He’s risen to cult status with his perfect pastrami, commanded legions of fans from his first permanent home at Time Out Market Dubai, sealed a tasty new partnership with Souk Madinat Jumeirah, and now Hattem Mattar and The Mattar Farm are heading to Expo 2020 Dubai.
The Arab world’s first pit master has been head hunted to cook up a storm Expo 2020 Dubai’s Rising Flavours Food Hall alongside an impressive list of chefs making headlines across the Gulf.
Of course, Time Out has long championed Hattem’s mastery of fire and spice, so it comes as little surprise The Mattar Farm is continuing to take Dubai by storm.
The team serves up stupendously good (seriously, you try getting through a plate without stopping to question your entire existence) artisan smoked meats, from rich, fall-apart pastrami to spicy beef chorizo between buns or freestyle.
The menu has already been sampled by thousands here in Dubai, but now the home-grown concept is going global, with an estimated 25 million visitors due to flock to Expo 2020 Dubai over its six-month run.
Hattem and The Mattar Farm will form part of a three-storey dining hall that highlights the range and creativity of the Gulf region’s vibrant and ever-evolving food scene, and serves as a celebration of the incredible flavours and talent born or nurtured in the GCC.
The ground floor is home to a regularly rotating line-up of culinary pods, featuring chefs and restaurants that demonstrate the gastronomic variety of each GCC country, including concepts from the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
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Joining Hattem in the stable of celebrity chefs are Douha Abdullah Al Otaishan, Saudi Arabia’s first female executive chef; UAE-based pastry chef Carmen Rueda, known for her unique approach to creating pastries; Bahraini restaurateur Roaya Saleh, celebrated for Villa Mamas, one of Manama’s most recognised restaurants; Omani celebrity chef Nader Al Aisari; Qatar-based Lebanese chef Mohamad Najem; Kuwait’s Khaled Al Baker, creator of concepts Meem Café and Roto; Emirati Musabbeh Al Kaabi, a Dubai celebrity judge known for his modern approach to Emirati cuisine; Turkish chef and concept creator Zulfikar Cambaz, chef de cuisine at BABA, The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, a restaurant focused on Ottoman cuisine; Jhon Faver, chef de cuisine at El Sur, Spanish restaurant at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina; and Jay Williams, winner of Hotelier Middle East Executive Chef of Year 2020.
Up on the first floor, diners can expect a licensed fine-dining restaurant that hosts a chef’s table and a theatrical cooking show.
Courgette and saffron risotto, oven-baked filo pastry filled with beef, mushrooms and tomatoes served with yoghurt sauce, and shrimp and piquillo pepper croquettes and parsley aioli.
It won’t just be the food drawing longing gazes, either. The restaurant’s walls will serve as a canvass for GCC artists to showcase their works, while diners will be serenaded by live performances from regional talent, featuring traditional and modern sounds from the Gulf as well as guest DJ mixes.
Just another tasty reason to look for to Expo 2020 Dubai.
Expo 2020 Dubai. Dhs95 (one day), Dhs195 (30 days), Dhs495 (6 months). Oct 1 2021- Mar 31 2022. Dubai Exhibition Centre, expo2020dubai.com.
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