For Abu Dhabi residents bored with the usual KFC, McDonald’s and Subway lunch takeaways, the bar has just been lifted. Petrossian, a purveyor of fine caviar and other exotic delicacies, has pitched up in town. The venerable Parisian establishment is ready to meet the most outrageous gastronomic fantasies of the well-heeled (and those who have taken advantage of cheap financing to live beyond their means).
It’s surprising that it’s taken Petrossian so long to arrive, but one should never look a gift Beluga in the mouth – especially when it comes at Dh24,000 per 250 grams. Serving chilled caviar in a city where temperatures can reach 55°C in the summer does pose its challenges and so one can only assume the delay in getting here was on account of finding a way to overcome such hurdles (although the brand has been in The Dubai Mall since last year).
The fine chefs at Petrossian have teamed up with the Swiss catering company Executive Gourmet – a unit of Gate Gourmet, the biggest independent airline catering company in the world with a presence in more than 120 countries – at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi. The airport was Abu Dhabi’s only airport until the current location on the outskirts of town was built in the early 1980s. It was then commandeered by the army before being transformed into an executive airport in 2008.
Executive Gourmet and Petrossian, which has been around since 1920, provide VIPs and owners of private jets with something good to eat while travelling but are also offering a takeaway service. As well as caviar, Petrossian sells delicacies such as foie gras, smoked salmon and truffles.
“The caviar served at Al Bateen is for flights but we will also be extending our services to outside catering,” says Joao Menezes de Aguiar, the general manager and project manager for Middle East operations. “If you want caviar, we can send it to you. It’s not only caviar – it’s also a range of products. We will be serving the wider Abu Dhabi community. You go out on your boat or your yacht and you have some friends and you want to serve caviar, salmon, foie gras, you tell us we will take care of it.”
mkassem@thenational.ae
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RESULT
Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg
Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 666hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm at 2,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
On sale: Q1 2023
Price: from Dh1.15 million (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Supy
Started: 2021
Founders: Dani El-Zein, Yazeed bin Busayyis, Ibrahim Bou Ncoula
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food and beverage, tech, hospitality software, Saas
Funding size: Bootstrapped for six months; pre-seed round of $1.5 million; seed round of $8 million
Investors: Beco Capital, Cotu Ventures, Valia Ventures and Global Ventures
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Poacher
Director: Richie Mehta
Starring: Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Rating: 3/5
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90+3')
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
THE STRANGERS' CASE
Director: Brandt Andersen
Starring: Omar Sy, Jason Beghe, Angeliki Papoulia
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
Indika
Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Publisher: Odd Meter
Console: PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Dengue fever symptoms
- High fever
- Intense pain behind your eyes
- Severe headache
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures