Khaled Al Saadi takes a new approach to Emirati cuisine, while not messing with tradition Video Credit: Stefan Lindeque/Gulf News photographer
The most fun rising young Emirati Chef Khaled Al Saadi from Dubai has with cooking is when he gets to tell you the name of an Emirati dish but plate it in a way that you’d never recognise it.
Take the machboos, the traditional Emirati dish that’s similar to a pilaf. At an event in Abu Dhabi recently, Chef Khaled served the machboos - a dish that depends heavily on rice - with rice making up just 10 per cent of the whole dish, even presented not as rice but as a rice cracker. It met with quite some awe, with diners immediately recognising the flavours and identifying the notes, but being unable to put their finger on exactly what they were eating. “And then when I finally mentioned the dish it’d be this ‘aha’ moment,” he said.