Raffaele Ruggeri is the director of the Bice Restaurant Group, which has 35 restaurants around the globe, including the recently opened Bice Mare in the Souk al Bahar in Dubai
It is about truly connecting with your spirit, about getting closer to God. When I was 17 I went to Bali and I realised there was more to life than the way I was brought up. I started a search for this greater meaning of life and in 20 years I have grown a lot; today I experience God from within. Human beings are more than just a body; we are energy and light and when you connect with this part of yourself something new opens up. The spiritual has been the greatest part of my life.
You have to be honest and say I am going to take this chance now no matter what, because this is the way I feel right now.
I have taken the blame out of everything that happens to me. Instead of throwing around blame and, for example, cursing someone who has run into my car, I see it as an opportunity to experience something new and then move on. Even if something is uncomfortable or annoying, I use it as a way to better myself. Anger might be an emotion I feel, but I accept it and move on. The anger then passes very quickly.
Try to live in your heart. I am a very passionate man and am more connected to my heart than to my mind. Be sensitive to your heart, it is a very powerful centre in your being and playing with it comes with a lot of responsibility. I think we will all become more heart-orientated over the coming years. The new revolutions will be revolutions of the heart. You can knock me down but you cannot break my heart; through unity and love we can achieve so much. Emotions are energy in motion.
It is a foundation built on many things like trust and friendship. Together all these elements make a relationship work, along with harmony. And for harmony to exist there has to be a good balance. I believe when two people come together they should not be opposites but rather two sides of the same coin expressing themselves in different ways and supporting each other through everything and growing together. Then you have true love and harmony.
As told to Helena Frith Powell
Company%20Profile
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The specs: Audi e-tron
Price, base: From Dh325,000 (estimate)
Engine: Twin electric motors and 95kWh battery pack
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Power: 408hp
Torque: 664Nm
Range: 400 kilometres
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
