Following revamped menus and a new restaurant in Abu Dhabi, Penelope Walsh sits down great British chef Gary Rhodes to learn more about his growing UAE empire.
The Rhodes restaurant empire in the Emirates is certainly enjoying a peak right now. Having recently opened the first Gary Rhodes restaurant in the capital, Rhodes 44 in the new The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, and Rhodes Twenty10 in Dubai also introducing a brand new menu in the new year it sounds like the man at the helm of all of this has a fair bit on his plate right now.
Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that Gary Rhodes’ other restaurant in Dubai, Rhodes Mezzanine, has closed permanently, but apparently it’s in order to make way for a concept that sounds like it could be fresher, better and altogether more British.
In fact, with Rhodes’ increasing prominence in the UAE right now, a man who has been paramount when it has come to putting UK cuisine on the global map, the future is looking bright for British cooking.
Having trained, like most chefs, at a French school of cookery and later in Amsterdam for three years, Gary Rhodes was one of the first chefs to begin reclaiming Britain’s own cooking heritage, even wining an OBE for his contribution to the UK’s culinary scene. It is a move that can be claimed to have sparked Britain’s own re-engagement and gradually re-established pride in its own cuisine, sparking the Rivington Grills and The Ivy’s of this world, to begin showing off the Best of British.
For Gary, his ‘first little taster of British cuisine’ came with a stint working at the Reform Club, a gentlemen’s club on London’s Pall Mall, where 60-70 percent of the dishes on the menu were British.
The real passion for his native cuisine, however, was sparked by his time at the Castle Hotel in Taunton, in England’s West Country. ‘They were so inspired by good food, the hotel owner was a true food enthusiast.
He made me very much aware of the phenomenal local ingredients that you could get within a 20 mile radius of the hotel and I found that inspiring.
‘One man in particular, he was a doctor in fact, he used to grow all of his own fruit and vegetables. Everything, from an ordinary leek or cabbage, right the way through to globe artichokes. I found I could say, “Can I have those leeks when they are very young?” I’d rather pay more for something at its absolute best, when it’s young and it’s got a certain sweetness to it, rather than always just this acidic bite.’
He concedes he hasn’t quite moved to the UAE lock, stock and barrel, ‘I still have my house in the UK, I haven’t sold everything and moved here, however I see my future here. Things have been tough in the UK in our industry, because eating out is a luxury in many respects. I found there were more cuts rather than re-investment. I’m proud to be British, and a Londoner, which is why I want to share the great foods of that country here and I see my culinary future here.’
Looking at the menus at Gary Rhodes’ restaurants, and seeing how fine French flair enters into British classics such as hearty, humble bread and butter pudding, we venture that allowing external influences to elevate our food is part of the DNA of the ‘modern British’ revival that has taken place. For example, Gary points out, while some British classics are suited to their native climate that is very different to our climate in the UAE, to make those dishes continue to be relevant, a little updating is sometimes necessary.
While Rhodes’ ambition sounds like exciting news for the UAE, it was with some surprise that we heard that his award-winning restaurant in Dubai had closed. ‘It’s the seven year itch, isn’t it. I just felt it had its life. I just felt the restaurant had become starchy.’ Let’s hope that itch is well scratched with the new restaurant in Abu Dhabi.
Rhodes 44 is open daily 6.30am-11am, noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm. The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Nation Towers, Corniche Road (02 694 4444).
