The Kosher Revolution in Dubai

the Jerusalem Post podcast travel Edition is sponsored by World Jewish travel.org the number one platform for planning your Jewish cultural trips from the latest on Caribbean cruises to kosher safaris pilgrimages to Jewish Eastern Europe and award-winning wines and international cuisine in sundrenched Tel Aviv sit back and enjoy the trip with the travel Edition of the Jerusalem Post podcast hello David hey Mark so we have returned to Dubai it's great we're getting loads of her miles Technically and I don't want to give away a trade secret but we never actually left Dubai nor do we get the air miles two trade secrets for one we might get some points on Uber from our driver who bought us here we we've moved across Dubai and we are in the Hilton Dubai alabor city you might remember a couple of episodes ago we brought you the big picture on Dubai some of those standard places that people visit and some of those hidden gems today we're bringing you something completely different for once I'm going to be serious that no but really one of the most beautiful things that has come out of the last 18 months and the Abraham Accords is the transformation of the tourism scene in Dubai to cater for the kosher traveler that's absolutely the case which should also mention that the other Emirates particularly Abu Dhabi down the road have also welcomed and opened their doors to the kosher traveler but it's in Dubai which really is the tourism Hub of the United Arab Emirates where there has been if you forgive the expression an explosion of kosher certification of kosher venues and of kosher flavors and during this podcast we will look at some of the highlights of kosher Dubai the reason we've come to the Hilton Dubai alabor city is this is the first hotel in Dubai that has a fully kosher kitchen and as a Kosh of traveler you can dine like any other customer what's amazing here and we'll we'll get much more into this hotel during the course of this pod and we will be bringing you other kosher venues around uh the city but you walk in to reception at checkin there is a QR code and it says above it fosha scan here to the right of checkin there is a large television a large electronic sign and it's going running through about four or five ads for things that you can find in the hotel and one of them says kosher breakfast and there's a gorgeous picture of the buffet that's on offer and it's not just the Hilton Dubai where you can eat kosher there are three hot hotels in alabor city we are sitting in the Hilton to my right is the V Hotel part of the curio collection where I will be staying and to our left is the alabor palace which we will take a look at but at which neither of us is staying and I am here in the Hilton that's enough of an intro but as we do at this point in every part time for the quiz and the question this time it's a controversial one so we'll see if you agree with the answer at the end of the Pod or not but the question is very simple what does kosher mean the answer at the end of the [Music] podcast so we're starting at the Firefly restaurant under a Cabana in the Sun at the pool of the Hilton alabor City I'm joined by the complex executive chef but I'll ask him to introduce himself hi nice to meet you both uh my name is Nicholas shadbolt I'm originally from London in the UK yay we couldn't tell yay and it's good to see fellow londoners yeah I started in London um some time ago quite a long time ago actually working in some famous properties in the UK learning my trade 28 29 years ago I decided to go International and since then um lucky enough to have been all over the world really working at globally iconic address it's been a pretty cool experience where have you been on your travels and what brought you to Dubai I have been to Dubai before I worked here 10 or 11 years ago but internationally um Lebanon I worked in Beirut little bit in Saudi Arabia doing a pre-opening and then the rest is been mainly in Southeast Asia or Asia I was in Shanghai and China Hong Kong maau Philippines Vietnam Cambodia also lived in Australia for a number of years it's been good for me culturally to experience different foods meet different people and also it's been you know fun the title executive chef sounds very fancy very Posh as we say back in the UK but what does that mean oh I mean it's my responsibility to ensure that the food quality is there the presentation obviously guest relations Financial diligence you know it's to oversee the whole operation and make sure that we're going in the direction we need to be obviously elevating the food quality keeping our costs under control because it is a business just making the experience for the guest overall superb this is an enormous complex with three hotels uh and you're its executive chef how many food and beverage Outlets do you manage and how much time do you actually get to be in the kitchen well we've got over 20 Outlets plus we got in room dining banqueting so it's a big operation as for how much time I get in the kitchen it really depends on the day you know some days there's lots of meetings some days you got the opportunity to get in the kitchen but I walk the complex every day all day like the number of steps I'm doing now is incredible I'm doing 18 to 20,000 steps a day which is 15 kilm I'm always try to be in the kitchens when it's service time you know make sure they're okay if they need support I can jump in but we generally know who and what is going to be busy at what time so that's really where our Focus you know if they're busy I need to be there if it's another restaurant go there as well it all all depends on the day and the business needs of the complex as you said there are more than 20 options out there but can you in a minute describe the general dining experience before we get on to talking kosher it is a dining destination really is with with so many outlets so many bars and restaurants there's a a wide variety mostly fun dining experiences but they're all very good quality as an example we've got a ribson brew which is a gastro pub American style very popular great business we also have BQ in the in the palace which is a French beastro and another example would be well cut which is our Steakhouse obviously there's many