Quique Dacosta. Courtesy Susana Martinez
Quique Dacosta. Courtesy Susana Martinez

Michelin-starred chef Quique Dacosta: ‘I preserve my own culinary language’



Enigma, the signature restaurant in the Palazzo Versace Dubai hotel, has opened, featuring three Michelin-starred Spanish chef Quique Dacosta and his Vanguard concept.

Every three months, the restaurant will invite a new, world-renowned chef to take over the menu.

Dacosta, whose eponymous restaurant in Spain is ranked 39 on the esteemed list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, is eager to show discerning diners in Dubai what he has to offer.

What do you think about Enigma’s concept and why did you want to participate?

It’s unique in the world. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s a challenge and I felt the need to take it on.

My goal is to do something unique in Dubai, to set the bar very high and motivate everyone to come live it intensely.

Enigma is something truly interesting and I encourage everyone to come and experience it in person, because it is something unique in a magical atmosphere.

What can diners expect from your food?

Magic. Affinity. Fragility. Strong flavours. Intense textures. A sensory universe. Vegetables are the thread running throughout my culinary offerings. My cuisine would not exist without them.

What signature dishes will you be serving?

This is one of the enigmas. I can’t give you an answer. I hope that each diner experiences each of the dishes in his or her own way.

Will you adapt your cuisine to the market?

You’ll see my own cuisine. No concessions are made in that regard. I think people will be able to enjoy my essence as opposed to an adaptation to local cuisine. I preserve my own culinary language.

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The menu is an Enigma

I tried Dacosta’s Vanguard concept at Enigma and it’s a multi-sensory overload you don’t want to miss. I can’t reveal details because the element of surprise is part of the experience.

Dacosta does things with food I’ve never seen before – the molecular gastronomy on display is masterful. At one point, the lights are turned off and servers come out with a glow-in-the-dark dish that Dacosta calls “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.

There is no menu, you won’t know what’s coming, and you’ll eat things that confuse the senses, but, rest assured, Dacosta puts on a culinary show worth digging your teeth into.

Vanguard is held from 7pm to 10.30pm until April 12. Dh650 early-bird reservations; Dh750 weekdays; Dh850 weekends. To book, visit www.enigmadxb.com

sjohnson@thenational.ae

RESULTS

Women:

55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2

Men:

62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Checks continue

A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.

Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.