Sithu Tint Swe…….

I am delighted to tell this wonderful story of none other than our Chief Butcher Sithu. He has great Skills, a wonderful personality and an amazing smile, but in saying that  He has cut, shredded, minced, pounded and as far as I am concerned killed the English language as we used to know it.

He is the only person that can call an item in three different ways, He has his own vocabulary, his own grammar and on top of all that he is the one that is always right, because it is I that does not understand him……..go and figure!!!!!!!!!

SHA QUA NID PRASTTIC

The other day he ran to my office to place his daily order for the butchery like he does every other day and like every otherday I have to some how translate his know it all Myanmarese-English into what I can possibly deduct from it all and order. Any how he ran into my office and start to blabber out what he thought was the best impersonation  of poetic Justice……………..SHA QUA NID PRASTIIC, I deliberated for a moment or two and with a sense of please explain again what the hell you need he forcefully says again, SHA QUA NID PRASTIIC, at this stage my eye were watering and before i could possibly try to make sense of it and burst out laughing like you would not believe…….Then I composed my self and with a very jovial manner, I, again asked him what do you bloody want…….at this stage my chef de cuisine KUAN walked in and my light bulb all of sudden lit up as I knew half of the sentence as SHA QUA actually ment Chef Kuan !!!!!!!!!!! but what di prastiic mean, so i decide to ask Kuan what did he order from the butchery that was not in……………..he says……….. wait for it……..Chef I asked Sithu to get me some CRAB STICKS………..Can you possibly imagine what I go through with this guy………….but I tell you what, I never laugh as much as I laugh when he is around……………………….

MAA CI FACCUP

It takes a lot to stand there and absorb everything he says because the confusion is not only in your head where the little mouse is trying to work out exactly where this so called English comes from, what it spells and where it is supposed to go………….but it throws you off  completely in the wrong direction…………any how a few weeks back, Sithu got in to work and with the cheekiest grin on his face he tells me……….CHE, MAA CI FACCUP, what Mercy FACCUP now, I replied……….Che Yu alais Jok wid mi………Yes Sithu I always joke with you………..Any how he persisted to carry on about this CHE, MAA CI FACCUP……..Okay I replied….. he left me for about 5 minutes and then returns with the newspaper………..SII CHE MAA CI FACCUP……….yes you twisted bloody turnip I said, I know, MANCHESTER CITY WON THE F.A. CUP

A Talented Young Chef…………………

As IBN BATTUTA GATE is about to open its doors the kitchen Brigade headed by Chef Anston Fivaz is starting to take shape and develop its own unique food, styles and concepts. The team that has been put together is young but mature, it is raw but talented, it is enthusiastic but grounded and that is what drives any business to greater heights.

Such a team needs to always have a charming warrior that pushes, drives and shoves his ideals and morals into them and this young, energetic Chef is none other than Raydan……He is a charming individual always looking for the next challenge and opportunity.

He works hard to develop him-self and to experience different concepts. He is very strong with new openings of 5 star properties and he is very mature for his tender age.

He started cooking at the early age of 14 and was attending Hotel Management school, this was indeed an amazing feeling for this unpretentious Chef as he was following in the family footsteps……he recalls being extremely proud and satisfied as he had been working in the family business…….He recalls his working experience being extremely deep as he was learning the trade of butchery from his mother (1^st female butcher in Lebanon) and Kitchen skills from his father in their restaurant.

He is very traditional, very moral focused and drives his team from the front, He is ambitious, Mature and enthusiastic…………….He plans well and adapts to new ideas or strategies, his creative mind has helped Mistral develop in what slowly but surely will be a hit restaurant for Ibn Battuta Gate and Movenpick Hotel and resorts. For me it is a pleasure to have him on my team………………………..he will keep on improving and developing until his last day in the kitchen………….many moons from now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

His approach to cooking comes from dedication and time observing and listening to all his previous mentors whom he dedicates his appreciation…………….His connection to the kitchen is from his love of food, professional cookery attitude and real love for produce. His depth and knowledge were founded on Lebanese and French, now he has developed a real sense of all roundness by learning the art of

His biggest followers and supporter were none other than Mamma Feryal and Papa’ Adnan who have always stood by him as he has grown into a diligent young chef, but let’s not forget his real igniter to all this passion, his young and beautiful princess Nour Beaini whom makes him melt and turn Gaga..every time he speaks to her……………………………But wait there is one more young addition to this already extravagant and  energetic  food for thoughts family and that is Achraf……..His younger but just as talented brother……….what else do you need to be more proud of………………

He always mumbles this as he recalls having heard it somewhere……. Do what you love, love what you do .I am sure that has a chef he is doing exactly what he loves……………………

Up close with Craig Cook………..

Australian born Craig Cook is always up for a fresh challenge: whether sharing the stage with the Three Tenors at a peace concert or setting up the Food & Beverage Department’s for four new Movenpick Hotels & Resorts properties in Dubai.

The soon to be opened Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel is the perfect example of his ambitious belief that nothing can be unsurmountable. Eventhough His direction and directive is to lead a team of professionals the same way he would like to be directed always willing to be at the bottom of the pile and the front in the firing squad, He Leads a well organized structured message “deliver fantastic results whilst working as a Team”, this attitude is what makes Craig Cook an asset to any company hence he is overseeing Ibn Battuta Gate, Movenpick Deira, The Royal Amwaj & Oceana Hotel & Spa, is currently tasked with shaping the groups food & beverage offering: creating & evolving concepts, turning them into reality, setting up quality standards and managing a team of many hundreds of employees. Describing his role, he says, “I am lucky to have a great team. It’s quite a large task at hand and it goes beyond just pre-opening because we are actually developing a lasting legacy for the company. It’s like a scrap book with blank pages; we’re filling them in!”

Describing his greatest challenge finding Hoteliers “that are passionate about change” Craig says: “Our brand isn’t about regurgitating what has been done; it’s about blazing a new trail and creating new trends. We are very selective about who we hire because we want people with the right attitude.”

Joining Movenpick from Tiara Hotels & Resorts, where he spent two years as Executive Assistant Manager, Craig brings 16 years of experience to his role, during which he worked with brands like Starwood Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Anantara Hotels & Resorts and Disney Cruise Line.

Interestingly, prior to plunging into the hospitality industry, Craig earned a Bachelor of Music degree majoring in Operatic Performance as a baritone, enjoyed a successful stint as a professional opera singer and even has a solo album, titledThis is the Moment, to his credit. His love affair with music began when he started singing in the Australian Voices Youth Choir as a child.

The highlight of his musical career was his performance at the Missa De Tempore in Aevum: Message of Peace from Medjugorge to the World in 1996 where he sang with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, José Carreras and Cecilia Gasdia in Medjugorge, Croatia.  Describing the experience he says: “I was lucky enough to be selected after auditioning and was one of four people from Australia to sing with these operatic visionaries. It was a sensational, once in a lifetime experience.”

Musical talents aside, Craig is also a keen sports enthusiast and is an avid golfer and enjoys regular visits to the gym. He also enjoys clay pigeon shooting, which he says helps him unwind and is a regular at the Jebel Ali shooting range.