In the overflowing gastronomic scene of Dubai, Madrid's star chef Dabiz Muñoz has arrived. "Dubai will be one of the new hubs of world cuisine," he declares. "But today, you only reach the top if you respect your team: a happy team makes happy food."
Cover photo: @Andrèas D'Elia
The opinion
"Dubai will be one of the new hubs of world cuisine. They are so welcoming and open to new flavors; all the chefs in the world would like to come here to present their art, myself included." Dabiz Muñoz, the visionary chef of Spanish avant-garde, firmly believes in enhancing the already diverse and burgeoning gastronomic landscape by introducing his StreetXo, a move that sees new locations being added almost daily. The chef recently confessed this to Esquire Middle East, in an interesting exchange of views on the future gastronomic scene.
Even the Emirates have plunged into a whirlwind called the "kitchen craze," a phenomenon increasingly global, for better or for worse, on whose dark sides films and TV talk shows embroider, portraying chefs torturing customers and teams or harassing beginners enthusiasts when still green. "They used to be all crazy, aggressive, but driving the team crazy doesn't equal good food. Happy team, happy food. Period."
"I'm 43 years old, became a chef when I was 18. At that time, it wasn't glamorous at all, and I still think it isn't. We cook every day, literally buried by food. But the process was much more chaotic in the past. In our company, DiverXo, we understand that happy people make happy food. We don't want to fight in the kitchen; we don't allow this way of doing things. Of course, we aim to reach the top, but if you respect the team, they will respect your restaurant, and the results will come. Anyone working in a restaurant kitchen should be there for their love of food, so there's no valid reason to shout at them."
COVID is now water under the bridge: back then, DiverXo set up its food trucks, unleashed first in Madrid, then throughout Spain, achieving great success. Initially serving an original version of the hot dog, then the hamburger. But now the work is buzzing around the next offering of chicken and waffles, an American classic. "It's a combination of tastes that's simply incredible. Ours will be even softer thanks to coconut milk, but the DNA will remain intact. Making this kind of 'dirty food' on the truck is the best there is. It brings comfort, makes people happy."
