Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant chain is one of the catering businesses success stories in recent times with 15 restaurants all over the UK. The renowned Chef is now planning to repeat it’s success in Dubai by opening a restaurant at Festival Centre in Dubai Festival City, which already houses Dubai’s best food and beverage outlets.
Philip Evans, who is the Director of Commercial & Retail Leasing at Al Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) had the following to say with regards to the opening of the new restaurant at Dubai Festival City centre,
“We are pleased to announce another first for Dubai and UAE, in opening Jamie’s Italian which further enriches our culinary offerings. The restaurant will be located at Festival Centre’s Marina Pavilion, where guests will have the opportunity to experience genuine Italian food in sleek and relaxing waterfront surrounds. The launch of Jamie’s Italian reflects our commitment to offering our guests a varied choice of quality dining options that distinguishes us from other dining hubs”.
Dubai is also looking for more and more restaurant brands to establish themselves there. Jamie’s Italian restaurant is scheduled to open in November 2010 and will be able to seat close to 300 people. Guests will get a rustic Italian ambience while they enjoy great Italian food with freshly sourced ingredients.
The 3-level venue features a pasta bar where fresh pasta will be made every day while the main dining area will comprise the antipasti and dessert counters.
Jamie´s Italian Menu Dubai
The menu at Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Dubai will feature a variety of pastas, authentic Italian mains and delicious snacks made with well-sourced, quality ingredients. Every dish has something to make it different offering gourmets and fans an unrivalled experience coupled with a rustic, authentic Italian ambience.
The move follows top worldwide renowned chefs such as Pierre Gagnaire, Gordon Ramsay, Giorgio Locatelli and Gary Rhodes, many of whom have been running restaurants in the UAE for several years now.
Jamie Oliver was brought up in Clavering, Essex, England, where his parents ran a pub, The Cricketers, where Jamie used to practice in the kitchen. He was educated at Newport Free Grammar School and left school at 16 without any qualifications to attend Westminster Catering College.
His first job was as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Yard restaurant, where Jamie first gained experience of Italian cuisine. He then moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous chef, where he was noticed by the BBC in 1999 when his show “The Naked Chef” debuted and his cookbook became a number one best-seller in the UK. That same year, Jamie Oliver was invited to prepare lunch for the Prime Minister Tony Blair at No. 10 Downing Street.