The Dubai MICHELIN Edition

ICYMI, the Michelin Guide declared its inaugural Dubai Michelin Guide this week. That’s right, Dubai, not UAE, courtesy of Dubai Tourism. You can find the whole list here: stars (green and red), bibs and recommendations.

What A Day It Was.

I watched the awards online, like many. Since the announcements, the food community celebrated and commiserated; there were hot takes, conclusions and speculation, but never a moment dry of opinions. See Courtney Brandt’s good reflective sum up here, FooDiva ran the numbers with comments galore.

A day of emotions. Some palpable disappointments were visible on stage (you know who). The ‘heart-wrenching moment award’ is a tussle: the embrace between chef Akmal and his wife Inez when 11 Woodfire* earned its first Michelin star. The other – and my favourite – chef Salam Dakkak at Bait Maryam who, without words, captured that unspeakable joy of being acknowledged for a lifetime’s work.

The hours, the sacrifice, the toil of the last five years on an industry ravaged by slowing economies, the small matter of a global pandemic, constant changes in regulations, the double-edged sword of aggregate delivery services (you know who) and – dare I say – the unhelpful and, at times, parasitic whims of disingenuous food influencers. I don’t consider myself an ‘influencer’ and, even if I did, this doesn’t prohibit me from judging my own kind. #ISaidWhatISaid



Overall. The Dubai Michelin Guide landed well IMHO. Some places featured higher than expected; others a bit snubbed. But these things never go as expected AND it could have been a lot worse. Let’s just bathe in the afterglow of Dubai sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best culinary destinations where one of the world’s most coveted awards reconfirms the city possesses some world-class talent.

The First Word of Warning: Restaurant Owners. In my work life I often tell newly promoted team members that what got them here is not necessarily what will take them forwards. It may also not be enough to keep them where they are. So my message to newly starred restaurants is that you are playing in a different ballpark now. Being the dreamy, local high school hunk is not the same as being a world-class supermodel. Whether your Stars will be platforms for success or an albatross pinning you down under the crushing weight of expectation is down to you. There are some 1*s where, I dunno. I sense generosity. Stay sharp, take feedback, focus on repeat customers, watch your prices.

The Second Word of Warning: PRs and Marketing. I am already seeing some eye-rolling behaviour. A few ‘first’ adjectives: the awards were named in alphabetical order, not in “most coveted” descending order. If your name was called first, it’s because it started with a number or an A. It does not make you the first (and impliedly best) bib gourmand, recommended or starred restaurant. You should know better. Second, it’s restaurants that win the Star, not the chef. There is no such thing as a Michelin-starred chef. There never has. If the chef leaves, the restaurant keeps the star (until the next guide perhaps). Stop misleading people.

Between each tiering, restaurants are (more or less) correctly placed relative to each other. You may think I’m splitting hairs here. But, broadly, the restaurants look about right relative to each other. Broadly, the starred restaurants are stronger than the recommendations, the Bibs are mostly correctly allocated (but I could name one shocker of a placing). It more or less makes sense.

WITHIN each tiering, there are some STANDOUT question marks IMHO. Spoiler alert: I am not a Michelin inspector. So I am looking at this as a seasoned global traveller (a bon vivant if you will) with experience and expectations of what a 1*, 2* and bib gourmand restaurant mean. To that end, let me talk about my leading disappointments (without trashing people, but boy could I):