If chef Nick Alvis wasn’t manning a kitchen, he likes to think he'd be managing game in the English countryside.
“I’d probably be a gamekeeper,” he tells The National with certainty and a casual shrug, as if trading culinary aspirations for muddy boots were a simple pivot. The British chef, who started as a Gordon Ramsey protege in Dubai in 2010, is popularly known for Folly by Nick and Scott, which some consider as a pioneer in the city's fine-dining scene. In 2022, Alvis stepped away from the beloved restaurant, only a year after Scott Price's departure.
“I wanted to take Folly somewhere where it couldn't get,” he says, without giving too many details. Now being relaunched as Folly Brasserie at the Address Montgomerie Hotel, Alvis says he is not involved in it, but adds that he's still good friends with some people who are.
“I'm really grateful for that experience. They supported my dream at that point in my life, and so I can really only say thank you for that,” he continues. “But we've all moved on.”
The chef's next course
Unlike his friend and former business partner, Price, who moved to the Scottish countryside post-Folly (he owns a guesthouse and also teaches at a college), Alvis stayed in Dubai to set up a food consultancy business. Now, two years later, Alvis will be back in the kitchen. On February 17, the British chef is opening The Beam, a European bistro, at Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa in Dubai Marina.
“Marco Torasso, the culinary director of the hotel, was one of the first people I met in the UAE when I moved here 15 years ago. He asked if I could do something with the space,” he says. The venture essentially replaces Geales, another UK import dining concept.
The extensive menu is inspired by Alvis's penchant for eclectic European influences, combining his technical knowledge of French flavours with British, Spanish and Italian references.
“I've looked at a lot of classic dishes, but put a spin on them. They're all very influenced dishes,” he says. “There's no spaghetti carbonara or panzanella salad, but there are dishes similar to those.”
Alvis adds it's important for him to have dishes that are “accessible and easy to understand”. This translates into specific dishes such as Tunworth cheese croquettes (Dh80), stuffed and roasted baby chicken (Dh150), and a range of skillet-baked flat breads, with topping that include octopus, shrimp, shaved fennel and tomatillo salsa (Dh70), dry aged beef rib with Stracciatella and toasted pistachio (Dh80), and Baron Bigod cheese, blossom honey, seasonal truffle and watercress (Dh70).
Average spend per person at The Beam will be about Dh350 on food, says the chef.
The restaurant will also have a prominent fresh seafood display, which Alvis says will include a combination of local and international hauls, from shellfish to sea bass and squid.
“Sourcing locally is very important for us, especially because of how the agricultural scene has grown and still growing. We want to be able to use whatever we can, when and how we can, to the best possible way,” he explains.
For example, Alvis is sourcing his chicken from a company in Abu Dhabi, which also supplies poultry to the royal family.
“Some of the seafood will come from different parts of Europe, but a lot of the vegetables and fruits will come from the UAE.”
Dubai is a 'mad place' to be chef
As someone who's touted as somewhat of a pioneering chef in Dubai, Alvis says he is “beyond excited” about still being part of the city's bullish culinary growth.
“I came here 15 years ago, and although that doesn't sound very long, the change has been massive. It is a made place to be,” he quips.
“We were classed, me and Scott, as home-grown chefs here, but the level of today's home-grown chefs is phenomenal. I don't think many of us were born here, but this is where we've made our names. You've got Himanshu, Gregoire and Orfali for example,” says the British chef.
“There's a network of chefs now, and everybody looks out for each other. It's really quite impressive.”
He particularly lauds the “younger chefs coming through”, adding how Dubai is now becoming a place where these budding cooks are wanting to train in.
Setting himself apart
Given the tremendous competition in the UAE's culinary scene, Alvis likes to differentiate himself with “being as present as he could” in his ventures.
“I don't have 10 restaurants that I'm never in. I'm not at that point in my career, and I don't know whether I ever will be because I actually enjoy being in my restaurant. I like to always check with my team, and see my regular guests, and they like to see me too.”
At one point, Alvis adds, he was operating three venues at the same time and “I hated it,” he says.
Whether the British chef eventually builds a restaurant empire remains to be seen, but Alvis insists that being a hands-on chef defines who he is now and who he plans to remain in the future.
In addition to The Beam, the chef is unveiling two more concepts within the same hotel. While he’s keeping the details under wraps, Alvis can’t help but smile when pressed on whether a fine dining counterpart is in the works.
For now, Alvis seems perfectly content to focus on the soon-to-open restaurant, trading any notions of country trails for the creative rush of launching new concepts in Dubai's ever-evolving culinary scene.
“I’m going back to my roots for now,” he says, his infectious, enthusiastic smile hinting at the passion driving his return.
