"It'll be fantastic if Dubai becomes more and more a foodie town," the chef Gary Rhodes says.
"It'll be fantastic if Dubai becomes more and more a foodie town," the chef Gary Rhodes says.

Rhodes' rules



When Gary Rhodes opened Rhodes Mezzanine, he aimed to challenge Gordon Ramsay for Dubai's culinary crown. One year on, a slew of big-name chefs have opened restaurants in the city, which makes Gary's goal even tougher to achieve.

It is a bit like that. I love being busy. If I'm not busy I'll go home and I'll moan to Jenny (his wife), "I'm going out of business..." I get quite fanatical about it. Some days I'll get scared if it's too busy. It's weird. I get frightening moments. I'll say to Jen, "I don't think I can do this; I've taken on too much here. I can't cope with it; I don't feel in control." Then I'll sleep and wake up with a whole new light, with a more positive approach to it all.

It's so true. I'm quite fanatical when I'm opening a restaurant, about making sure it's up and running the way I want it to be. And then I can start to develop the menu. From a kitchen point of view, we develop foods that are - intricate is the wrong word - but a little more involved. I want to chat with my chefs about some new dishes for the menu, but I might hold them back until the new year. They're simple, but they need a fair bit of work.

I think I'm very fair, and I treat everybody with absolute respect. No matter how I feel about something, I never speak to people in a derogatory manner.

I'm thrilled with it. I made a little mistake because I tried to turn it all French with one little menu change. Suddenly people were saying, "Where is that jam roly-poly that I brought my friend here for?"

Yes, and some of the dishes were getting a little bit too arty. But in the new year I'm going to make sure it has a lot more of the British tone about it. But with finesse. I think the jam roly-poly should be something we can never take off the menu. It becomes something that everybody loves now and again.

I am enjoying that because I think it creates a bigger advert for what Dubai is about. It'll be fantastic if Dubai becomes more and more a foodie town. It'll be a place that you've got to come and, not only to enjoy the fantastic weather and see the stunning buildings, but to treat as a little gourmet tour as well. And hopefully Michelin will come knocking on the door - it'll bring more and more chefs over here.

Rubbish - absolute rubbish. I fell out with (Ramsay's former boss) Marco Pierre White a long time ago, over restaurants and bits and pieces, and I rarely see the guy, but if anything it's a nod now and nothing else. I have no conversation with him. And that's no disrespect to Marco, I do believe he was the greatest British chef of all time - in his day. And people like Gordon learnt from him. But the reason I'll stick by him (Gordon) is that I hate reading bad articles about him. You know, this celeb in the States making £50-60 million (Dh317-381 million) - so what? What if he is? Good luck to the guy. When I first started doing TV, I think he thought I was some celebrity chef who just wanted to show his face on TV. But I've proved that my priority is with the restaurants and TV is a bonus. I don't want to lose my reputation in the industry. I'll never be in the same bracket as Marco and Gordon - perhaps there's another edge that they have. But I've got two Michelin star restaurants in the UK and I'm very, very proud of that.

I think it will take at least another year before we really make some noise in terms of British cuisine taken to a different level, with a different approach to it. Next year, I'm doing a steak and kidney homemade faggot (traditional British meatball), puréeing the meat so it's as smooth as you can imagine in a boudin mixand very gently poached. And that'll be with caramelised onions with the sweetness of fresh tomato in it. It'll be a melting, silky experience with strands of oxtail that just dissolve in the mouth. That for me is the true art of cooking.

Well, I've got to stick to what our theme is, what it's meant to be. And I got a little carried away putting little lines of this and that on the plate. And I was starting to cook like every other chef - I don't want to cook like every other chef. How many times do we go somewhere now when you get a spoonful of purée and it's smudged all the way through the plate? How are you enjoying that flavour and how is it complementing everything else? No. That sort of thing is out the window and I won't allow it on the plates here. If there's going to be a parsnip purée it's going to be there for a purpose.

Well, everybody's loaded over here! No, I don't mean that. I think in the UK that's certainly the first move because it has hit people hard. We've just changed the concept of our Brasserie at Rhodes W1. And now we're in the process of dropping all the prices.

Well, I'm happy working with the Grosvenor House, and if they ask me for more with this company then I'll be thrilled to do that. I'd like to grow with this, but at the same time if someone else comes knocking I'll always take a look. I would never take on anything that I felt was in competition to what we've got here. This was the first, and I've got too much respect to do that. So, Abu Dhabi - anyone interested (laughs)? Who knows?

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS

Biosafety Level 1

The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.

Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.

Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.

Used as teaching spaces.

Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.

Biosafety Level 2

These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.

Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.

Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1

Biosafety Level 3

These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.

Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.

Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.

Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.

Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.

Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.

Biosafety Level 4

The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.

All material must be decontaminated.

Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.

Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.

Entrance must be via airlocks.

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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.

Expert input

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Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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The specs

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Pad Man

Dir: R Balki

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte

Three-and-a-half stars

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

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1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
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3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
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T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE)  68 72 69 67 - 4-under

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Cry Macho

Director: Clint Eastwood

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam

Rating:**