more choices as well we've come here to talk about kosher Dubai and we've come to this hotel because it is the first hotel with a a proper kosher kitchen in Dubai can you tell us about the kosher dining experience the food the wines just you know what can customers expect we were one of the first hotels to get kosher certification we work closely with the rabbis we do a kosher breakfast for the guests that are in house and then depending on the situation we Supply by lunch and dinner depending on the packages and what the guests want you didn't really mention some of the names of the places but I think people can imagine some of the top hotels in the world that you you've you've managed with the ability to you know cook with Incredible ingredients and just to name something that came straight into my head you know to work with lobster which obviously in a kosher kitchen you're never going to go near so what's it like to manage a kosher kitchen we work closely with Rabbi we get the best ingredients we can based on the rabbi's advice and then we create dishes around that obviously the rabbi also always um gets their approval he's very supportive it's a pleasure to work with to be honest of course the best place to find out more information not just about the dining but about all the things that are on offer here at the alabor city collection go to the website alabor city.com or you can look at Instagram which is Hilton Dubai HC Habor Palace and votel Dubai Nicholas shabbo thank you very much it's been a pleasure talking to you Gentlemen let's eat some [Music] lunch so just at the end of that interview the chef to Cuisine the head chef for the kosher kitchen by by the name of carab bahun brought out an incredible display of food not only are there Rich colors oranges and purples and of course humus and a quinoa salad and a mixed vegetable salad the matb that is orange the beetroot salad that is purple but it's all so beautifully presented there are Haler rolls there are Peter breads Bagel typee breads this is food Fit For A King and remember we're staying at regular special Hilton hotel that has this kosher [Music] offering ever wish there was a Jewish Trip Advisor visit World Jewish travel.org for a One-Stop shop to plan your Jewish cultural vacation at destinations around the world find local tours and guides discover authentic restaurants and boutique hotels all with a Jewish story to tell don't miss events with with our unique cultural calendar or simply absorb a city's Jewish story with our blogs and travel ebooks start your journey at World Jewish travel.org [Applause] certainly the most spectacular show I've seen in my life on the ground floor of the V by curio collection hotel is a show called La Pearl it's created by the Belgium artistic director and choreographer Franco droni it's a show like no other that you'll see it's not just dance it's not just circus it's not just acrobatics it's not just motorcycles divers Chinese dancers I can go on and on and on you often do I thank you we have just sat through 90 minutes of as David said probably the most spectacular thing I have ever seen and again this is Dubai it's done with that little bit of extra Pizzazz I could come again tomorrow and the day after and the day after and it wouldn't get tired of watching this now we were privileged to have front row seats not everybody's going to do that because it is expensive if you do it that way but we also had the VIP treatment which meant a reception beforehand so there are things in Dubai that will cost a lot but if you want one of the most special experiences that you will ever have in theater it might be worth the investment starting prices for the tickets here are very similar to going to the theater in Israel it's an affordable experience if you like the theater you like circus you like performance I would highly recommend doing this and as we've said it is 2 seconds walk from the hotel you're listening to the Jerusalem Post podcast travel Edition find us on Facebook Instagram and Twitter at Mark davidp or mail us at Mark davidp pod gmail.com We Wish You a belated Ramadan Karim because right now here in Dubai it's the first day of the holy month and we are celebrating the end of the first day of fasting at an ifar here in the LA Patio Restaurant in the alabor Palace Hotel a beautiful Buffet is laid out in front of us let's have a look at some of the various dishes many people have the custom at the start of ifar to have sweet dishes such as konafa there are all sorts of nuts almonds walnuts here we have Mark actually taking an apricot as we move along this particular puffet there are sweet things there are Savory things at the moment we're only looking at the sweet but a lot of people of course after they've had that first taste of honey we move on to more of the uh Savory dishes so let's have a look what we've got along here so we have chicken kabsa mutton Biryani fish Hara a very attractive looking mixed grill do you want some of that D no I think my vegetarianism might get in the way uh shrimp Tha Curry roasted chicken shish Barak and the buffet goes on and on this is the sort of place where I think we're going to make an instagrammable Style video just because there are so many things here over on this side we had fat and full full are Egyptian beans there is the usual mix of salads uh of course Middle Eastern being dominant lots of different colored olives we also have uh a traditional fatou salad here and some of the western specials that you're used to as well and over to my favorite section fried food we have fluffle meat Kar spinach Faya and some very nice looking mini sambusek etc etc etc good morning Mark another day another breakfast another breakfast for 10 I think in front of us before we turned on the microphones Mark actually said he wonders if people in Dubai by the people who are working here the hotel managers think that um or they've seen on television you know the reputation that Jewish moms have and feel that we need to be absolutely stuffed in every meal the staff here are definitely feeders we're having kosher breakfast in a totally separate dining room with a separate kitchen which we'll get into in a minute there's a buffet outside but just to say what is in front of us what's