value for guests, said Robert Catlin, Director of Beverage and Food for the Renaissance Doha City Center Hotel.
“Since the Renaissance Doha City Center Hotel opened its doors in October 2011 with nine outlets, a further 29 licensed outlets have entered the Doha market. That is 38 in the last 18 months, including some world-renowned brands and concepts. This is great for Doha residents as restaurants and bars have to continually improve, innovate and provide greater value to attract guests,” he added.
The times are good if you are a connoisseur of food and would like to try out different cuisines and food concepts other than shawarma and Chinese takeaways, which were the staple food for most for a long time.
For years, eating out was a weekend activity revolving around a few American steakhouses, Turkish and Lebanese joints, a few Chinese and Thai mash-ups, very ordinary Indian eateries, the usual Italian suspects and American pizza joints. Even five-star hotels more or less followed the same pattern.
All this changed in the last few years as financial meltdown in neighbouring Dubai shifted the focus to Doha, and it peaked after Qatar won the right to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Eating out is evolving into an experience where one get to know and feel various cultures through food. Doha is becoming a melting pot of cultures.
“I think that the food scene in Qatar reflects its own social blend of dissimilar people from almost everywhere creating a unique and lively place. Fusion cuisine is being reinvented and is becoming increasingly the norm at numerous international restaurants, and it is very well received by all of our clients. Actually, gastronomy is not just cooking and eating, it’s an art, a way of living. Therefore, I believe that eating in Qatar is an invitation to appreciate the mouthwatering flavours and aromas of the finest dishes, promising you a truly delectable dining experience,” Zied Bouakroucha, Executive Chef at Governor West Bay Suites and Residences, said.
According to hospitality industry executives, international franchises are looking at Qatar and not Dubai to kick off their Gulf operations. This explains the many firsts we are seeing these days, and add to that the number of malls and hotels mushrooming all over the country. For a population just under two million, we already have five big malls and several hypermarkets plus ten-plus five star hotels. These are expected to double or triple in the next couple of years.
“What we are seeing is exponential growth. All these malls will have several stand-alone food outlets plus food courts, and add to that the restaurants in the small and medium hotels. Everybody wants to stand out from the crowd, so you can expect many new concepts and out-of-the–box ideas in the near future,” said Padmanand Padmasadanam, operations manager, Shawarma Xpress.
So be prepared, your next meal at a Doha restaurant could be made by a Michelin starred celebrity chef.
