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Fi’lia feels different from other restaurants in Dubai. Maybe it’s due to being 70 floors up, maybe it’s the beautiful Bishop Design aesthetics, or maybe it’s the fact that it’s fronted entirely by women.
Located in the SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences, the restaurant, which derives its name from figlia, the Italian for daughter, has put female empowerment as a central focus.
Already an international brand with outlets in Miami and the Bahamas, SLS Dubai director of food and beverage Nick Comaty wanted to put a unique spin on the latest outlet.
Young Palestinian-Jordanian chef de cuisine Sara Aqel had been working at legendary chef Massimo Bottura’s Dubai outpost Torno Subito prior to leading the team at Fi’lia and even she had to challenge her own initial surprise at the plans to have a team full of women.
“Before I met Nick, I heard about the concept and thought having a female-led restaurant in Dubai must be a crazy idea, because how are you going to find so many ladies to put in those positions?” she said. “I thought to myself, if I’m thinking that way then how could I blame anyone else for thinking the same?
“When I sat with Nick and he explained a little more about his vision for the restaurant, the vibe he wanted to create, the recipes he wanted me to work on, my interest grew 10 times. I came into the venue when it was empty, when it was chairs and tables that were wrapped and dusty, but I saw the spirit and the beauty in the details – the details that a woman would actually look at.”
Having worked alongside only a few women in previous kitchens, the mostly-female kitchen of Fi’lia has been quite a change, admits Aqel, but a strongly positive one.
“It’s very different but it’s also empowering and gorgeous,” she said. “Because I was one of the few ladies that worked in the places I’ve worked before, I’ve always missed having one person in the kitchen who would understand why I’m being anxious about this little thing or that plate. Usually guys look at things in a different way – it doesn’t make their knowledge or their experience less valuable, it’s just different. Women pay attention to details that guys don’t usually pay attention to.
“Now if I stress about something I have women around me who understand and we will try and fix it together. That’s the beauty of it. You have a woman understanding why I’m doing something in the kitchen and she’s supporting and helping in it, then you also have the women front of house who understands that and showcases it for the guests.”
As well as challenging the status quo in terms of gender, Aqel said she has been pleasantly surprised with how Fi’lia has put together a team that doesn’t fit into typical roles.
She said: “It’s a fact that some ladies don’t get opportunities for jobs based on differences in thinking or a difference in experience or a difference in age, especially in this industry, but if you look at our team it is the most beautiful thing. We all have something different from other hoteliers in Dubai. We all have a different way of working, of representing food, of talking, a different vibe.
“It gives me goosebumps to think about it because I would think that maybe they’re not anywhere else because of that difference but they are here because of it, that makes me happy.”
Among that team is multi-lingual general manager Mihaela Straton from Romania, assistant general manager Iryna Kovalchuk (who has worked under international celebrity chef Dani Garcia in Qatar and brings fine dining experience), Scottish assistant manager Hannah McConnon and the restaurant’s executive sous chef Federica Scolta who specialises in vegetarian and vegan food.
Fi’lia is a restaurant of individuals as much as it as a team and Aqel is keen to have their personalities at the forefront, helping to make the venue feel more comfortable than a typical restaurant.
“I see this restaurant as home. I want people to be homesick for Fi’lia,” she said. “I am not trying to create a menu that is super molecular, that is extremely difficult to make or that you won’t understand on your plate. From the way we talk to guests or the way we touch the tables, it’s just very natural. We’re not trying to make it formal because people come back for people. I see it as a place of faces I see at least twice a week. It’s happening already. I’ve had people tell me that they come home when they come here because it’s just very comfortable to be here.”
Director of F&B Comaty is pleased he has been able to bring the idea to life. He said: “When you bring a brand to a new market it’s important to do some adjustments and not just be a copy paste and that’s why we went with female empowerment with Fi’lia. I’ve been in Dubai for many years and I know that women are already empowered, unfortunately sometimes the perception is wrong. So if we can showcase that here as part of our restaurant then it’s a great way to help expand minds.
“Throughout the culinary world there’s not enough women in power as there should be. We all grow up on our mum’s food and it was always the best food. If we can help more women take high positions in F&B, then that’s great.”
Despite the obvious selling point of a team full of charismatic and talented women, Comaty is hopeful that Fi’lia doesn’t get pigeonholed as the ‘restaurant run by women’.
He said: “One thing I want to emphasise is we try not to overplay the female empowerment – the food speaks for itself. It’s a great story, of course, but it’s also a great restaurant.”
Although it has an Italian name, Fi’lia will be offering a Mediterranean-inspired menu with a leaning towards Italy – after all, with Aqel’s training under the master of modern Italian cooking, multiple Michelin star winning Massimo Bottura, it makes sense to take advantage of it.
Working under Bottura was a “fantastic” experience, said Aqel. “I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to learn Italian cuisine from his team that worked with him in Osteria Francescana under Bernado Paladini [head chef of Torno Subito].
“Massimo cooks like a grandmother but in 2021 – the food is an evolution of his grandmother’s recipes from 50 years ago so I was lucky enough to work with someone who can cook very old recipes in a very modern way, which made me learn both. I never spent a day there where we didn’t learn something new.”
Aqel has taken that experience on with the menu in Fi’lia which has three sections. Nonna features classic dishes unchanged from the way your grandmother would make them. Mamma adds a more contemporary touch to traditional dishes. While figlia is where Aqel can showcase her flair with uniquely modern creations.
The aim is to offer something for the whole family, said Aqel. “These are three generations on a plate. We have something for each market. For someone that wants to eat classic, that wants to eat a little more adventurous, and then for someone that wants to try the figlia dishes, because we’re not targeting one specific market. When I see tables with at least one of each, it makes me happy.”
While competition in Dubai remains fierce despite the pandemic, Comaty is hoping that Fi’lia can carve itself a niche in the city. He said: “What differentiates us is our team, our very good product, and a very fair price point. Nowadays in Dubai that is extremely important, especially with Italian food. There are some amazing Italian restaurants but if it costs you more than a steakhouse there’s an issue somewhere.
“I see pizzas at AED150, it’s tough to swallow. We try to look at it from a guest’s perspective. A guest wants good service, good quality food, and good value.
What’s great about SLS is that F&B is a huge component of our DNA and we really try to put ourselves into the shoes of our guests.”
If Aqel, Comaty, and team can succeed in bringing Fi’lia to the masses, the impact could be far reaching across the industry for many reasons.
Originally published on: hoteliermiddleeast.com
