Chef Akira Back knows he can’t dislodge popcorn from its unassailable throne as the go-to cinema snack – but he’s going to have some serious fun crafting the next best thing.
In his own words, Back loves a challenge, and having made a name for himself on the slopes as a pro snowboarder and as a curator of his eponymous restaurant at W the Palm Dubai – and around the world – he’s now going all Hollywood. (Even if he is a bit already, he does have a restaurant in Beverly Hills.)
Back is firmly wrapping his mitts around a tasty partnership with the UAE’s VOX Cinemas for THEATRE, an elevated picture house dining experience that will bring the chef’s signature Japanese dishes – and a few quirky twists on those salt and sweeted classics – to your movie-watching experience.
You can dine in a private lounge area ahead or after your movie, or have your food delivered directly to your cinema seat while you watch.
THEATRE also boasts reclining leather seats, plush blankets and pillows, and cutting-edge audio-visual technology to offer an ultra-cool cinema-going experience. And it’s now available at Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif and Nakheel Mall in Dubai and Al Jimi Mall, Nation Towers, The Galleria Al Maryah Island and Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi – so there’s plenty of chances to check it out.
Movie buff Back (you can be sure it’ll be a horror or thriller if you ever spy him slipping into a screen. Maybe an action, unlikely a rom-com) says the concept will explore the relationship shared by each sense once the lights are dimmed and the intro credits are rolling.
“When you watch a movie there is a lot of bass, I love bass,” he says. “Same as with music, when you listen it’s all about base. When you combine bass and visuals with my food, I always wondered how it would be.
“I had a lot of time to test it out. At night I turned the light off, watched movies, jammed up the speaker and then started eating – and I noticed exactly the same food, when it’s dark, the flavour changes. Making that trend here is very exciting.
“It’s very different from the normal. When I cook, it’s in a super-bright kitchen, same as when I eat, in a bright space. But here at the movies it’s different – you are listening, watching and eating in a different way, and that made me really excited for this project.”
Back has directed a ‘fingerling’ focussed menu of his staple Japanese favourites – including that cult-status tuna pizza we love to rave about – but he says he wants the focus to be on the silver screen, not his silver spoons (and knives and forks).
“The main focus is the movie – I don’t want to be better than the film,” he says. “I just want to help the movie-watching experience here in the theatre. I do want people to connect with me through the menu. It’s important, because the food they order will depend on the mood and the movie.”
But, how can you beat popcorn?
“You can’t,” he says. “So I have to come with something unique and very different.
“I want to respect the tradition and then twist it in a healthy and fun way. I want people to be able to come here, watch a great movie, and leave with something they can remember, I think that’s a real winner.”
He also assured Time Out that he isn’t just in cahoots with VOX Cinemas because of the Mall of the Emirates branch’s proximity to Ski Dubai.
“I have actually snowboarded here,” he says.”And my food will be like that [unique]. Everyone wonders at first [about a ski slope in a desert] but when they show up it’s amazing. People will say ‘that was kind of weird’, but after they will think it’s an unbelievable experience.”
He may not want to be the man in focus, but a bit of Hollywood is never far from chef Back, and THEATRE at Vox Cinemas is the latest blockbuster installment.
Various locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, uae.voxcinemas.com.
Quickfire round
Star Wars or Jurassic Park?
Star Wars. I like the, what’s that called, the sword? You know what I mean, has a light on it. Lightsaber.
Sweet or salted popcorn?
That’s a hard one. Salt’s good. Always.
Comedy or action?
Action.
Going to the cinema alone or with friends?
Oh, absolutely alone. I love to be alone, it’s the best thing.
Yellowfin or black cod?
Black cod. If I don’t pay attention I burn it a lot, believe it or not. But black cod you can burn and it still tastes good, so…
Edible gold or wearable gold
Wear it –I’m not going to eat the gold.
