Can restaurants serve as social spaces? Sheikha Hend Al Qasimi thinks so. The Emirati artist, editor, fashion label owner and restaurateur believes her latest venture can plug what she sees as a market gap for experience-led restaurants. Heart in a Box cafe opens later this month in Downtown Dubai.
Created as a floral and chocolate boutique and events company in 2007, the brand has been extended to incorporate a design space and art gallery that also offers classes and cultural experiences. Those concepts will come together in an all-day restaurant that aims to reflect how we eat today, serving up a menu of modern classics that are created from healthy and organic ingredients.
Experiential dining at Heart in a Box
"Yes, we have enough restaurants in the UAE, but none offer you an experience you can take home with you," Sheikha Hend tells The National. She describes the concept as a cultural hub for art and food. "Galleries will fill the cafe's walls with art, and we will organise pro bono book clubs for charity. I'm really into the idea of literary clubs, social gatherings that enrich our minds and souls, both spiritually and intellectually. We don't really have these in the Emirates," she says.
I would really like to share the literary club experience with the public. I think it would benefit everyone
In some ways, Sheikha Hend takes inspiration from the literary and philosophical salons that were central to the French Age of Enlightenment, but versions of which date back to Umayyad times on the Arabian Peninsula. “I used to host gatherings around a koi pond in my home, where everyone would come with a dish and one of two things: either an experience you learnt from or a book you want to share with the group,” she says. “I’d have architects, artists, teachers, professors, surgeons – it was wonderful. And I would really like to share this experience with the public. I think it would benefit everyone.”
In a nod to the influencer-driven times we live in, luxury brands will be able to organise book events hosted by Sheikha Hend at Heart in a Box. Called Tea with Lady Velvet – an extension of her social media handle @LadyVelvet_HFQ – the series will serve as a by-invitation showcase for a specific guest list.
Scents and sensibility
As is often the case with construction and interiors projects in the current climate, the restaurant has been delayed, but Sheikha Hend hasn't exactly been sitting around. She recently launched three unisex perfumes, Hend by Hend I, II and III.
Inspired by the UAE and two years in the making, the first has notes of rose, lemon and musk, the next is heavy on Arabian scents of cedarwood, cardamom and nutmeg, while the fresh and fruity third fragrance is redolent of jasmine, orange blossom and vanilla. “The first is romance, the second confidence and third is happiness and love in a bottle,” she says.
The fragrances retail at Alexandre J boutiques, and the Sheikha admits that only when the brand's owners experienced and loved the perfumes first-hand was she able to obtain shelf space that, she says, "is still a struggle as a first-timer. It doesn't matter where you're from".
"They're so impressed, they encouraged me to expand into incense, body mist and hair and face products, the works," she says.
Also on the cards is an updated version of The Black Book of Arabia, which is set for publication soon. First published in 2015, the collection of short stories is inspired by people Sheikha Hend has met in the Gulf – such as a woman sold into sex slavery, another who sells her kidney for love and a bride who goes blind on her wedding day.
Taking on haters
It is apparent that Sheikha Hend's influencer credentials go beyond being a member of the ruling family of Sharjah. Specifically, speaking out against hate speech earned her fans beyond her roles as author and creator. In April 2020, Sheikha Hend called out a series of Islamophobic posts on Twitter from a user who appeared to be based in Dubai. Among other things, the posts labelled all Muslims as terrorists.
Prosperity starts with peace. I simply spoke so he would know that his vile attack would not go unnoticed or unpunished
Tweeting screenshots of the posts, she wrote that such behaviour would not be tolerated in the UAE. The account behind the posts has since been deleted – as have the website and Facebook page of the company the user appeared to be associated with.
In a subsequent tweet, she said: "Hate speech is the beginning of genocide. Gandhi once said: 'An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.' Let us learn from the bloody history we have now documented in pictures and film. Understand that death begets death and love begets love. Prosperity starts with peace."
Sheikha Hend, who has 430,000 followers on the platform, could have stayed silent when she saw the tweets, she tells The National, but that would send the wrong message: "I simply spoke so he would know that his vile attack would not go unnoticed or unpunished."
She has since continued to defend tolerance on Twitter, posting about the Rohingya crisis, retweeting moderate anti-ISIS comments, and calling for social media platforms to silence terrorists.
“Education has taught us to be tolerant, it’s what civilised societies are in their essence,” she says. “Tolerance is the cordial celebration of differences without necessarily having to embrace them.”
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
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
RACE RESULTS
1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1hr 21min 48.527sec
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps
Seven%20Winters%20in%20Tehran
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
UAE%20Warriors%2033%20Results
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FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
BIRD%20BOX%20BARCELONA
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Company%20Profile
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