UK chef attacks Dubai restaurant scene

GAPING HOLE: UK celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson has attacked Dubai’s restaurant scene. (Getty Images)

UK celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson has attacked Dubai’s restaurant scene, saying that the city lags behind New York, Tokyo and London.

“The problem is that while the luxury, top-end sector is well catered for, there is a gaping hole at the lower and mid-market end,” he said, speaking at the annual Taste of London food festival.

“Dubai needs more good value eating spots. The Dubai government should consider relaxing its licensing laws, so that good restaurants and cafes need no longer necessarily be attached to hotels.”

Angela Hartnett, the Gordon Ramsay protégé and Hell’s Kitchen TV star who launched Ramsay’s Dubai-based Verre restaurant, added that Dubai would have problems competing on the world food stage because of importation issues.

“In London, you can import fresh produce locally and from Europe. In the desert, you can’t do that,” she said.

However, Worrall Thompson, who has visited Dubai several times, did commend the quality of the city’s Asian chefs and restaurants.

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