It may sound strange that an award-winning Japanese restaurant like Zuma is helmed by someone who is not a qualified sushi chef, but for culinary master and entrepreneur Rainer Becker, the knowledge is more important than the craft.
A mere few weeks away from Zuma's grand opening at The Gate Village, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the multi-award-winning restaurant and its celebrity chef have already created a buzz with this city's growing food connoisseurs.
Specialising in traditional Japanese cuisine with a modern twist, Zuma has been popular on the London restaurant scene for six years, and is said to be a hit with celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Lionel Richie. With new outlets opening in Hong Kong last year and Istanbul in February, it was only a matter of time before the concept arrived in the region.
"My first visit to Dubai was three-and-a-half years ago," Becker tells
Emirates Business. "There are a lot of Arabs who visit London in the summer, and many are regular customers at Zuma. Whenever they visit, they suggest that we should open in the UAE. When I visited the city and saw that Dubai is constantly expanding, I thought it was indeed a great time to set up over here."
The latest Zuma creation could not have arrived at a better location. As a German chef with work experience spanning three continents, Becker serves modern Japanese cuisine with the backing of an Indian business partner, Arjun Waney. With such a cosmopolitan business blend, it comes as little surprise he has set up shop in the emirate. In fact, Becker points out, it is Dubai's international feel that encouraged him to break into the Middle Eastern market.
"What attracted me to Dubai is the fact that the city is very multicultural," he says. "And when I saw DIFC, I thought it was an incredibly attractive place for the restaurant. I really see that area becoming the hub of Dubai once all construction is completed."
With Waney's support, Becker unleashed hyper-trendy Zuma on an unsuspecting public in London in 2002. Its success has been phenomenal, and still proves a popular destination for the rich and famous, turning over an estimated £12 million (Dh82.2m) a year.
He adds: "Arjun loves food, but he is not a conventional investor. We get on very well. He isn't involved with aspects of the restaurant, such as the food itself, but of course, he is involved with all other things, such as the expansion plans. Arjun is also familiar with this region because he already does business in the UAE, so his experience has obviously helped us with bringing Zuma here."
The key to the restaurant's success is down to two important factors: Its two open kitchens, where every chef is on display, and its locations.
Zuma's kitchens consist of a sushi bar with dedicated sushi chefs, as well as a robata grill that is inspired by the age-old cooking style of northern Japanese cuisine. Embracing the dining experience, guests are offered dishes that are brought to the table continuously throughout the meal, rather than the typical starter and maincourse menu structure.
With Dubai's outlet in the centre of its busy financial district, Becker predicts that the restaurant will not only be busy in the evenings, but during lunchtimes as well.
"In London, Zuma's waiting list for a reservation is currently approximately four to six weeks on a Thursday or Friday, and then around two weeks starting Monday," he says. "Although I don't expect the Dubai restaurant to become popular immediately, being in an area such as DIFC means that we will get a lot of businessmen coming to lunch or coming in after work. Plus, we are also very close to some of the hotels."
There's no denying that Becker, 44, is arguably one of the world's hardest working chefs. Having trained in classic German and French cuisine, Becker kickstarted his professional career by working at some of Germany's top restaurants, including the Michelin-star-rated Koen-igshof in Munich and Goethehaus in Bensberg. In 1988, he joined the Hyatt group where he worked for 14 years around the globe.
He was first appointed chef de cuisine at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Cologne, where he opened a German-Asian fusion restaurant called Graugan. "Once I started working at the Hyatt Regency, I travelled to places such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo to check out the different types of Asian food. That was when my love affair with Japanese food started. There was something about that type of cuisine that I was always attracted to," he says.
Becker then moved to Australia to work as executive chef at the Park Hyatt in Sydney, where he won Catering Executive of the Year award in 1992. His next stop was Japan, where he became executive chef at the Park Hyatt, Tokyo, for six years. It was there that he launched and ran five award-winning restaurants, including Kozue and New York Bar and Grill.
