Family-run hotel offers more room for tasty experiments.
When it comes to food, every day there is something coming through the door that we play with. We have to like it before the customer does. You spend a lot of time and money playing with food, marrying the flavours and tastes. Some stuff works, and some stuff doesn't.
We had a lot of trouble with the bread at first. There was lots of trial and error because we wanted to get it lighter. But it was a nightmare in the beginning. Sometimes you'd take it out of the oven and you could build walls with it. We had to play around with it and add oats, yeast and flours, just getting the balance right.
This task can be expensive, though, because food prices have really changed.
Flour is going through the roof and it will for the next few years. It probably hasn't fully hit us yet and I think food prices will continue to go higher for everything. I remember going out to shop here a few years ago with Dh200 and you would fill a basket. But I was out the other day and bought nothing out the ordinary and spent Dh650. Money is gone and there isn't the same value.
Before coming to the UAE, I worked all around the world. I've worked in the US and later in China at an Irish pub. I arrived in the UAE in January 2000. I first started working in the Irish Village in Dubai and spent six years there. After that, I went to the Montgomerie Golf Course for about 18 months, and then back to Ireland for about two years.
At this point, I got involved in my own restaurant back home, but the recession kicked in. It went from hero to zero. I went from doing 120 meals a day to nothing. A friend of mine from Dubai had bought the place and took me on as a partner. Luckily enough, I didn't invest too much money in it. We were months away from spending €600,000 (Dh2.9 million) to knock down the walls and refurbish it. We were going to build a new kitchen, new function room, six bedrooms and an outdoor area. But with the recession we pulled out, so in the end the investment was tiny.
I then got a great job offer to come back to the UAE. I helped open a couple of restaurants and then McGettigan's came along. It opened about three months ago.
The restaurant is owned by the family that also owns the Bonnington Hotel in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. Dennis McGettighan is the managing director, but his father is also here all the time. They also own hotels in the UK and Ireland. Having an truly Irish feel is important to the family. We want to reinvent the Irish welcome. Dennis wants the Bonnington to be a place you come to and feel comfortable, and the same is with McGettigan's.
It's a different feel working for a family business. I have worked for more corporate entities in the past and there was no room for change and new ideas. Here, we sit down at a table and talk things out. We can meet on a personal and professional level. We're all here to make the hotel better and I love doing that. You get a buzz off it.
We're very pleased with where the restaurant's going. It has exceeded expectations. The last couple of weeks, I've noticed if you're not there by 7.30pm, there isn't a seat to be had.
Life is generally very busy right now. My wife is expecting a baby any day now, but having a family changed my spending nine months ago. You have to start thinking ahead more.
On top of that, we've done lots of shopping for the baby boy on the way. I'm also thinking about schooling, of course. They go to school at such a young age now and that's very expensive.
Growing up in Ireland, there were four of us at home. I was the oldest child, so I always got the least amount of pocket money. I remember my sister would get for a day what I would get for three days. Maybe it was the economics of the time, but it was always harder being the oldest. You had to break water with everything.
I used to get 50 pence (Dh2.95) for three days, but I'd usually spend it in one. It was meant to buy me a half pint of milk or perhaps a bag of crisps.
My mother looked after all the money. My dad would hand over a cheque at the end of the week and she looked after the finances. My father was a miner for more than 20 years in western Ireland.
My first job was selling bingo cards on Saturday's, house to house out on my bicycle. That's how they did it those days. I'd go out at 9am and come back about 4pm and get a few pence on every bingo card I sold. I suppose they took pity on me and that's why they bought them, out there in the wind and the rain.
When I was growing up in the 1980s, there was a recession in Ireland. On Monday, my mum would have 20 quid (pounds) in her purse and that's what she would have to use to feed us with. And four in a family was relatively small back then.
We did lots of baking and cooking at home. My grandmother lived with us and she baked apple tarts and bread. I was always dipping apples in the sugar. For me, cooking was always there from the beginning.
I probably learnt more from my grandmother than my mother when it comes to cooking. At 6pm we would have tea, which most people would call dinner, and we'd have fresh bread, eggs and apple tarts. I'm still trying to copy what she made. It was unreal.
As told to Jeffrey Todd
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
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The Cockroach
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Mary Beard
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A cheaper choice
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Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
more from Janine di Giovanni
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight
