Ali Yazdi really loves burgers.
“I remember when I was a child, my mum used to say ‘if you finish your meal, then I will get you a burger',” he says with a laugh. “I always say ‘a burger a day keeps the doctor away’, and so still to this day, I always have a burger every day.”
This love for burgers turned out to be more than just a daily ritual. Yazdi's interest in food spurred him to choose it as a career, training to be a chef at the age of 18, before channelling his experience into his one true passion, with the launch of Slaw in 2021.
“Burgers are my passion and I was seeing that the market here was lacking burgers made with really high-quality ingredients,” he says. “So I promised myself that I would open something of a really high standard that never compromised on quality.
“I have been cooking since I was 15, and at Slaw I really unleashed my dragon.”
Slaw has made a name for itself among Dubai burger lovers, thanks to its chicken sandos, classic burgers and inventive specials.
The burger joint celebrated its one-year anniversary in March at its original Jumeirah 1 location. It kickstarted its second year with the opening of a new restaurant in the city.
The second branch, located on Hessa Street, is only the start of Yazdi’s grand plans for Slaw.
The Emirati, who grew up in Dubai, wants to take the brand global, starting with expansion into India, where it will be the first Emirati burger joint to set up shop in the country.
“It makes me feel proud and it also makes me responsible,” he says. “When we select our clients who want to franchise, we make sure they have the right industry background, the passion and the love for the food. We don’t want to do it for the sake of money-making, we want to do it for the love of the brand.
Dubai has the biggest of everything — the biggest towers, the biggest wheel — but we don’t have the biggest brands that were born here
Ali Yazdi
“For India, for example, we are replacing beef with lamb meat, we are adding a few more vegetarian options, we are switching up the spice to cater to demands in India, so we are really busy working on that at the moment, and we really want to get it right,” he says.
And his plans don’t stop there. Yazdi is also in talks to open franchises in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, as well as more branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but he won’t stop until the brand goes global.
“Dubai has the biggest of everything — the biggest towers, the biggest wheel — but we don’t have the biggest brands that were born here,” he says. “Why shouldn’t someone in the US or the UK take a Dubai brand and open franchises there?”
“That’s one of my biggest dreams. I have promised myself that we will make it that big, that people around the world will see us. We are busy planning our vision,” he says.
So what is it about Slaw that makes it stand out in a busy and competitive market? Yazdi believes it all comes back to his true love of burgers.
“I’m a burger fan at heart, I love burgers. It’s my passion,” he says. “Being a chef, I check every single thing happening in the kitchen myself. I treat all of Slaw’s guests like my family members and I want them to be eating only the best. I tell everyone in the kitchen and serving [staff] to imagine the person across from them is their mum or their sister or their brother. We only want the best [for them].”
For a man who really loves burgers, what’s the one thing he recommends ordering from Slaw’s menu?
“For me, it has to be the Nashville chicken sando — I don’t eat one, I eat two, always with a Coke Zero,” he says. “I still have a burger every day, but I try to have a smaller bun to control my [portion] size too.”
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Convertible
Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
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Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
Company%20Profile
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
