DUBAI // Chefs yesterday said au revoir to coq au vin, arrivederci to tiramisu and bye-bye to steak-and-ale pie. No longer will alcohol be an ingredient in dishes served in Dubai's restaurants even in hotels after a determined push by inspectors.
The municipality said yesterday it had sent a circular to all food establishments in Dubai last week ordering them to stop the sale of any dishes containing alcohol. Managers at restaurants and hotels said yesterday they were dismayed by the order, which enforces a widely flouted 2003 law, saying it could damage business. "There have been a lot of violations, with hotels often hiding content of alcohol in food from customers," said Ahmed al Ali, the head of food inspections at the municipality.
"This is a Muslim society and visitors to our hotels are our guests. It is important to ensure they are informed about everything." Outlets found to be in violation of the ban face fines of between Dh5,000 (US$1,360) and Dh20,000, although an initial grace period will be allowed. The circular was partially the result of complaints from customers, Mr al Ali said. Hotels and restaurants must remove the offending items from their menus even if their alcohol content is clearly displayed.
"Serving alcohol in hotels is different and that can be done by getting a permit," he said. "However, alcohol in food is not permitted." Some chefs said enforcement of the ban would hurt their menus and argued that in most dishes the alcohol disappears during cooking. Yann Chevris, general manager of Nozomi, a Japanese restaurant at the Al Habtoor Grand hotel, said that certain delicacies would no longer taste the same.
"If implemented this is going to affect the food industry. In fact, it will change the taste of food in Dubai's hotels," Mr Chevris said. "At a certain level of cooking it is impossible to get the same taste with such restrictions. "In Japanese food, a lot of sushi is with alcohol, and so is teriyaki." Uwe Micheel, president of the the Emirates Culinary Guild, said: "This is not the final decision. A lot of the chefs have spoken to the municipality and we are hoping to hear from them on Tuesday. We believe that a new circular is expected, which will be less severe."
However, the Dubai Municipality said the law had taken effect and would be enforced. Some hotels have already begun to remove from their menus dishes containing traces of alcohol. Colin Clague, executive chef at Zuma, a Japanese restaurant in Dubai International Financial Centre, said he took alcohol off his menu last year when DIFC advised him to do so. "Most of my dishes can be done without alcohol. I have tried teriyaki without alcohol but it cannot be done.
"If the municipality wants me to take it off the menu, I have no other choice," he said. Other restaurants would have a harder time changing their menus, he said. Alcohol is a key part of many European dishes. It evaporates at 79°C - a lower temperature than water, which evaporates at 100°C - but some usually remains in dishes after cooking. How much depends on a range of factors, such as whether the dish was baked or flamed, for instance, and how long the heat was applied.
The circular also states that outlets serving alcoholic drinks must keep these separate from food products during storage, preparation and display. pmenon@thenational.ae * With additional reporting by Eugene Harnan
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Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”