on our plates we have a lovely beetroot salad the the the munching that you may have heard at the start little tarts with um spinach and tomato on the top a nice little toast here with avocado and tomato as well have you tried that one not yet no I I'll have a go now if I lose my voice for a couple of minutes you know what's going try it now tell me what you think M have you got to the after it's just coming there's the chili yeah there's the chili it's very very good well I'll finish that off carry on we've got our omelets with a choice of toppings toast and beautifully piped butter butter oh we'll get back to that as well good point interesting we've got all of the the salads you could desire all of the hot food you could desire there are certain weirdnesses though that we're about to explain and we just had a chat with the rabbi who is the person responsible for kosher food in the hotel and he explained those weirdnesses to us so Mark apparently there's no bacon the buffet is completely separate it's not like a section of the main buffet or the main Hotel restaurant you're in a separate part of the hotel with a synagogue next door yeah it's essentially three or four meeting rooms have been converted into a restaurant a synagogue a kitchen it feels like any other Hotel uh there's a full breakfast I say a full breakfast there is no Dairy here so my coffee is made with almond milk MH I'm assuming this is vegan butter it must be uh yesterday I had an amazing sort of musaka I'm vegetarian so I know that there's no meat in it but it was covered in cheese but we' just been told there was no cheese it's a vegan cheese but it absolutely tasted like the real thing our Chef here has a lovely accent and when he says the word vegan he says bacon yeah which is a little confusing but but B is saying vegan lovely Poli guy yeah it's the breakfast isn't completely vegan cuz there is eggs here but the breakfast is made par of and there's an obvious reason the kitchen is a meaty kitchen the kitchen is used for events the kitchen is used for lunches and dinners now I believe they can do dairy for an event but then they have to take over a whole new kitchen make it kosher etc etc so that's the preference is obviously um generally there is a greater preference for meat dining out and about so they went for the meat option and the breakfast is as Mark said what we call parav which means dairy free for me I think there's a second reason I think we'll talk to the rabbi later but I think he's seen what goes on here the staff here are so obliging that when you ask them something they never want to say no so if you turn around to them and say can I actually have proper milk they probably will so you have to be a little bit careful and I think the rabbi has therefore drawn a line and said absolutely this is this is not to have milk in it we can't allow milk and meat because it contaminate so the kitchen is kept 100% kosher obviously we've met the rabbi and someone is supervising but I think that may be part of the logic as well a great breakfast really tasty it's on the second floor here in the main Hilton which is the central Hotel of the three that we were talking about yesterday so we're going to finish our breakfast and then we're going to take you to the Jewish community you're listening to the Jerusalem Post podcast travel Edition with David Harris and Mark Gordon we're here in Dubai finding out about kosher food and the growth in the kosher food scene in Dubai you can't understand the kosher food scene without getting behind the story of the growth of the community and kosher food we've come to meet Rabbi Ley duhman who is the head of the Emirates kashat Authority good morning or good afternoon wherever you're listening from thank you very much for having me on this beautiful Show podcast I'm originally from New York Brooklyn New York I've been living here in the UAE for about 7 years now and looking forward to discussing throughout this podcast about how the growth of the Jewish Community has come about and the growth of kosher food options Etc because everyone knows if you came here just about a decade ago you wouldn't have any kosher food available and any coaster you would want you would probably have to bring in your suitcases or something so you had the whole world to choose from why did you pick the United Arab Emirates the short answer is cu the whole United Arab Emirates has the whole world in it so it just makes it very very easy to choose how did you keep kosher in the first years here as you've said there was nothing so is it just suitcases can you find some way of for example sourcing chicken for your chicken soup locally in the beginning of course if we needed any kosher chicken or meat we would have to import it ourselves with suitcases but you know the UAE Imports so many things from all around the world and a lot of food products from the US so from when I moved if you would go into the local um spines or Lulu or carfor you would find many products with a kosher symbol on it whether it's a u kosher OK kosher not because they were looking for a Jewish Market it just happens that those foods are already fit for kosher yes correct so there were there was no like kosher aisle in spines in in in M of the Emirates or or car 4 there there was just you could identify the kosher certification on many of the products so that made it much easier to maintain and to keep kosher how is the last 18 months and the signing of the Abraham WS Chang the community here and has it changed your organization so for the local Jewish Community like I mentioned earlier the United Arab Emirates has always been an open and tolerant place where the leadership always promotes coexistence and our Jewish Community we fought prior to the abrahamic Accord really had everything we need we even had local coaster chicken first we started in Shara and then we had to move into something bigger actually a bigger slaughter house and we found the place in Al where now we have every month kosher chicken slaughtering so that was that was something and really anything that the Jewish Community needed now what changed since the abrahamic Accord for us as the community and or just heard the UAE Ambassador YF alota mentioning this um some on one of his recent Publications that the abrahamic Accord is not just a new thing between two countries or two two religions it's really about connecting the people and I think there was always this misconception of what's happening in the Middle East what does it mean for a Jew to walk around the Middle East what does it mean for an Arab from the Gulf to walk around Tel Aviv K Jerusalem what would it mean and I think when the world sees that yes of course it's regular any Jew could come to the UAE could come to Dubai could walk around with aipa openly as a Jew and the same thing any emirati or Bahraini or Moroccan could go to visit Israel and they could go enjoy the Israeli Cuisine and enjoy what walking around Israel meeting Israeli whether it's for business for culture and when the rest of the world realizes this it really makes a tremendous impact on them and say hey what's all this division about what are we looking to separate people and that is where we had the biggest change here in our community by now the Jewish Community here attracting people not only from Israel but people from France from America from the UK and these people were always able to move here so they just never knew that this is what the Middle East is about and this is where the abrahamic Accord gave them this opportunity to learn about the Middle East tell us about the Emirates Agency for kosher certification who has it how much is it growing the UAE is known for their hospitality and especially the leadership here now right when the UAE and Israel signed this normalization his H Muhammad bin Z said wow if we're going to have so many Jewish people coming to the UAE we must have kosher food available so they sent out a letter or notice to all of the hotels in the capital in Abu Dhabi asking them to please get a kosher certification so that they are able either to produce kosher food in their hotel or that they could Supply kosher food through their hotel to any Jewish visitors coming to any of the hotels and that really what was the Catalyst for us to turn to the government and tell the government listen if we want to be successful with this we need a local certification so we're able to open up Emirates Agency for kosher certification was first opened in Abu Dhabi and now we have a branch here in Dubai and this this certification agency is here to enable kosher food around the United Arab Emirates whether it's the kosher certification for EAD Airways whether it's certifying kosher chicken whether it's for the kosher restaurants in Dubai or whether it's for hotels like you mentioned earlier you're staying in Hilton alapur so that their kitchen is also under Emirates Agency for coaster certification and today the agency is continuing to grow helping hotels helping restaurants helping young entrepreneurs that want to to be able to open and to service the cooster market market so we're here to fill that need and to make sure the service is available and for those listeners that prefer a strict kashrut that want glat or mahadin is that available in the Emirates our values when we started Emirates Agency for kosher certification should be that every single Jew no matter what their religious affiliation is or isn't should feel comfortable eating from our agencies so we actually keep to the highest standard so no matter how religious one is or isn't everyone will feel comfortable to eat the food and there are certain things we have to remove from the menus to ensure that it can maintain the highest kosher standard and for us we want to carry the same values of the UAE we've mentioned Dubai and we've mentioned Abu Dhabi how easy is it to keep kosher in shaja in fjera and Raza kimer as an example look the the UAE like you mentioned there are seven Emirates and it's not only Dubai ababi of course you have RAs fua umal quain azman so over there you you have less of constant open coer kitchens but of course we work closely with all the Emirates enabling kosher food just a few months ago we had a kosher wedding in azman where where of course we would Emirates Agency for kosher certification will facilitate with the hotel with the kosher Caterers to ensure that you could keep things on the the highest standard so yes our primary focus is still in Dubai and Abu Dhabi but if any of the Emirates just just remember just two weeks ago we've done a kosher lunch in Russa with with some dignitaries meeting the leadership in in Russ so it's really it's a mandate which we cover entire United Arab Emirates with focus in in in different Emirates and if you ask me I think eventually there will be kosher restaurants in these Emirates and there will be more coaster food available as things continue to grow we've talked restaurants hotels for locals are there bakeries is there a butcher how how does that work it's not only about the kosher food kosher restaurants and this I think for us as as the Jewish Community here whether it's with our Emirates Agency for koser certification whether it's for the synagogues whether it's for the Shabbat services or really any of the services that Community it has here I think it's important when if you want to attract the Jewish visitor and you want to make a place where a country or an attraction where you want Jewish Vis Jewish tourists to come to enjoy to feel comfortable to bring their families together with them and to to travel to a new place a place where they haven't been as a child with their parents and really something new I think it's important to show that we're ready within the entire infrastructure not only kosher food it's really with everything and this is something which we really put a focus on so in case God forbid a tourist is here and they have a Health Challenge and they we need to help them find the doctor or whether it's someone which could come into a financial crisis while while they're traveling here and we're there for them I think the this is the real important things to make sure that the UAE is a safe and good place for the Jewish tourist and I think numbers don't lie and you could see we've been very very successful barem to enable literally tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of visitors coming the UAE is not the only country that had the abrahamic court but it's definitely leading the