Dubai Food Tips From the Chefs Who Know It Best

About this episode

Welcome to episode three of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel, this time focused on Dubai food: how a city long known for celebrity chefs and global concepts has grown a homegrown food scene with a flavor all its own. Guest host Nicola Chilton first sits down with Kathy Johnston, Chief Chocolate Officer of Mirzam, the Dubai-born, bean-to-bar chocolate company celebrating its 10th birthday. Johnston explains how Mirzam ties its recipes to the region’s spice-trade history, from a maps and monsters collection inspired by the tall tales traders told on Dubai Creek to a mango bar built around the monsoon trade with India and an Emirati range featuring halwa and aseeda. She also talks about sourcing more ingredients locally as farming grows in the UAE, and shares her own picks for where to eat in Dubai. In the second half, Nicola talks with Mohammad Orfali, the chef behind Orfali Bros Bistro, which opened in 2021 and holds a Michelin star. Orfali, who grew up in Aleppo, Syria, and moved to Dubai in 2006, walks through the pandemic-era opening, how a too-fancy burger became a local favorite, why he calls his cooking “Dubai cuisine,” and how locally grown produce is changing th