Culinary Entrepreneurialism, What San Francisco Has Taught Me
As I may have alluded in my previous post, I am particularly interested in exploring the subject matter of Culinary Entrepreneurialism and its role in shaping Dubai as a hub for the culinary arts in the region.
I have always been fascinated by the U.A.E.'s distinct ability to develop a community of cultural and religious diversity being situated in such a volatile landscape. The U.A.E.'s capacity to lead has been further cemented by its recent announcement of its anti-intolerance law, one which can only be applauded and one that will continue to allow the people of the world to live and work in harmony within its borders.
It is the multiplicity of ideas from both the nationals of the U.A.E. and its residents that have pushed the country to the forefront of the global stage. However, as I highlighted previously, the Food & Beverage Sector has yet to make any significant or lasting impact. The issue of food is multi-pronged. Whether it be from a creativity, innovation of food preparation or from an agricultural, health or even food security perspective.
Culinary Entrepreneurialism addresses all these challenges but I will highlight the contributions the culinary arts can make towards Health and Agriculture.
What is remarkable is the culinary success of San Francisco despite it being a city of just under one million people. What is even more remarkable is that San Francisco is rated as one of the United States fittest cities. It is isn't alone in its achievement, most of the United States greatest culinary hubs are also America's healthiest cities. This is driven by culinary innovation and creativity. The link between tasteful and healthy food is often debated, yet, the greatest restaurants manage to deliver the combination to perfection. Dubai and the larger U.A.E. has made Health a strategic priority, and rightfully so. Countries in the GCC are quickly realising the impacts of food consumption taking place specifically manifesting itself in a growing trend of obesity and diabetes.
With California's drought hitting the state worse than anytime in its history, chef's have continued to excel in their food preparation despite the growing irregularity in ingredients. There is also a collective discussion being had between chef and farmer in growing ingredients that have the least impact on water consumption. This discussion ignites my interest into the agricultural sector of the U.A.E. and how chefs may menu engineer to not only support the agricultural development of the country without negatively impacting the environment as well as alleviate the country's dependence on imports. Perhaps a discussion could be had on how the Food & Beverage sector could exploit the bio diversity in flora for example. Again, Culinary Entrepreneurialism would drive that discussion.
We often look upon the Food and Beverage Sector from an individual service standpoint but the sector implications are far reaching. With the fall of the Russian Rouble and other economic factors, many in the industry are facing hard choices. There is no better time to discuss an opportunity to establish a cohesive approach to initiating a public-private sector dialogue. We need to form a foundation for an ecosystem that would benefit not just culinary entrepreneurship but a vast array of economic and social interests that would benefit the communities living in Dubai and the U.A.E. by tapping into the pool of talent that the country has nurtured and attracted.