countries in tourism and Jewish tourism and this is because we're thankful to our team we're thankful to our Jew local Jewish community that they had this they were here ready to welcome all the guests and I think this is just the beginning I think it will continue to grow even more and more one of the things that we didn't mention I think at the start of this interview is actually where we're sitting which is within a Jewish nursery and there are 20 30 kids who are coming here every day if you take into account all of the Jewish Education here there's 120 kids in Jewish Education before we say thank you how can people find out more about the community about the things that you offer you could Google any of the specific projects you could go online you want to learn more about the tourist activities we have k.e so that is where you can find if you want to learn more about the local Jewish Community you could go on Jewish ae.com and like I said we really have so many beautiful communities around the United Arab Emirates where more people could come could learn about us and and if any one listening here PL is planning a trip and needs any help with anything whatever it may or may not be it will be our pleasure to assist you guys in any way that we can Rabbi dman thank you very much for your time thank [Music] you this is Mark Gordon from the Jerusalem Post podcast travel Edition find us on Facebook Instagram and Twitter at Mark davidp pod or mail us at Mark davidp pod Gmail when I came up with the idea of a kosher podcast I thought this will be nice to see what food is out there never did I think that so much food will be forced down me in the space of 48 hours but the food here is so good and there is so much to choose from we are at the kosher Place restaurant in the jira Creekside hotel in Dubai I've got the menu with me we've both gone on the lighter side of things I just went for an opening of of salads it's a traditional Middle Eastern mix got fater with a couple of Peters eggplant or oine dishes cabbage the beetroots or beets that's been um ever present through our visit to this part of the world carrots and so on I have ordered the arice and although it's a starter it will be enough to fill me up for lunch and for the rest of the day what is our rice what is a rice a rice is ESS it's a little white thing that grows in a rice pad no no that's more than one rice okay a rice yes singular is essentially a Peter bread stuffed with mints and flavorings and herbs put in a grill and then cut in quarters makes a lovely snack although as I said here it makes a lovely meal I'm halfway through and I think I'm ready to surrender uh a lot of the fishes here are very middle Easter and also interestingly I noticed throughout our St not just in in kosher restaurants but in other places that we we visited there is a lot of ve used the restaurant itself when I came here I thought it would be a small tucked away corner of the hotel in fact you said to me I think it's just in a hotel meeting room that's been converted just for an occasional kosher meal it takes up a whole corner of the hotel I can see seating for 200 people probably so many staff here an open kitchen with a glass wall so you can watch people working this is a jira hotel quality restaurant and it's kosher in a minute or two's time we hope we'll get a quick word with the executive chef who is responsible not only for the kosher place but also a major Kosher Catering operation known as treat kosher the website of which if you want to have a look is treat kosher.com treats seem to be super flexible you tell them what you need for your event for your tour which of course for big groups that are coming here is really important so for example iik the manager of this restaurant where we are now was saying that they just did something out in the desert and there are many many desert experiences in Dubai but the one they just did was a kosher experience in the middle of the desert and currently they are doing five to six events a day and pesak just gone on they have catered for a thousand people for sanite we caught up with the executive chef of tre kosher Shimon Ben shitrit I'm the only chef from Israel kosher in Dubai so I know exactly my experience what the Israeli food they they like they travel all the day they want to come to the restaurant to eat quickly so when they come they have quickly kind of salot on the table they have our fuka made fuk PA all we make here in the restaurant we have a taboon the name is taboon there a type yeah we make directly everything homemade here we have here all the meat from Israel I mean the parot the entreat omed Kebab also is it easy to source that type of meat it's not easy here in Dubai to get all the meat we bring the meat sometimes from Poland sometimes from French now I bring the best Entre Cod for from America also we have the side dish and the starter many special like V cigar we have the Pasa we have the CIA with the tahina also we have fresh fish every day we have three kind we make this directly on the grill from the catering side of things is it very different to what you offer in the restaurants here or it's sort of more of the same no of course it's different because you know in the restaurant this all the food is alak card so everything must to be directly for the on the plates also we have the frontal kitchen so it's very different in the cing we have a menu for the cing I mean we have a lot of groups that come from Israel from all over the world they come from French from America so we must to make the menu for each group what they want I have many many kind of uh menu I have every day different place one in hotel one in the desert one in the Y all the place where where they want I can give him the the food so you mentioned desert experience which we already discussed before did you think at any point in your career as an Israeli Chef specializing in kosher food that you would be in the Arabian Desert giving people a really good time with kosher food before I was four years in the Germany in this love one guy come to me said all my experience in the world is not like this I want to make open kosher restaurant in dor I said okay this is my speciality I come there I open it Israeli koser restaurant when they