What’s so special about Embassy?
It’s always been difficult to find good food in nightclubs, and it’s always been the affordable glamour end of the scale that we’ve looked at. As a nightclub we do very well in the UK, and that was something we were very much interested in doing out here in the UAE.
What attracted you to Abu Dhabi?
Mark [Fuller, Embassy business partner] has wanted to come here for some time, and he’s had a couple of friends and business partners over here who had this space available. There is a big demand for good quality restaurants out here. Our partners have been over to London, and they said what we are doing there will go down a storm in Abu Dhabi.
Is Embassy Abu Dhabi going to be the same as Embassy London?
There are a few aspects of Embassy London that you can see over here. The restaurant will have a slight Arab feel to it – lots of marble, silver and gold everywhere – but you’ll be able to see it’s part of the Embassy group, with the glasswork, the stone and the style of the chairs. The room has got Arabic-style windows in already, which obviously we can’t take out, and there’s a small terrace outside which we’ll be looking to use for six or seven months a year.
Who are you expecting to be your main competition? Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay down the road in Dubai? The other restaurants at Emirates Palace maybe?
Competition is competition. It brings people in and I’m confident we can do as well as anyone else in the area, or even in Emirates Palace. I’m not worried about that at all.
Embassy is being billed as a members- only club. Will that apply to the restaurant too?
No, you’ll be able to come into the restaurant. I think it’ll operate pretty much as it does in the UK, although I tend to feel that it’s a bit more grown up over here.
Who wears the trousers in your partnership with Mark Fuller?
We share them. I wear the bottom half and he wears the top. He’s bigger than me.
Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay are in Dubai overseeing things in their restaurants a couple of times a year. How often are you going to be out here when Embassy opens?
Whatever it takes to get this up and running. I’ll be here probably for a week every month.
Who will you be leaving in charge?
A guy called Dean Bouvett. He’s been with me since 1992, so I’m very confident indeed. He’s been around me a long time and he knows how I work.
Won’t people be annoyed they’re paying for Garry Hollihead, but getting someone else?
With the amount of restaurants we’ve got I think for me to be here a week every month is pretty good – more than most people are around in their restaurants.
Tell us about your signature dish?
I want to work with fish a lot out here, so I’d say lobster spaghetti, with a very light tomato Americane sauce with shallots, sun-blushed tomatoes and baby spinach.
Gordon Ramsay has been very complimentary about you. What do you think of celebrity chefs?
hey all have their space, don’t they? I know Gordon doesn’t like to call himself a celebrity chef, but I think he’s done fantastically well. We’ve all got our place. I’ve had a little go in front of the camera, but I don’t feel comfortable with it.
Who’s the most famous person you’ve cooked for?
Prince William and Prince Harry. We did the Diana Memorial Concert after-show party at Wembley Arena. They came into the kitchen the day before and thanked us. It was really great they took time out to come and see us.
Who’s the most famous person who’s cooked for you?
My wife.
Who does the cooking at home?
My wife. I do bits and pieces, but when you’ve been in the kitchen for 14-16 hours a day, the last thing you want to do is cook when you get home.
Apart from cooking, what are your other passions?
There’s not an awful lot of time to do things. I like to do a bit of fly-fishing and I’ve started to do a little bit of shooting. Mark is a big shot himself.
What’s the cleverest thing you’ve done in a kitchen?
Employ a head chef to take over my responsibilities.
What’s the stupidest thing you’ve done in a kitchen?
Getting into the kitchen to begin with. I love what I do, but it is hard work, and as you get older it does become harder.
What’s the best thing about being a chef?
Working with fantastic produce. I have to work with the best possible, and you get such a buzz in the morning seeing some great produce. Fish is my passion, and when I see it in the morning I can’t wait to get it into a pan. You can’t beat quality.
