A couple of months back, Time Out Abu Dhabi produced a brunch supplement; a glossy guide to the cornerstone of the city’s culinary scene that required an extensive amount of research. During a six-week period in which we sampled every brunch in the city, each member of the TOAD team was required to set aside a window in their Friday afternoon for two to three hours of enforced eating. Great fun at first, but it soon became a daunting chore, with one staff member displaying several symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder a week before the deadline.
The guide wrapped up, we dusted off our gym cards and swore that if we ever saw another chocolate fountain again there would be grave consequences. However, at no point during our self-pitying gastric rampage did we spare a thought for the tireless folk who put together our Friday feasts – mostly because we were too busy cursing them for the fact that we no longer fitted into our favourite trousers. Still, morbidly intrigued by the man-power, the skill and the logistical foresight involved in orchestrating such decadent banquets, we decided there was only one thing for it: we had to go back in. And this time, we’d be going behind enemy lines.
Of course, if our therapy was going to be effective, we’d have to go for the biggest brunch in the city. How big? Try Dhs5,000 worth of cheese, 40kg of lobster and more than 40 different desserts. Having recently extended their brunch across two restaurants – CuiScene and Frankie’s – those are just some of the dizzying numbers the folks at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr take in their stride every week.
‘Most of the team have been working on their brunch menus since Monday,’ says senior sous chef Mike Pagnacco, putting our bleary-eyed 9am start firmly into perspective. He goes on to explain that head pastry chef Dragon Rucnov (seriously – it’s etched on to his whites and everything) has been working on his line-up of desserts since Wednesday, while a few of the mezze items are whipped up the night before. Even with 24 chefs involved in the brunch operation, preparation, it seems, is absolutely everything.
On a Friday morning, though, the first priority is the European station. With the meat already cooked and now resting prior to service, we’re put to work on the all-important trimmings, and set about pouring a smooth batter (made from equal amounts of eggs, flour and milk) into greased ramekins to make Yorkshire puddings. ‘You have to put them in a really hot oven so the sides rise up nicely, because people always ask you to fill the Yorkshires with gravy,’ says European chef de partie Eric Turgeon, prompting a flashback to a dark afternoon some four or five weeks ago during a carvery brunch at Cooper’s, where, midway through our supplement research, we’d curtly made the very same demand.
With the kitchen becoming more animated by the minute, Mike announces that it’s almost time for ‘the flip’ – the crucial, pivotal moment when the final breakfast diners pick up their cheque and the dining room is prepared for the main event. Our role in the flip is taking care of the cheeses. Twenty-four of them, to be precise, which we lay out across a long glass table next to its corresponding laminated information card. Stepping back to admire our handiwork, we notice that in the 10 minutes it has taken us to plate up a bit of stilton, the rest of the team have transformed CuiScene’s dining room into a stunning showcase of delicately garnished canapés, seasonal salads and sweet treats. Note to self: pick up the pace.
With diners now trickling in, we take up a post at the well-stocked sushi station. Behind the counter, chef Garbin Oreste works industriously, adding a few final touches to his display of neatly chopped nigiris and well-stuffed makis. Staggeringly, it’s taken him just over an hour to put the whole lot together, single-handedly churning out what must be close to 200 morsels of fishy deliciousness. We’re shown how to put together a spicy tuna maki roll – one of the brunch’s most popular items. As newbies to sushi making, though, the results aren’t good. We look hopefully at the serving station. Chef shakes his head. We ask if we should just take them home and eat them ourselves. Chef nods. And so that’s exactly what we do.While we might never forgive them for their assault on our beltlines, we’ve certainly gained a whole new level of respect for the people whose job it is to assemble the great Abu Dhabi Friday brunch. So if you’re planning a buffet smackdown this weekend, remember to enjoy every mouthful. Because we promise you, it’s not as easy as it looks.
Fairmont Bab Al Bahr’s Friday brunch is served 12.30pm-4pm every week, priced Dhs249 with soft drinks, Dhs299 with house beverages and Dhs449 with free-flow bubbly. Call 02 654 3238 to book