called me to come to the Dubai I read a little bit about the Dubai because you know this is new for us the Shalom the peace has come only in last December so when I come I feel like you know theab the sh emary yeah to bring the people from all over the world ker shim benit executive chef for the kosher place and also for treat kosher thank you my [Music] pleasure we've talked a lot about the kosher food scene in Dubai but what about the community side of things we're sitting now with David zabinsky we'll let allow him to introduce himself but he's been here for a number of years and has seen the changes from before the abrahamic Accords to what's happening now in this explosion in the kosher world and of course the the Myriad visitors uh from the Jewish World from Israel and abroad so David welcome tell us a little bit about who you are thanks David thanks Mark my name is David zinsky from New York City originally I'm a entrepreneur I'm a podcast host myself and I've been living in Dubai for 7 years you came here at 21 what inspired you to leave the comfort at home of New York and come to the Arabian Peninsula it's a long story that's best told usually over a glass of whiskey or a coffee uh we've got neither of those in front of us right now but I'll do my best I grew up in very homogeneous parts of the US the upper west side of New York City and a very small town south of Boston so very affluent Jewish parts of the country and for as long as I can remember had a fascination with curiosity about this part of the world being the Middle East and so my entire last year university applied for jobs exclusively in the gulf and the leavon uh as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan so I I had to balance this yearning of being in the Middle East with my my crazy Jewish mother who didn't want her son to move out here at the age of 21 and so how could I find a place that was in the Middle East that was going to be safe and stable and secure and of course Dubai picked all those boxes so Dubai was a landing spot for me and when you came were you able to be openly Jewish or did you feel you had to hide it I actually wrote a Twitter Thread about this which went fairly viral and I made my mom two promises before I moved here at 21 the first was I'd wear my seat belt every time I got in the car and the second was I wouldn't tell anyone that was Jewish so my name is David zabinsky uh from New York City no less The Listener can't see me right now but I look every bit Jewish you possibly could but I told folks upon moving here when it came up that I was a Catholic with Polish Roots wow so you're here about five years five and a half years and suddenly the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and the leaders of is Israel are standing on balcony with the leader of the United States signing deals talking about the future could you ever have envisaged when you first came here and you had to as you say tell people that you were something else could you ever have imagined this change and how it came about no no so I moved here in 2015 again at 21 and I was incredibly naive almost ignorant I thought I was one of maybe two or three Jews in the entire country and then later found out in 2018 it took me three years to realize that there was a really flourishing successful Jewish Community here and then I'd say became a bit more attuned to the Jewish Community here and and some of the politics I'd say 2018 2019 the writing wasn't on the wall that there'd be normalization but it certainly helped create an environment where it'd be less surprising as it would have been 2015 for example for me but to your point man surreal to see that imagery surreal and what has changed in the last 18 months there's been a normalization between countries but what it's done for me personally and what I'm most thankful for is that it's normalized dialogue I think for a lot of folks in this part of the world especially Arabs speaking about Israel or Judaism was taboo it was not forbidden but it was just a a a topic that a lot of folks didn't feel comfortable speaking about and now that you've had leadership here normalize relations with Israel what it's helped folks do is normalize discussions about Israel discussions about Judaism and that of course you've got this Interfaith dialogue and that's a phrase thrown around quite often but now you're truly seeing Interfaith dialogue amongst khi Arabs Levant Arabs North African Arabs Israeli Jews American Jews European Jews and the friendships the Partnerships that emerge from that dialogue that to me has been the most important component with peace there's been a very large influx of Jewish and Israeli tourists how has that affected the community and do you think it's been for the better for the existing Community for the better certainly what I'd like to think it's opened Israeli Jews American Jews European Jews eyes to this part of the world the Jewish Community here is growing you've had folks move here full-time you've had folks here doing long-term business and that's all great but we ought to ensure that the emphasis the focus again is on relationships whether it's with Jews or emiratis or anyone else living in the country as opposed to just rushing to get something done for the sake of doing business by your own admission you've been on a fascinating maybe slightly crazy personal Journey as far as Judaism is concerned fill us in a little bit on that story so I was raised Jewish right I was bar mitford I went to Hebrew school I went to a Jewish preschool but I suppose I never really thought anything about my Jewish self or my Jewish identity simply because I was always part of the majority like I said I grew up in very very homogeneous Jewish parts of the US there was nothing ever unique about being Jewish and then moving here where for the first time in my life I was a minority it's when I truly began to explore my own Jewish self and what that means and now I'm half Scher Shabbat my phone goes off Friday to Saturday my computer goes off Friday to Saturday yeah okay I still get in the car and I'll still drive to the gym and I'm lifting weights but again that's a digital detox that if you had asked me 5 10 15 years ago that I'd be doing it say out of your mind you know I go to