We are joined this week by multidisciplinary Jordanian designer Anoud Alzaben who we first met at The Lighthouse when she set the stage for a fantastical nature-cum-charcuterie pop-up for Beirut’s The Silly Spoon. After launching her professional career in architecture, Anoud traded her 9 to 5 desk job with motherhood and a pivot to holistic design approaches like tablescapes and movement & mobility coaching. Hashem and Anoud discuss her process; the rural and bedouin roots that continue to influence her work; and their shared appreciation for journaling– whether classically with ink and paper or visually via Instagram Stories. 

This week we sit with Stasha Toncev, founder of Dubai’s award-winning Balkan bistro, 21 Grams. Hailed in the media, Stasha’s restaurant was praised as “charming” and “brain melting” by The Financial Times supplement, How To Spend It, and Bill Addison, the Los Angeles Times’ celebrated food critic. In a heart-to-heart with Hashem, Stasha opened up about her childhood in Socialist Yugoslavia; her daring move to Dubai with 200 Euros in her pocket and the struggles of launching her restaurant business as a woman of Balkan descent– a double whammy in her view. Stasha and Hashem also talk openly about the importance of mental health for entrepreneurs and the struggles and personal sacrifices Stasha braved for her business.

The Michelin Guides recently announced the launch of a new Dubai guide (the first Michelin Guide in the Middle East) in June 2022. Hashem and his co-host Samantha Wood aka FooDiva sit down with Gwendal Poullennec, the Guides’ International Director. Over coffee and Shakshouka, Hashem and Samantha ask a tight-lipped Poullennec their most pressing questions to contextualize and debunk some of the most common urban legends surrounding this heritage ‘award’ which dates back to 1900. Among them: what are the criteria of awarding a star; are Michelin inspectors all tall and skinny; how many meals do inspectors eat every day and what makes Dubai’s culinary scene stand out? 

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To mark the occasion of the Middle East's recent inclusion in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, we catch up with award-winning food critic Samantha Wood aka FooDiva, and Claudia de Brito, the awards’ Gulf Academy Chair. We take a deep dive into the awards; how the Awards were started, how the winners are selected and who sits on the voting committee. Claudia and Samantha share their views on alcohol licensed vs. unlicensed restaurants in the region, their insights of how to reach– and remain at– the top, and how host Hashem could qualify for the official title of “well-traveled gourmand”! We are also joined by special guests Chef Reif Othman of Reif Kushiyaki and Zooba Founder Chris Khalifa who share the impact their respective MENA’s50 Best wins has had on their businesses and future outlooks.

Links: 

To mark the occasion of the Middle East's recent inclusion in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, we catch up with award-winning food critic Samantha Wood aka FooDiva, and Claudia de Brito, the awards’ Gulf Academy Chair. We take a deep dive into the awards; how the Awards were started, how the winners are selected and who sits on the voting committee. Claudia and Samantha share their views on alcohol licensed vs. unlicensed restaurants in the region, their insights of how to reach– and remain at– the top, and how host Hashem could qualify for the official title of “well-traveled gourmand”! We are also joined by special guests Chef Reif Othman of Reif Kushiyaki and Zooba Founder Chris Khalifa who share the impact their respective MENA’s50 Best wins has had on their businesses and future outlooks.

Links: 

We sat with Rania Masri El Khatib, Founder of the RMK Collective, a transformation and experience design advisory. Rania launched her career in retail with the global fashion brand Azadea before joining Chalhoub Group and spearheading the iconic Level Shoe District in Dubai Mall ten years ago. Rania’s keen insight on what makes consumers “tick” allowed her to design customer-centric experiences and leverage social media as a tool for research and audience feedback. Through personal anecdotes in her own workplace, Rania shares with us the importance of finding a healthy balance between career progression and personal growth while sending a call to arms to female employees to not ignore their personal needs. She also reveals how social media helped spread her message, and which former Apple Senior Vice President’s book encouraged Rania to adapt her view on work and the so-called “hustle culture.” 

This week we caught up with Cyril Zammit, design advisor and former director of the renowned fair for collectible design, Design Days Dubai, which ran from 2012-2017. Hashem and Cyril unpack a decade in design starting at a time when the local design scene was nascent before, Dubai cemented itself as a regional hub. They also discuss how the GCC’s design landscape–slowly but surely–matured and how Covid accelerated an interest in a more curated and design-led home environment. Finally, Cyril shares his expectations on how regional bodies can support emerging designers and what lies ahead for NFT lovers.

This week we met up with Hani AlMalki aka Bedouinfoodie, Dubai-based restaurant reviewer extraordinaire and food history buff. Hani shares snippets from his multicultural upbringing in the historic port city of Jeddah and his early experiences with Michelin-starred cuisine during business meetings between his parents and master perfumer Jean-Paul Guerlain in Paris. Hashem and Hani also discuss the influences of pilgrims in Mecca and Madinah on Saudi cuisine, and how pilgrimage even led to the creation of a famous Indonesian street food, Murtabak. Bedouinfoodie reveals some of the methods behind his reviews, what the future of Saudi’s culinary landscape entails, the ingredients of a foodie destination, and what’s still missing from Dubai’s food scene.

And just like that, The Lighthouse turns five! This year might feel to some like “2020, Part Three” but to us it feels like a birthday with the addition of fraternal twins. We’re marking the start of a new era with two new openings in Abu Dhabi and The Palm so it feels good to be turning five.

The Lighthouse Conversations podcast has similarly evolved over the years as we doubled down on an interview style that we felt brings out the best in our guests and ourselves. Tune in as host Hashem and producer Chirag reflect on this past year of The Lighthouse Conversations including snippets by venture capitalist Khaled Talhouni, and chic fantastiqueBBQ pitmaster Hattem Matter.