One of Britain’s most celebrated chefs will open his first restaurant outside the United Kingdom in September, at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.
Chef Michael Caines – whose restaurant Gidleigh Park in Devon has two Michelin stars – will be the driving force behind Pearls by Michael Caines, which will replace the now-shuttered Scott’s restaurant.
Although it has the same stunning location over the water, Pearls will have a dramatically different feel to the upscale seafood eatery.
“This will be casual fine dining,” explains Caines, during a visit to the capital this week. “There will be no tablecloths. It will be very informal.”
But, he says, the menu is designed to impress. Caines’s innovative cuisine is the reason Gidleigh Park has retained two Michelin stars for 16 years. At age 46, the chef is confident in a way that’s convincing, not arrogant.
“How I cook and what I do is unique. You’ll be amazed at the extraction of flavour I get from the ingredients. For me, the key is the quality of ingredients and the technical ability to bring flavours together to create a great combination. That’s my skill.”
Caines first stepped inside Jumeirah at Etihad Towers when he took over as a guest chef in Brasserie Angélique during Gourmet Abu Dhabi last year. He fell in love with the hotel and mentioned that he’d love to have a restaurant there. Eight months later, director of food and beverage Loughlin Druhan called Caines to talk about opening a restaurant.
But first, Caines needed the hotel’s executives to believe in him. During a trip to the capital in February, Caines demonstrated his culinary skills for Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the owner of Etihad Towers. Caines says: “I cooked an entire menu. Four starters, four mains and four desserts. I served every single dish in small portions for his table so he could taste everything. His approval is important.” Sheikh Suroor approved.
Before landing the head chef position at Gidleigh Park in 1994, Caines trained with chefs who are well known masters of their craft: Raymond Blanc in Oxfordshire; the late Bernard Loiseau in Saulieu, France; and Joël Robuchon in Paris. All played an integral part in his career. “The advice I got from all of those chefs was that I had the ability and if I fulfilled my potential, I’d do incredibly well. They weren’t wrong. But it’s not an easy industry. It takes a lot of hard work.”
That work became infinitely harder when Caines lost his right arm in a car accident in 1994, just two months after landing his position at Gidleigh Park. But it didn’t stop him: Caines’s drive to succeed had him back working in the kitchen just two weeks later.
Caines is bringing that same drive to succeed to his new restaurant at Jumeirah. He says it will be his food and his recipes on the menu and he has full confidence in the chefs’ abilities to execute his vision. Kevin Fleming will be the head chef at Pearls by Michael Caines. Caines is committed to stay heavily involved and fully support the chefs.
“Like anything, it’s only really successful if you’re able to commit to the project in a sincere way,” he says. “I’ll be here at least four weeks a year.”
Caines hints that this is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter of his career. He’s taking this opening seriously and cares deeply about its success. He’s eager to open the doors and share his cuisine with food-lovers in the capital.
“I always get a bit more confident having cooked for you and then talk about the food after,” he says. “The food does the talking. When you see some of the stuff we’re working on, it’s pretty exciting.”
sjohnson@thenational.ae