SCH on high holidays I didn't go to SCH once exide for my bar mitzah growing up so that's an evolution that certainly wouldn't have happened had I stayed in New York City or in Sharon Massachusetts is it's an evolution that happened in the United Arab Emirates which when I say today I have to pinch myself but it's been an evolution that's been beautiful you said you were a fellow podcaster tell us about your podcast and where people can listen to it my main business is actually in Commodities and I found myself in Zambia last year and I began speaking to this 18-year-old Zambian kid who was forgoing University to start a tomato farm and I never heard an 18-year-old tell me he was starting a tomato farm that was really really intrigued so I asked him I mean man what is it about tomato farming that you're so passionate about do do you have a seed a plot of land an irrigation system why tomato farming and he said to me I'm African what else can I do so what does that mean and he asked me have you ever seen an African founder or entrepreneur do something other than farming it floored me cuz my my initial response was yeah of course but then I had to really think and I realize that all of the podcasts we listen to tweets we read about headlines we see online talk about these entrepreneurs and Founders in Silicon Valley how about the founders not from Silicon Valley and so that gave birth to the podcast not from Silicon Valley in which till this point we featured 17 Founders from all around the world from Angola Cameroon Morocco Egypt to Vietnam Philippines to Peru Mexico to Kazakhstan to everywhere in between it's been the privilege of a lifetime and we're now in the process of something really really really exciting which I can't discuss just yet but you'll have to stay tuned but to find the podcast you can find it Apple Spotify Google wherever you find your podcast uh and it's called not from Silicon Valley David thank you so much Mark thank [Music] you I've finally done it I don't want to know I got you in the world's tallest building beautifully beautifully done so how many floors are there in the bush Khalifa approximately I think it's over 130 and you managed to get me up all the way to the first floor of the Burge Khalifa we're above the ground there's another floor below me I can see people dining below and if you look above you there's a roof to stop you seeing the other 130 floors and give you neck ache I was Brave I my head out of this beautiful Terrace and looked up to see as far up as I possibly could so why have I tricked you into the world's tallest building food food that's what I tricked you we're about to go in a lift no not really you thought you were here for dinner tonight David no we are at the Armani Hotel designed by famous fashion designer Georgio Armani he has bought his signature style to do by to offer a stylish inclusive dining and hotel experience being that this is the Jerusalem Post podcast travel Edition kosher special from Dubai the reason we've come into this hotel is to sample a kosher restaurant and not just any restaurant the Armani CF restaurant the menu is quite expansive it is very expansive I cannot afford anything the menu is meat it's expansive it starts with taboule and Bretta salmon Bretta halom tomato gaspacho and runs through a variety of soups and offers sandwiches and if you are prepared to Splash out a fair amount you can get a premier rib us Black Angus weighing approximately 1 kg with B potato wedges seasonal vegetables mushroom frass and pepper sauce the restaurant also offers a fine selection of drinks including kosher wines and it has a balcony with a fabulous view of The Fountains of Dubai and the man behind this amazing menu is Chef kalun Anis NASA who is the chef du quisine at the Armani hotel in Dubai first of all welcome to Armani CF my name is kalun originally from Syria I joined the uh Armani Hotel 12 years back for a pre-opening the menu looks incredibly opulent Rich we we've tasted it it's beautiful there are wonderful flavors how would you describe it to people listening who may be thinking about coming here uh let's say all about products and quality of the food fresh product locally actually and the premium products we get it from USA from Israel from UK for example we have our Black Angus premium beef uh which people really really love it you get the Fresh Products what makes the Armani calf special what is it about what you do with those products that gives you the value added as a chef you have to cook with patient what the things you love you serve it to the people with to reach what they expected from you let's say Armani Hotel the B Khalifa this nice view as see it and from the balcony so they sped a lot so we have to put a lot of Fort to serve the best food in the town for guests that stay in the Armani Hotel can they get the food from the restaurant as room service at the moment we're not offering room service however we have the takeaway offers which if the uh in-house guest wish to have a kusher food we can uh serve it and as a take away if you want to know more about this fabulous restaurant and the work ofun then perhaps the best way to do so is via the website which is our money hotel dubai.com and then just look through the dining options for our mani CF Chef khaldun Ramadan Karim and thank you very much thank you so much wish you enjoy your experience we love to serve our guest the best kusher food in town [Music] our time in Dubai is almost at an end we've had wonderful experiences wherever we've been but we want to leave the final word to the people who have been hosting us which are the alh hatbor city collection and we're delighted to be joined by the complex commercial director who is sufyan Al Alam alabor family has been known for so many decades of coming up with great concept coming up with great Hotel products and if andb and dining Concepts so our HTO city is aiming to become Dubai biggest lifestyle and entertainment One-Stop shop or destination within the destination of Dubai as you can see the the platform or the focal point of our complex is the Las Vegas Water teed show La Perle by droni which has has been a great addition to Dubai entertainment scenery while in covid-19 Las Vegas shows were closed were on hold