The profusion of celebrity chefs’ restaurants in the UAE and beyond poses questions about their appeal
The appearance in Abu Dhabi yesterday by celebrity baker Buddy "Cake Boss" Valastro raises a question: what exactly is the appeal of celebrity chefs? In the UAE, more than 20 restaurants use the names of famous chefs, even though diners know full well the chance of the chef in question even being present in the kitchen, let alone actually cooking their meal, is negligible.
Notwithstanding the occasional misfire, such as Gordon Ramsay’s decision in 2011 to abandon a restaurant in Dubai, there’s little doubting the success of the celebrity chef business model. Even so, only a tiny fraction of those living in the UAE will ever dine in one of these restaurants.
It’s the same with these chefs’ cookbooks, which are reliably found on the lists of bestsellers, and yet it seems only a small proportion of those whose kitchen shelves feature such tomes will actually open them and use the recipes they contain to create a meal.
With the cheaper end of the food industry revolving around instantly recognisable international fast food chains, could it be that celebrity chefs are just a high-end variation of that phenomenon?
Or is it that the prospect of dining at such a restaurant or buying their cookbook places us at one degree of separation from someone famous seen on the television? It’s something to chew on.