In 1998, Becker moved to London to work as executive chef of the Hyatt Carlton Tower, where he re-launched both the Rib Room and Oyster Bar. In 2002, he finally went solo, opening Zuma in London's popular Knightsbridge area. He then brought his robatayaki cuisine to Roka in Charlotte Street to huge acclaim in 2004.
He predicts his second concept will follow in the region.
"There's no denying that we're thinking about bringing Roka over," Becker says. "However, there's nothing on paper at the moment, because we're obviously still taking a look at the market, and we're focusing on Zuma."
Becker has been careful to launch Zuma as an authentic rather than a traditional Japanese restaurant, which diners can find intimidating.
He says: "Zuma is a modern Japanese restaurant. It's very lively, vibrant, sexy, and noisy. It is inspired by a traditional Japanese pub, however, it is more focused on design, food and service – but most importantly, it is relaxed. You can have a good time and enjoy the food."
The London restaurant has already collected an impressive array of awards. It was voted the Best Oriental Restaurant in the 2002 Restaurateurs Awards, Square Meal's Best New Restaurant in 2002 and Best Restaurant in 2003, the Guild Chef's Best Newcomer in 2003, and the Tatler Restaurant of the Year for 2005.
Surprisingly, even with all these titles associated with his name, Becker refuses to add the tag of a qualified sushi chef.
"I am not a sushi chef and I am not a Japanese chef. I am a chef who understands Japanese food," he says.
"I would never go behind the sushi counter in a restaurant and start making sushi. For me that would be very uncomfortable. However, I can tell my sushi chef whether a dish is bad or good sushi. The craft is something very unique to the Japanese and I don't want to touch it."
He smiles: "Besides, it looks weird having a white chef behind a sushi counter."
Dividing his time between each outlet and being involved with the launch of Zuma, Becker intends to keep the original site as a figurehead of the brand, with chefs being trained in London before being given the chance to join global openings. "It is important that chefs understand the concept of Zuma," he says, adding that the restaurant would follow Zuma's trademark style with designer Noriyoshi Muramatsu designing his latest addition to the Zuma family.
The menu is expected to be the same as London, with some slight seasonal variations. "The menu is expected to remain 90 per cent the same. However, we also experiment with what is available. For example, in the Gulf, hammour is readily available, so we will use that. We will still source some spices and certain specialist ingredients from Japan and Asia, because we don't compromise on authenticity."
Finally, Becker reveals he is not worried about the increasing competition between well-known chefs in the UAE; he encourages it.
"The more openings there are in Dubai the better it is, as it gives food lovers a choice of great restaurants.
"I respect many of the chefs who are opening here. Nobu opened the door to Zuma because of his approach to Japanese cuisine. And Jean Georges is a good friend. What he has done with French-Thai cuisine is really outstanding."
Becker reveals that even Gordon Ramsey is a fan.
"Gordon Ramsey is great. He visits Zuma a lot, and once even asked me if he could come and work at the restaurant for two weeks to see what it was like. When that didn't work, he tried sending his head chef."
Where celebs dine
Verre, Dubai (by Gordan Ramsay)
One of the first celebrity restaurants to hit Dubai was Verre at the Hilton Dubai Creek in 2001. With 25 establishments all over the world, including London, New York and Tokyo, Ramsay is never short of celebrity diners. David and Victoria Beckham are said to be fans of the temperamental British chef.
Almaz Momo (by Mourad Mazouz)
The French chef, famous for his two London restaurants – Sketch and Momo – took his brand one step further by opening Moroccan-themed Almaz in Harvey Nichols, Mall of the Emirates. Leading Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif and Brit supermodel Kate Moss are rumoured to have visited.
Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana (by Sanjeev Kapoor)
India's best-known chef, TV show host, author of best-selling cookbooks, and consultant owns many restaurants across the globe, including Dubai's Khazana and Options. Celebrities who apparently swear by his food include Rakhi Sawant and Sanjay Kapoor.
Nobu (by Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa)
The Japanese-born chef will make his UAE debut this November when Atlantis, The Palm, opens. His other restaurants, which are located everywhere from the US to Japan, are never short of celebrity diners. Fans include Egyptian actress Dalia El Beheiry and Robert De Niro, who co-owns Nobu New York.
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