Dubai show Lael was happening that's become our GL life life show to 23 restaurants around the complex from different scenery from Turkish to libanese to Arabic to Italian to uh Japanese you name them and also the three hotels plus the fact fact that we are by the water canal with all this attraction of bikes to be rented scooters to be rented the jogging truck we believe that we nailed it we believe that we have it all and whoever comes to our city alabor city I don't think he will have time or even the urge to go anywhere else because he has it all you just told us there was no need to leave alabor City no need that's all yeah and and certainly even if you're not in alabor City come to La PE it was brilliant but if you want to go and see some of the other attractions of Dubai where are we in relation to other great attractions in Dubai well I don't know if if you've seen it I mean we are the center of Dubai Alto city is located in the center of Dubai it's only 15 minutes drive when it's really traffic when it's really heavy traffic to the airport it's 10 minutes to go to lame mer uh lame this is a new attraction or the new development by the where you have restaurant shisha lounges also public beach we are 20 minutes drive to Juma area where else there there's also other hotels other public beaches 10 minutes drive to Dubai Mall the biggest mall in the world another 15 minutes drive to M of the Emirates so I believe and also the clinic hospitals we are only a stone thrown away from from us so we are centrally located in the heart of the new Dubai that shik Muhammad has envisioned and our Habor family was part of this envisioning and created this city alabor city do you like horses so maybe we can take you and see our alabor polar Resort which is there is a stable and a hotel and this is where the place where there are all the polo competitions happening every winter season we're creating this podcast predominantly about kosha Dubai why the decision to head in that direction well uh Since U opened relationship or doors with Israel with abrah more than half a million of Israelis visited Dubai as well so and I believe the vision of our owners wanted always to be different and always to be ahead of the game with a market as strategic as as unique as demand as is isi one so that's why the vision of our owners wanted us to be able to cater to that specific niche of Israeli Jewish clientele by offering the koser food and by offering a kosher Rabbi and having a kosher restaurant at the hotel we were or the very few of the first who came up with the kosher food concept and now we are ripping of the result of that and the benefit of that coincidently this year Ramadan uh the holy month of Ramadan is uh happening and coinciding with the Passover of Israel so we're kind of blessed to have both uh two holidays happily at the same month we've seen a good surge of bookings which came from Israel spending this um this glorious days with us in Dubai enjoying not only the good weather which is still happening in Dubai because still it's not it was not that hot but also the great food and gastronomic kosher food that our teams have prepared for those special guests so it has been a big success kosher food operation and Passover operation along with Ramadan with our Muslim clientele sfan where can people get more details about the alabor city collection well it's easy so alabor city.com uh they can follow us on Instagram at Hilton Dubai HC or at h pal and at V Hotel Dubai anywhere you can just put alabor City on the Google or Yahoo search you will find us as the first search results and you can always come to Dubai and ask the first taxi I want to go to City suan lovely having you [Laughter] oh it's all over David on the one hand it's very sad because we have to move on but think of the positive of the memories that we've had of the friendships that we've built up and of the amazing amazing time over the last three days I'm also thinking of the lovely poolside Cabana we're sat in seventh floor here at the Hilton we've spent three days at the alabor city collection it's been wonderful as you've already heard the ker breakfast this fantastic catering if that's your thing all the three hotels that are here the funky V the rather plush palace and this Hilton where we are now all terrific all offer access to kosher food and they know how to do kosher like a good Jewish mother because they feed you here they are feeders you think you're finished and they will give you more I wonder if we'll have to pay excess on the plane on the way back I'm not sure I'll fit in the seat to be honest if you think back 18 months ago when in Abu Dhabi the department of culture said every Hotel needs to have a kosher option on the menu and look where we've come we've now got kosher Hotel kitchens in Dubai it's a wonderful thing now we should say our thank yous Greg and Farah at the alabor city collection thank you so much for looking after us and for the really heartfelt Smiles along the way to Rabbi Le dman and his delightful colleagues at the Emirates Agency for kosher certification adaia and mispa who have been with us helping plan this trip since we started about 6 months ago also our thanks to the restaurants and Catering treat kosha and kosher place and also the Armani CF at the armanii hotel and a huge thank you to Dubai's Department of Tourism and commerce marketing for bringing us over here now it's our regular request that you get interactive get involved with us obviously the first thing we'd love for you to do is to subscribe or you can look at our social media channels or contact us on email at Mark davidp pod the email address is Mark davidp pod gmail.com and of course if you could write a lovely review on whichever podcast provider you choose that would be wonderful too David would you like to give us the answers to that easy quiz question okay so we asked you what does kosher actually mean and there are lots of possibilities and the ones that we plumbed for were fit or proper if you have an alternative please do let us know I think we really have to say goodbye now goodbye Dubai bye Dubai bye the Jerusalem Post podcast travel Edition is sponsored by World Jewish travel.org the number one platform for planning your Jewish cultural trips