• Massimo Vidoni, managing director and founder of Italtouch, holds an imported black truffle, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Vidoni’s business, Italtouch, has become the go-to supplier of truffles and caviar for a roster of 500 clients across the Gulf region that include Michelin-starred restaurants and winners of the regional 50 Best restaurant awards. Photographer: Christopher Pike / Bloomberg
    Massimo Vidoni, managing director and founder of Italtouch, holds an imported black truffle, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Vidoni’s business, Italtouch, has become the go-to supplier of truffles and caviar for a roster of 500 clients across the Gulf region that include Michelin-starred restaurants and winners of the regional 50 Best restaurant awards. Photographer: Christopher Pike / Bloomberg
  • His business, Italtouch, has become the go-to supplier of truffles and caviar for 500 clients across the Gulf that include top-end establishments and winners of the regional 50 Best restaurant awards
    His business, Italtouch, has become the go-to supplier of truffles and caviar for 500 clients across the Gulf that include top-end establishments and winners of the regional 50 Best restaurant awards
  • Vidoni, a 54-year-old Italian, has become known in Dubai as the 'Truffleman', a name he says a chef coined years ago
    Vidoni, a 54-year-old Italian, has become known in Dubai as the 'Truffleman', a name he says a chef coined years ago
  • Demand has never been stronger for truffles in Dubai, where some diners expect to be offered dishes adorned with caviar, truffle or even gold leaf
    Demand has never been stronger for truffles in Dubai, where some diners expect to be offered dishes adorned with caviar, truffle or even gold leaf
  • Vidoni holds a tin of imported Iranian caviar. The company imported nearly 4,000kg of truffles last year
    Vidoni holds a tin of imported Iranian caviar. The company imported nearly 4,000kg of truffles last year
  • Truffles are best served with fatty foods such as oil, cream, butter and cheese — they don’t go well with acidic and spicy food, such as tomato, he explains
    Truffles are best served with fatty foods such as oil, cream, butter and cheese — they don’t go well with acidic and spicy food, such as tomato, he explains
  • Bottles of white balsamic vinegar with gold flake, created for the Saudi Arabian market and selling for Dh1,134 ($309), at the Italtouch showroom in Dubai
    Bottles of white balsamic vinegar with gold flake, created for the Saudi Arabian market and selling for Dh1,134 ($309), at the Italtouch showroom in Dubai
  • Reif Othman, chef and owner of Reif Japanese Kushiyaki restaurant, inspects black truffles delivered by Italtouch
    Reif Othman, chef and owner of Reif Japanese Kushiyaki restaurant, inspects black truffles delivered by Italtouch
  • Vidoni was even summoned to Abu Dhabi to deliver truffles in August 2020, when a delegation of Israelis visited the UAE as part of events around the Abraham Accords
    Vidoni was even summoned to Abu Dhabi to deliver truffles in August 2020, when a delegation of Israelis visited the UAE as part of events around the Abraham Accords
  • A Reif Japanese Kushiyaki dish of truffle cream udon, garnished with black truffles delivered by Italtouch. Massimo Vidoni’s business is booming
    A Reif Japanese Kushiyaki dish of truffle cream udon, garnished with black truffles delivered by Italtouch. Massimo Vidoni’s business is booming

The go-to man for truffles and $300 balsamic vinegar - in pictures


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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars

Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.

Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.

After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.

Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.

It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.

 

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mozn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammed%20Alhussein%2C%20Khaled%20Al%20Ghoneim%2C%20Abdullah%20Alsaeed%20and%20Malik%20Alyousef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20VentureSouq%2C%20Sukna%20Ventures%20and%20others%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”

Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Updated: March 22, 2023, 11:01 AM