Awards can be both a blessing and a curse – and there’s little question that being named Gault&Millau UAE’s Future Great at just 26 years old could leave many young chefs feeling the heat.
As he returns for the second season at the now-acclaimed Moonrise, many will be watching to see how Soleman Haddad follows up on such an auspicious start. But while expectations are certainly high, if the young chef is feeling the pressure, he hides it well.
“We are blessed to have such strong word of mouth. That was how we started,” he muses. “Interestingly enough, we have two very different types of clients. We have people who only know us through word of mouth. These are the people who don’t know anything about awards or the industry. They just come because their sibling or friend told them about us. Our other type of guests are ones who follow the food world and read about us in magazines and guides.”
Haddad’s aim in his second season at the pass is to take both strands of diner on a culinary journey through the many and varied influences of his third-culture upbringing, via the medium of a nine-course omakase fusion menu.
“Dubai and I have grown together, side by side,” he smiles. “We’ve witnessed each other’s evolution and progress, and I feel like our cuisine is a reflection of my experiences living and growing up in Dubai. However, the two strongest culinary influences in the restaurant are Middle Eastern and Japanese cuisines.
“I’ve always seen so many similarities between the two cuisines,” he continues. “This year I feel like my perceptions and my skills have evolved. You can really taste that evolution in our dishes.”
Diverse flavours
Travel, Haddad explains, is also key to his kitchen’s development. “We were closed during the summer and I spent a month travelling and eating at amazing places, making notes and experiencing fantastic food as a guest,” he smiles. “This new menu is an amalgamation of everything I learned over the last year.”
These diverse influences shine through in the restaurant’s considered approach to sourcing, with spices from Union Coop, Sidr honey from Ras al Khaimah and flour from a local mill joining forces with regional finds including Syrian yuzu, and top quality imports including beef and hamachi from Japan and kaluga caviar from China.
The menu itself, meanwhile, has been created to tell a story, with a dish entitled ‘Trip to Masafi’ one of Haddad’s new favourites. Featuring charred madai fish served with sweetcorn, brown butter and dill, Haddad reveals: “The whole point is to tell a story of how we grew up exploring the region. How I used to spend my weekend going to the Friday Souk in Fujairah and buying fish, corn and more.”
Telling stories with taste
This narrative-led approach is one Haddad sees as becoming increasingly relevant across the region’s hospitality landscape, with the ability to communicate the stories and influences behind a menu becoming of growing importance.
“I always worried that guests weren’t that interested in my story behind all the dishes, so last year I was always apprehensive about sharing too much, but I think I found the perfect middle ground,” he says, thoughtfully. “Now, we reveal the inspirations of a dish, but don’t go overboard with the talking.
“I learned over time that your restaurant’s story is what makes you unique. Our guests really resonate with a great story and I know that food critics really love delving deeper and understanding the meaning behind our stories.”
While those critics don’t appear to be troubling Haddad too much, he’s clearly keen to prove he’s no flash-in-the-pan wunderkind either. “We are really thinking about the next steps,” he explains. “We are wondering about how we can offer more. How we can be better. That is what we are planning right now. The learning never ever stops. That is the cool thing about this job. There is humility to admitting that you never know enough.”
On that note, Haddad concludes: “I appreciated them and enjoy them so much, but awards mean nothing without work. They push us to keep going. We are still in our infancy. This is just the beginning of Moonrise.”
Moonrise’s new menu is priced at AED650 per person including non-alcoholic cocktails and tea pairings from local tea partner, Haiyatea. Reservations are now open, with two nightly seatings available for just eight diners per seating, at 6.45pm and 9.30pm from Monday to Saturday.