Interview with Maximilian Rauch, Ascott’s head of F&B for Middle East, Africa and Turkey
Throughout his impressive career, Maximilian Rauch has held key positions across the hospitality and corporate sectors. In his new role, he will be responsible for Ascott’s portfolio of owners and restaurant operators across the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey and Kenya, creating dedicated training programs, implementing customized service solutions and bolstering industry specific partnerships to strengthen the group’s F&B offerings. With his extensive background in culinary management, Rauch tells us how he is planning to elevate Ascott’s F&B offerings.
Five minutes with Peter Schatzberg of Shatranj Capital Partners
American entrepreneur Peter Schatzberg, general partner of Shatranj Capital Partners and founder and former CEO of Sweetheart Kitchen, considers the Middle East his home. Having recently launched SCP, which focused exclusively on the F&B sector in the region, we took the opportunity to learn more about his project.
The fundamentals of success in hospitality with Evgeny Kuzin
Evgeny Kuzin moved to Dubai when he was 21 years with a dream of building an empire from the ground up. Passionate about hospitality, he made the UAE his second home and focused on bringing well-known luxury concepts to Dubai, and with that experience, he went on to focus on creating home-grown concepts. Today, he is chairman of Fundamental Hospitality.
An elevated restaurant experience with Marvin Alballi
Marvin Alballi is an award-winning food and beverage executive. With over two decades of international experience managing franchise chains, celebrity chef restaurants, independent establishments and global hotel F&B operations, he tells us more about his book “Restaurant Excellence” and the secrets of the trade.
Changing the food narrative with Emma Banks, Hilton’s VP of F&B strategy and development EMEA
As a seasoned hotelier and F&B expert, Emma Banks, VP of F&B strategy and development EMEA at Hilton, tells us how the brand is securing a better future for professionals thanks to initiatives.
Taking the lead with Mark Patten, senior VP of food & beverage at The First Group
An internationally award-winning chef and highly respected food and beverage operations specialist, Mark Patten is leading The First Group’s fast-growing F&B division. His track record in creating successful, cutting-edge F&B concepts in the UAE, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK is a testament to his optimism, hard work, hands-on attitude and entrepreneurial spirit. Here, Patten tells us more about the group’s expansion.
Homegrown Akiba Dori expands beyond the GCC
Dubai homegrown Japanese concept Akiba Dori has kicked off its fifth anniversary with a franchise development agreement for 30 locations in India. Following the restaurant’s successful expansion streak, with five branches launched in the GCC within the last five years, Akiba Dori’s modern Japanese street food and Tokyo-style pizza have been enjoyed over the last five years in the UAE and, most recently, Saudi Arabia.
Catch of the day: Seafood trends
International cuisine has transformed beyond recognition in recent decades. Greater exposure to cuisines from farflung corners of the world, via digital platforms such as social media, has introduced us to new dining concepts that meant little to us just a few years ago. With this in mind, Abdul Kader Saadi, founder and managing director of Eighty6 Shop, gives us the lowdown on seafood and why it is becoming more popular by the hour.
SIAL Paris brought together more than 7,000 exhibitors from 127 countries
SIAL Paris’s figures were close to those of 2018 — 265,000 professionals, of whom 85 percent came from overseas.
Lebanese casual eatery Furn Beaino has launched a cloud kitchen in Dubai
The family-owned and operated F&B concept has teamed up with a number of courier services to serve customers in the area.
