Chefs Emad Alhazwani, Hussein Ibrahim and Oumaima Bejja (Left to Right)
This year, the Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre will be the venue where three regional chefs will cook up a storm during the Holy Month of Ramadan and HN finds out what is in store.
Who are the three chefs and what are their individual specialties?
Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre showcases three of its talented chefs to craft an unforgettable Ramadan experience. To celebrate the breaking of the fast, Chef Oumaima Bejja will be preparing her homemade traditional recipes with a soul-satisfying Moroccan twist under the starry sky of Marrakech. Originally from Egypt, Chef Hussein Ibrahim has dedicated 13 years of Arabic culinary experience in the UAE, sharing his passion for cooking through impeccable dishes and menus. Authenticity and simplicity are his main ingredients of food preparation with no extravaganza. Chef Emad Alhazwani will bring the fine-dining techniques to traditional Iftar Lebanese and Syrian cuisines.
Ramadan is always an exciting time for hotel guests who enjoy regional culinary delights. Compared to last year, what changes have you instituted and why?
During Ramadan last year, we featured one of the great cuisines of the world, traditional Moroccan buffet with authentic delicacies, live cooking stations and famous Arabic beverages. Your Iftar experience will surely elevate this year. Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre will celebrate Ramadan with the new innovative Arabic menus for Suhoor and lavish Iftar buffet served with live cooking stations. Previously awarded as the Best City Hotel in the Middle East, the hotel presents fresh and exciting dishes during the holy month of Ramadan. The culture, flavor and aroma of the traditional Arabic cuisines come to life at Medley Restaurant from Moroccan recipes, Lebanese specialties and Egyptian delicacies. Guests will also enjoy the ultimate Ramadan experience with new stylish tents located on the terrace.
The concepts to be included in this year’s festive program come from Morocco, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. Why were these countries specifically chosen and not others?
To honor the special time of the year, Chefs Bejja , Alhazwani and Ibrahim together with their secret recipes and authentic cooking techniques, have created the traditional grand Iftar buffet menus offering an extensive range of Arabic dishes and gastronomic choices designed to be enjoyed with family, friends and colleagues. With combined glamour of mixed cuisines from Morocco, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, guests can enjoy generous Middle Eastern specialties with home-made Ramadan beverages and decadent collection of desserts and fabulous pastries.
What will be some of the signature offerings only made available to your guests?
While the Medley Restaurant’s decor creates a transcended Ramadan environment, discover our new Iftar menus from North Africa to the Gulf featuring traditional Lebanese mezze, shawarma, mixed grill meats, famous hearty Harira soup from Morocco, the classic Molokhiyya Egyptian vegetable soup, Tagine, Basbousa, Umm Ali and much more. Carefully crafted by the hotel’s Arabic mastered chefs, Medley Restaurant offers an unlimited amount of signature dishes and new delicacies with over 150 dishes from starter, main course, dessert and beverages.
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector.
Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC).
She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book.
She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter.
Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler.
It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
