ABU DHABI // To many people, Radwan al Hosani has one of the best jobs in the world.
He gets to taste Fuala's chocolate for a living, and has the final say in what exotic ingredients to add.
"The secret to the best chocolate is actually in the milk used," he says. "You can have the best cows in the world on your farms, but in the end, it is Swiss cow's milk that produces the best quality chocolates."
Dipping a spoon into a rich pool with a high cocoa bean concentration earlier this week, he sniffs, sips and lets the chocolate sit in his mouth before making his judgement.
"Just right. Delicious," he says with a smile. "This is the best part of my job."
Mr al Hosani then pulls out his "secret" tool from the pocket of his khandoura. He uses the meswak stick - a tree branch that traditionally has functioned as a tooth brush - before trying out another sample of chocolate.
"It cleans the teeth and refreshes my mouth for the next taste," he says.
Mr al Hosani did a lot of tasting in the weeks leading to Ramadan. Along with Eid, it is the busiest season for local chocolatiers, who have to come up with creative packaging and the "right" tastes for a nation craving something rich after long hours of fasting.
"It has to be a light filling, and not too sweet, as people would have been fasting all day and wouldn't want anything too heavy," he says.
Besides plain dates, Muslims may break their Ramadan fasts on dates covered with handmade chocolate; chocolates infused with coffee or dotted with fruits or macadamia, hazel or pistachio nuts; or on plain milk or white chocolate confections in creative floral, jewellery, heart and geometric shapes. During Eid, chocolate packages are common gifts on family visits. Packages can be filled with romantic hearts or tiny teddy bears hugging chocolates, or feature more creative jungle or zoo themes.
The company offers 80 flavours.
Prices range from Dh100 to 180 per kilogram, depending on the type of chocolate. Those with the highest cocoa content are the most expensive.
"The local market here is used to commercial chocolates that have a lot of fat in them, and so we have to find the right balance and cater to a very specific taste," says Mr al Hosani.
He tests his chocolates on his family of three children and his wife, Um Omar, who in turn solicits opinions from women in the community.
"Emiratis generally prefer light milk chocolate to dark chocolate and don't like it to be too sweet," he says.
A fan of Kit Kat bars while he was growing up, Mr al Hosani, who says he exercises on a regular basis to prevent weight gain, has founded two local chocolate brands during his 17 years in the industry.
First came Pistache, launched in Abu Dhabi in 1995. Fuala, which means "hospitality" in the local dialect, was established in 2002, and now has 15 branches across the UAE, one in Saudi Arabia and another in Oman.
Mr al Hosani runs the business with a former classmate and friends from the al Khaja, al Roumaithy and al Suweidi families. They are still working to educate the public on the finer points of the product, he says.
"Chocolates is a relatively new tradition here, as it was introduced in the 1970s, and it was mainly in the form of commercial chocolates, and so people are still learning the difference between fine and regular chocolates," he said.
Other local chocolatiers include Choco Art, a Sharjah-based family business that opened in 1998 and recently opened a shop in Umm al Qaiwain, and al Nassma in Dubai, which released the first camel's milk chocolate brand in 2008.
At Fuala's small factory in the capital, Mohammed Moghazy has overseen the staff and operations for the past eight years. The chocolate chief from Lebanon and 60 staff members work in hair nets, white paper jackets and sterile blue plastic shoe covers.
Cracking, melting, mixing, tempering and filling and emptying chocolate molds, the workers toil efficiently, with Mr Moghazy checking over the 500 kilograms they produce daily.
"This way we can provide to the masses what once was only gifted to the kings and queens," he says.
On the eve of Ramadan, they all worked overtime to satisfy increased demand and orders.
Mr al Hosani, who can veto any chocolate he does not like, says he never tires of his work.
"I always loved chocolate," he says. "But who doesn't love chocolate?"
rghazal@thenational.ae
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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
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
Company%C2%A0profile
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RESULTS
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Masaali, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Almoreb, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m. Winner: Imprison, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m. Winner: Raahy, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m. Winner: Cross The Ocean, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m. Winner: Sa’Ada, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')
Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
The specs: 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 60kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed Electronic Precision Shift
Power: 204hp
Torque: 360Nm
Range: 520km (claimed)
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
