In November, Four Seasons Hotels will open its first location in the UAE, in Dubai at Jumeirah Beach. The hotel is gearing up to be an ideal spot to bring in a wide mix of clientele, from socialites to executives. One way the hotel hopes to set itself apart is with its restaurants. To give it a running start, it has brought in the executive chef Gilles Arzur - who comes from the historic Beverly Wilshire (a Four Seasons property) in Beverly Hills, California.
The Beverly Wilshire has iconic status in Hollywood as a place to see and be seen for A-listers and up-and-coming celebrities alike since 1928. Arzur was the Wilshire's executive chef for five years. He says: "I met many celebrities. It's glamorous. It's a very busy place because there's always something going on."
That experience should serve him well as he leads his team through the opening of the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach. He's been cooking for more than 30 years, though he doesn't look old enough to have been working that long (he doesn't reveal his age). He grew up in Brittany in the north-west corner of France. "My family is part fisherman, part sailors and part butchers," says Arzur, "I've always been around food or not too far from it."
He got his first restaurant job cleaning dishes as a teenager. It was the head chef at that restaurant who would inspire him to pursue a career as a chef. He says: "What I still remember the most are the smells in the kitchen. The smell of the fennel cooking, the steamed-fish preparation, the marinade on the fish, the broth."
Arzur, who is also a trained pastry chef, loves the classics and that's what you'll find at the five restaurants he'll oversee at the Four Seasons Dubai (the hotel will also have five independently run restaurants).
"I like bold flavour," he says. "I like dishes that, when you eat a fish or a vegetable, you recognise the taste of it. I don't put too much frou-frou on it. I make lighter, more modern versions of the classics."
Arzur says Dubai's food and beverage scene is a competitive one that excites him.
So how will he set himself - and his restaurants - apart in a city that already has more than 5,000 eateries?
"For me, it's all about service," says Arzur. The front of the house is as important to me as the back of the house. I'm going through the hiring process and I'm very, very particular on who I want to join the team."
The hotel's signature restaurant will be Sea Fu, with a beachfront location and a menu full of seafood with an Asian and Mediterranean flair. Arzur will also oversee the other restaurants there - Suq, Shai Salon, Hendricks Bar and Mercury Lounge.
. Four Seasons is scheduled to open on November 1. www.fourseasons.com/dubaijb
sjohnson@thenational.ae