11-02-2022
The team at restaurant @3.fils in Dubai, Asian cuisine with a strong Japanese influence. They won the first edition of the MENA (Middle East & North Africa’s) 50 Best Restaurants, hosted at the Conrad Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, in the Arab Emirates
In the end, the first edition of the Mena World’s 50Best was won by the guys at 3 Fils, a restaurant serving “Asian cuisine with a strong Japanese influence” on Jumeirah beach, in Dubai. A restaurant with a Congolese head chef (Freddy Kazadi), Japanese executive chef (Shun Shiroma), Spanish pastry-chef (Carmen Rueda Hernández), Syrian general manager (Rami Massoud) and Philippine assistant manager (Percy Ramos), all happy in the dance hall of the Conrad Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, the location of the event. A nice story because it fully represents the cosmopolitan character of the Arab Emirates, a country made of 90% foreigners or people not from the Emirates (half of the population comes from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). Browsing the online menu of 3 Fils (fils stands for the cents of a dirham, the local currency) we get a sense that the offer is similar to Iyo Experience in Milan: Asian cuisine made contemporary, posh raw materials (wagyu and caviar), nigiri and sashimi. With two remarkable differences: no soy sauce («it covers flavours», the team tried to explain during the post-event press conference) and no alcohol, which after all is often very scarce on the tables of the Muslim country.
Fulvio Opalio, born in Torino in 1990, chef at Borro Tuscan Bistrot in Dubai. He's the chef of the only Italian restaurant in the list, 11th
Journalist Eleonora Cozzella with Yasmina Hayek of restaurant Em Sherif in Beirut, Lebanon, 22nd
BINGO. To the right Himanshu Saini, Indian chef twice in the list, with Tresind Studio 4th and Tresind, 18th, both in Dubai. With him, patrons Bhupender and Sakshi Nath
Tala Bashmi (Fusions by Tala, Manama) from Bahrain received the best female chef award from her Peruvian colleague Pia Leon
The guys at 3 Fils, excited at the press conference after the ceremony
Final group photo. In front, there's William Drew, director of the World's 50Best
SPECIAL AWARDS
Lowe, Dubai, sustainable restaurant Trèsind Studio, Dubai, Arab Emirates, art of hospitality Reif Othman, Reif Kushiyaki, Dubai, Arab Emirates, chefs’ choice Sahar Parham Al Awadhi, ex Burj al Arab, Dubai, best pastry chef Tala Bashmi, Fusions by Tala, Manama, Bahrain, best female chef Kamal Mouzawak, Tawlet, Beirut, Lebanon, Foodics Icon
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Reviews, recommendations and trends from the four corners of the planet, signed by all the authors of Identità Golose
by
born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt