Real Talk: How To Build Menus That Celebrate Regional Biodiversity

Juliane Caillouette-Noble, The Sustainable Restaurant Association: Good morning Omar, it's so good to see you! 

Omar Shihab, BOCA: Morning, how you doing? 

Juliane: I'm doing well, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us and having this conversation. I'm so excited to chat about the work that you are doing in Dubai. I wonder if, to get us started, you could just introduce yourself to our audience, tell us who you are, what your restaurant is and where in the world we find you this afternoon for you. 

Omar: Amazing. My name is Omar Shihab and I was born, brought up here in Dubai in the UAE. I'm originally from Jordan. My parents moved from Jordan to the UAE in the early 80s. In 2014, we were given a space in Dubai's International Financial Centre to create a food and beverage concept, a restaurant. The area at the time was missing a Mediterranean concept with a bit of a modern Spanish kind of tapas feel. And this is what we went on to create, a restaurant called BOCA. It's truly homegrown. And that's where the whole story starts. 

Juliane: So, BOCA is a Mediterranean Spanish kind of tapas concept, but even that as a description, I feel like doesn't do it justice. So, could you talk a little bit about the sustainability mission of BOCA and your perspective when it comes to sustainability. 

Omar: So, it was obviously in no shape or form what it is today. It's been a journey and an evolution. But the initial thoughts were there from day one. Because we were building a homegrown concept, we thought we definitely wanted a restaurant with a real sense of place. And one way of doing it is to introduce at least one local ingredient. This was the discussion initially with Chef. 

And obviously we look to the coastline. The majority of the UAE is non-arable land. I think that part is less than 4% of the entire country. So, we look to the coastline because we have over 1,400 kilometres of coastline overlooking two bodies of water. 

So, surely, we can introduce one species of fish or seafood on our menus. But we also wanted to approach that with a bit of intention and consciousness, because I understood that, you know, at that stage, that one of the most popular types of fish that is consumed here is a type of grouper called Hamour. Obviously, for good reason: it's chunky, it's meaty, it's absolutely delicious. But beyond that, there's not a lot of understanding of what grows and there's not a lot of people experimenting with different species. We reached out to what was the Ministry of Fisheries at the time; now it all falls under what is called the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment here in the UAE. 

They had published a fishing calendar for the UAE. Really, really simple. You know, this is something common across the world and it lists fish in three categories, green, red and orange. You can imagine what that means. And every species of fish that lives in the Gulf and what are the better months to consume it throughout the year. So that's what we wanted to do. We said only fish from the green list. 

We found ourselves experimenting with species that I have never heard of, even growing up here, with different sizes and texture and flavour. We found that extremely exciting, rewarding, and our guests found it really, really interesting. So, we started introducing a variety that you don't usually see in commercial kitchens. And that's really where the story starts. 

Juliane: One of the issues globally with seafood is that people recognise few species. And so, we're always gravitating towards the same few species because they're the ones that we know and we recognise. When we're trying to convince consumers, diners, guests to try something different, we tend to have to describe it as something similar to a salmon, similar to a tuna in order to convince them that it meets an expectation that they already have.  How did you do that with your guests? How did you introduce them to something new and communicate with them about trying these new things? 

Omar: If we would leave it up to guests to sort of ask for what they want, it's going to be salmon on the menu, it's going to be, you know, basic tuna at extremely low prices. But what we intend is, first of all, the way that we would test and experiment has to create an extremely compelling argument, meaning a delicious dish had to be delicious and had to be done in a way that is easy to understand to people. The technique, the method, the flavours are not so alien from what they're used to. 

At the time, there was a whole influx, a whole wave of Peruvian restaurants and Nikkei cuisine had just taken off in the country. So, people were really excited about ceviches and raw fish. So that was one of the first techniques that we used to introduce Kingfish, which is found in absolute abundance in the waters here in the Gulf and it's available throughout the year. Usually, traditionally, this fish has been consumed in local rice dishes and biryani, but it's been always fried, cooked, and that makes it extremely dry. The moment that chef treats it in this totally different way, come up with this beautiful ceviche and it's local. 

Juliane: Yeah, that's a really perfect example. And I think also centring deliciousness is fundamental, right? It comes up all the time that we can have high kind of intellectual ideas about what we want to serve. But fundamentally, this is about good hospitality and delicious food and inspiring people. 

So, tell me a little bit: you guys have oysters on the menu and I've got to be honest, I don't think of Dubai as a region where you think of oysters and you tend to think of importing and this kind of luxury idea that you're importing European oysters and kind of showing them off — but talk to me about the oysters that you guys are serving at BOCA. 

Omar: No, you're absolutely right. I mean, me too. I thought cold waters. That's what you got to start with, right? But what we came to find out afterwards from these incredible people that started it, you know, respect and kudos to Remy Murray, who's the founder of Dibba Bay. He's no longer with them now. He's left to start some really, really exciting projects as well. They're really resilient animals; the adaptability of oysters is incredible. 

These oysters come from the Pacific and they are brought in in baby form, really tiny, tiny oysters; they call them spats. They go through an initial sort of stage of filtration, and then they're dropped in the water in baskets, in nets, they call lanterns. So, they're really living in open waters off the other coast of the UAE. The UAE overlooks the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. These grow on the Indian Ocean part. Dibba is a name of an area that belongs to one of the Emirates of the UAE called Fujairah. And Fujairah is one of the few Emirates that is overlooking that part of the ocean. And that's way more open waters. The Arabian Gulf is a kind of a locked mass of water. But the Indian Ocean is a lot more open, so there's a lot more open current. 

It's just extremely fascinating because in addition to the fact that they are extremely delicious, the oysters that are coming out of Dibba Bay, the right amount of meatiness and salinity and sweetness, they are obviously extremely excellent at filtration of the water. The biodiversity around these areas, the turtles, all the life that came after these nets were installed is really fascinating to see. 

The guys are trying to do some big impact. So, we're working with them on a coral reef project that is actually funded by the government of Fujairah to build a one-kilometre line of coral reefs — and the oyster shells are the best base to propagate corals on. We're collecting the empty shells, cleaning them and drying them and then sending them back to the farm. This way — because it's the only oyster that we serve — we're also avoiding any cross contamination. If we’d been serving oysters from different places in the world, there's always that risk of introducing a new parasite to the area around where the oysters are growing. 

That was also early days. This was back in 2016 when we linked up, and we were extremely psyched at the idea and took it over and never looked back ever since. And it was one of the first initial waves. I think it was at the time when food security was really on top of mind for a country like UAE, and it was backing and encouraging a lot of these projects. We would later then look inland to look at more conventional farming. That was also initial days. 

I mean, oysters are not going to solve for food security. They're at the top of the chain. But it's exciting because it draws attention to, first of all, what is possible. We were ready to say, we don't need it all year long. We're happy with the micro-season. And it has just been fascinating ever since. 

Juliane: I think often with restaurants, we're trying to figure out what is the right balance of communicating around sustainability to our guests. And nobody wants to go to dinner and be lectured to. What we want is moments of hope and great storytelling. And if that moment, that oyster moment, gives you that opportunity to tell a bigger story, but in a way that is appropriate for the dinner table, then, that invites your guests to kind of get engaged in it. 

Omar: Absolutely. We really recognise that. We recognise that, you know, the top five reasons, top 10 reasons maybe that people go to dine out is not because of sustainability. I'm always asked this question, like how, you know, how many of our guests are coming in because of that? I don't know, maybe 10%. But it doesn't matter because we're a restaurant first and foremost, and people are parting their way with hard earned money. It's not cheap to dine out, so it had better be special. We’ve got to deliver. It has to be really delicious. It’d better be good service. You know, we’d better have the right ambience here. Now, if we can do that, and in a responsible way, that's the thing that we volunteer to do. And that's all on me. And if they're curious, we have the little nudges in the menu, or the waiter will say a certain word. If they're curious, they'll ask a question and then we'll answer. But if not, it's absolutely fine.  

Juliane: I've been doing this for a very long time. And at the beginning, I think I had a theory of the case that we needed to shift the industry so that consumers were going to care, you know, and more consumers were going to care. And fundamentally, we are going to choose better restaurants. I don't necessarily mean this in full, but I think I've gotten to a place in my life where I almost don't care whether the consumer cares. You know, like I almost would rather them not have to, and that they know that when they're in a restaurant that the restaurant is making great choices on their behalf and that it's almost solved. 

We live in a very volatile world. I do think that people like you, like all of these amazing other chefs that we work with around the world, have the ability to change under the surface and then that transforms the world that we live in. 

Omar: Thank you so much for saying that. And you know, I live in a place where Dubai doesn't sell this to the rest of the world. That's not what Dubai is known for. I've got this arid climate and really limited options in terms of when it comes to sourcing, when it comes to lifestyle. The restaurant industry, has been on this, you know, hyper acceleration mode to sell the lifestyle, right? That's what people are looking for — and luxury. 

I meet a lot of people telling me, what's the point of all of this if the guest doesn't care? We're so busy and we’ve got to keep the restaurant afloat. And, you know, we’ve got to manage the business side of things. And we have no agency anyways. Because you know, that typical saying where I segregate the waste, but all ends up in the same bin. But that's an awful way of thinking because, you know, it just sort of denies a lot of the power, and a lot of the things that you can do within your own space. 

And honestly, for me, because we've been doing it for a long time, and we've asked so many questions and got to know so many things, it's really hard to unsee it and do it in any different way. I wouldn't do it any other way, no matter what different restaurant application we do or any event. There is a bell you cannot unring. 

Juliane: You started this conversation by talking about how at the moment in which you were starting these conversations, food security was part of the conversation. I want to talk more about this work that you guys are doing on climate resilient crops and grains. How you got involved and interested, and how does that trickle down into the menu? 

Omar: This was a point in time when we started looking at what grows here naturally. Beyond farms, I remember growing up that after it rains, we would go into the desert and certain herbs will pop up. Although they are basic and limited, it was the beginning of that conversation. For a lot of Emiratis, this is nostalgic. But then again, we wanted to understand a little bit more. My approach has always been, follow the researchers, the scientists and understand hard facts. So, we reached out to the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, ICBA. This is a group of scientists mandated and funded by the government since 1999 to find types of plants without cross genetic modification that could withstand harsh conditions like the climate of the desert, poor soil and high saline water. 

They were researching types of salicornia, quinoa, millet, amaranth and halophytes. Halophytes are salt-loving crops. Two main species grow native in the UAE: Salicornia and Arthrocnemum. These people opened our eyes into this world of extremely resilient crops that can provide highly nutritious plants. And we never looked back. We stayed really close until an opportunity came to life last year where they secured funding, and along with Emirates Nature and us, we came together as a three-way collaboration to talk about halophytes. 

These are coastal plants that grow next to mangrove areas. According to what we know, there is no historical information that they were ever consumed. But they are extremely climate resilient. The biodiversity that the mangroves and these plants bring [make this] one of the popular areas for fish to come and spawn. Plus, the initial nutritional analysis shows they are extremely high in essential amino acids, antioxidants, certain vitamins. It's almost like a superfood. 

So, in theory, if they’re easy to grow and they're super nutritious, there should be a chain here. But it's the chicken and the egg problem. The farmer says there's no demand. The public says we have no idea where to get it from. The research centre is ready to receive farmers. But we need chefs: they help us imagine combinations of things and flavours, so we need them to inspire other chefs and the public. That's been an absolutely fascinating project. 

Juliane: And have you started to experiment through your connections with the researchers? In my head, I'm envisaging like a samphire-style ingredient. 

Omar: It's exactly what it is, absolutely. It's common in a lot of places in the world. Most chefs know them. But no one knows these other dimensions — the environmental impact, the nutritional element, the fact that it's so climate resilient. Experimenting with it is straightforward because chefs are extremely resourceful. The variant that grows here is extremely hard to work with because it's fibrous. Only the tips are a bit tender. It's extremely salty. 

We've tested a few rounds with a few chefs. We created this publication about the local halophytes. We invited chefs to contribute with their ideas and recipes. It is still early days because supply doesn't exist. The only native salicornia we have access to is the one from the research centre. I contacted them this morning and it's only going to be February. And it's fine. I'm happy to celebrate a small season out of it. It's a great story to tell. It could kickstart something incredible. 

Juliane: Yes. I do think one of the things is pushing consumers towards the idea of being able to celebrate different ingredients in their moment. Let's think about the future. What is the future looking like for BOCA? What are you excited about in the UAE? Is there anything making you feel nervous about the future of these conversations? How does it feel at the moment? 

Omar: I'm really excited about the future and the next set of conversations that we will have. I'm very careful though with the approach because I feel that there's a bit of fatigue. The word sustainability I'm avoiding completely because it's been thrown away and thrown out at different things and it means different things to different people. I still hear the words “farm to table” used, you know, to blanket certain concepts or certain ideas, and there's confusion among guests as well. 

I think there is so much happening out there. There's so much noise that people are confused generally. So I'd love for this to move away from being, what you said earlier, a box that needs to be ticked, but rather something integral in the concept — whether it's a menu or a complete restaurant or a beverage programme — and really integrate it and see it and have it as a lens that you see everything else with. But also to strengthen this narrative that we have here locally from the UAE. The knowledge of what really grows here, what does the landscape look like, having a lot more seasonality — you know, what you were talking about, really celebrating what is growing, even if it's a micro, micro-seasonal ingredient — I think that's something fascinating.

And having conversations generally with people that are not always brought to the table. The first people that come to mind are always the farmers. The farmers are constantly thinking about the next season. I mean, so are chefs and restaurateurs, right? And there's a bit of a disconnect. I think sometimes fine dining and restaurants in general seem to be a world that is unapproachable for many, right? And the farmers are constantly wanting to please, right? Saying, you know, “Please take my product, please use it,” rather than working the other way around. 

I have to really mention here the Food Made Good platform, and the way that it's really helped us understand systematically the ideas of where the impact comes from. It's such an invaluable exercise, honestly, almost like an internal consulting exercise that we have. And it had us look really hard into what we do, how we source, where we source from, what our contracts should look like with our employees, how we're reaching out to the community, what are we doing with our waste, and really prioritise. 

Juliane: Right. I really appreciate that. Thank you for saying that. And I think we're constantly like, what exactly is this tool? What's it for? And I think my sort of best description about Food Made Good is reminding businesses that this isn't about doing everything and being 100% on everything. But this is about having the kind of full view of questions that you should be asking yourself as a business owner. I had an amazing conversation with the owners of a restaurant in Colombia, two brothers and a chef, and they were saying to me that it felt like the experience of doing Food Made Good prompted deeper conversations than they'd ever had as business partners. And it made them think differently about just having discussions. “Do we care about this thing? Is this important to us?” 

Omar: I love the fact that you said that it's not about perfecting, and it's very easy to fall into that as always, “I need to score perfect on all of this and how do we do it?” But that's beside the point, because it's about starting the journey and finding where you are on that spectrum — and it's not linear. I think that is really important for people to understand — that it's not perfect. There's no such thing as the most sustainable restaurant. That is not a thing. But it's about starting, it's about getting on that journey. 

Juliane: Final question for you, Omar. Is there anyone that's really inspiring you at the minute? 

Omar: Yeah, some incredible people locally, regionally and globally that I'm always, always fascinated with. First people that come to mind: there are a couple of other restaurants here in the city that are also driving this conversation with me. The team at Lowe does these amazing no-waste dinners where they're really pushing the edge of creativity in what you can do with discarded ingredients. I love what these guys are doing and doing it obviously with style, making it look effortless. 

I love the team at Teible, really bringing to life certain ingredients that I never thought possible that could grow here. So again, kudos to these guys. But then there are these amazing heroes — people like Russell Impiazzi from the Sofitel Obelisk. You know, this guy is incredible. And the impact that he's driving is huge. Because imagine mobilising the entire property; the stuff that he's doing, whether it's sourcing or waste or the food bank, or receiving kids or, you know, instilling this way of thinking into the entire property — it's just really inspiring to see. I admire him a lot. 

There are people not so maybe, you know, they're linked but they're not always talked about in this perspective. People like Raj from a pizzeria in Abu Dhabi called Marmellata Bakery. I mean, this is just fascinating — the way that he runs that community, the way that he is open, regardless of all the pushback and the pressure, only five or six days a week and only sells a certain number. The way that he reaches out to everyone and just takes care of the community is also incredible. 

I admire the work of Kelvin from Jun's, where you give him an idea and he just runs with it and makes it happen. He'll test, he'll experiment. The next day, he'll come back to us with certain things and bring them to life. He worked with us on the halophytes project. 

Looking beyond, someone that I've always looked up to is Tala Bashmi from Bahrain. And in her restaurant, she's really used it as a platform to talk about not just native ingredients of Bahrain that are so unique to the island, but also ancient methods of cooking and bringing certain things to life. 

I think of Sara Aql in Jordan, where she's also reaching out to certain artisans from displaced families in different places in Jordan to make the crockery and get in touch with the guys who are growing the olives for olive oil. I love what Qais Malhas is doing at Shams El Balad. He's working with a farmer that has reintroduced native wheat grains into Jordan and is able to produce this incredible flour that is made from the ancient grains. Of course, it takes a totally different perspective on dealing with a lot of these things when baking and he was willing to do the work, willing to experiment and test and absorb the cost.