Scott Price seems remarkably relaxed for one who's taken over a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. He's just been installed as the executive chef at the newly refurbished Verre in the Hilton Dubai Creek, having landed in Dubai five weeks ago. But while workers fiddle with the door fixtures in the restaurant's new private dining area, traipsing back and forth over the carpet's protective plastic sheeting, he remains unflappable, a useful quality in a chef.
"Even the day before we opened it was pretty much a shell," he says nonchalantly, gesturing towards the private dining room where finishing touches are being applied. "I went to bed and the next day the carpet was down and the lights were on. We've got a party of 14 in there tonight." After closing for three months for work to be carried out, Verre reopened at the end of February. The restaurant remains minimalist. Crisp, white cloths cover the tables, sturdy black leather chairs surround them and grey and black carpet lines the floor.
Price had no hand in the refurbishment. Instead, he took charge of the menu, which is modern European in feel and excitingly creative. Starters include foie gras terrine with almond and rhubarb crumble and salmon gravadlax with crispy Loch Fyne oysters and baerii caviar. The main course options include plenty of seafood dishes, butter-poached Scottish lobster, sea bass and scallops among them. There's sea bream with "balsamic glazed watermelon", puddings such as toasted fennel crème brûlée, which Price dished out at the Taste of Dubai festival last weekend, and, for the ultimate foodies, a seven-course tasting menu at Dh615 a head and a chef's table.
"It's a relaunch, so I wanted to open it with a brand new menu," Price says. "I've taken dishes that I want to do and from dishes I've done in the past. And we'll just keep pushing and evolving it." Inspiration comes from Price's stints at Gordon Ramsay restaurants in London. His CV lists Claridges for nearly five years, Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road for four months and work in preparation for the forthcoming and third reopening of Petrus - an enormously significant launch for Ramsay given his acrimonious falling-out with the previous Petrus chef, Marcus Wareing, and in which he has invested £1.8m (Dh9.9 million). It's due to open on Monday after months of delay. Price worked on the menu "right from scratch" with the head chef Sean Burbidge.
"I will miss the opening a bit, yeah," he says wistfully. "We were doing all the tastings for Gordon. It was pretty scary. We had all the head chefs from other [Ramsay] restaurants come over to try 17 dishes, the whole menu." Price mentions two female stars of the Ramsay family who were there: Clare Smyth and Angela Hartnett. "But the feedback was amazing, really great for your confidence." Petrus is one of several Ramsay openings at the moment. "I've only just realised he's opening Maze Melbourne on the same day," says Price. That opening comes on the back of Maze Doha's launch earlier this month. Ramsay, who has been accused of spreading himself too thinly for the recession, has admitted that he was nearly pulled under.
"He said himself he expanded too quickly," says Price. "I've spoken to him and heard things about it. He didn't realise all the costs involved, especially in America." He has since trimmed things down, Price says. Price has much to thank the big man for. Ramsay's annual scholarship programme brought Price down to London from the Lake District, where he was previously a chef in a hotel. He reached the scholarship finals for the UK and Ireland at the age of 21, and, though he didn't win, a year later he joined the Claridges team.
He admits he was terrified of his boss to start with, but apparently is not any more. "It's more respect than terror," Price says He is now 28, still young to be running Verre and the all-day dining restaurant, Glasshouse, which sits across from it. But he's obviously one of the blossoming Ramsay stars, having now been trusted enough to work on book launches and television programmes with the famous chef.
It's a line of work that comes naturally to Price, who grew up in the kitchen. His grandfather was a chef on HMS Belfast during the war, his uncle cooked for the Royal Air Force and his mother is a restaurant manager in the Scottish Borders town of Gretna Green, traditionally the venue for elopements in Britain. "There were a lot of weddings and buffets and all that, so I got chucked in the kitchen washing dishes when I was about 12," Price says happily.
His relative youth means that Price has yet to develop a signature style. "Ask me again in a year," he says. "I'd like to be able to answer that but I just want to find my feet properly and develop my own style. I've been working for Gordon for so long. It's not that you don't have your own style but you learn how to cook in a certain way." These methods apparently don't include shouting in the kitchen. "I don't think you need to, you know?" he says. "It's not always the best way to get the best out of your staff."
Again, he displays a level of calm - and diplomacy - that suggests he'll go far.
Verre, Dubai Hilton Creek, 04 227 1111.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Match info
UAE v Bolivia, Friday, 6.25pm, Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Dubai
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
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.”
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
AIDA%20RETURNS
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
