Chef Mohammad Orfali of Orfali Bros (Dubai, UAE) is a celebrated culinary talent renowned for his innovative approach to Middle Eastern cuisine. With a flair for blending traditional flavors with modern techniques, Chef Orfali has earned acclaim for his creative and visually stunning dishes, elevating the dining experience at his renowned restaurant. His dedication to quality and passion for gastronomy make him a standout figure in the culinary world.
The Best Chef: Why did you choose a career as a chef?
Mohammad Orfali: It was a mistake to be honest. Not a mistake, it was an accident. I went to culinary school in 1994, and at that time I graduated from grade nine. In Syria, you have to get a certain score to go to high school, so it couldn’t work with me. The only option was culinary school. I had no clue what was cooking at that time. I entered the school and I felt like, you know, that’s an interesting career. And to be honest, I never regret why I’m a chef. So I started in 1994. I still have a lot of obsessions about cooking.
The Best Chef: Can you describe the progression of your career and what led you to where you are today?
Mohammad Orfali: So, at the end of 2005, I decided to come to Dubai to learn English because my dream was to go to Europe, to go to France. I felt like if I spend about two years in the city, I will learn a little bit of English, I will save some money, and then I will go to study somewhere in France. I did that, but after four years when I went to France, no one spoke English over there. Everyone speaks French, that’s normal. And I felt I have no link with the type of food. I have no link with memories there. But everyone graduated from culinary school. They learn about the French curriculum. They started like, you know, from haute cuisine. This is like, the basics for any, or the fundamentals of cooking for any culinary school in the world. So, I felt like it’s good to know about that, but also it’s not my culture. So, I decided to come back to Dubai and I was lucky to be on TV. So I’m a TV chef. I started cooking in 2011 on TV until 2020. And after that we opened Orfali Bro’s with my brother.
The Best Chef: How would you describe the culinary scene in Dubai?
Mohammad Orfali: The food scenes in the city get more involved, more different. I remember when I came here there was more international cuisine from chefs coming from abroad to open restaurants in the hotel. Now I can see more local talent, more local chefs like Orfali Bro’s, like Tresind Studio and so many Ossiano, it’s like homegrown restaurants and they are doing great things. Everyone offers something different than just international cuisine. I think everyone offers food that belongs to his story, belongs to his history, background, philosophy, etc. So I think within another five years, you will find different things that come from Dubai. New recipes, might be worldwide, that will be invented in Dubai.
The Best Chef: What type of cuisine is featured at Orfali Bro’s?
Mohammad Orfali: Well, in Orfari Bro’s, we don’t serve Syrian food. We make Orfari cuisine. Orfari cuisine, that’s me and my brother, and our journey started from Aleppo to Dubai. So, I have a few dishes on the menu that represent who we are. But we decided at Orfari to make a new cuisine, called Orfari cuisine, which represents the Dubai community. You can see the menu has different diversity. It gives us the freedom to do what we want to do. If we put myself in a box into a category, let’s say, Syrian food or modern, nothing wrong with it, but I don’t want to put myself in a box and limit myself with only one type of cuisine. So we are a cuisine of ingredients. We focus on taste, taste, taste, taste, and then textures and ingredients. These are the three things that we stand by. So we can see my food, it has, from the modern school, it looks uneasy sometimes, but it’s very complicated from the kitchen. And we love ingredients, so we like to take one ingredient and manipulate it differently.
Artykuł #FOODMISSION 2024 – Mohammad Orfali – ORFALI BROS, Dubai, UAE pochodzi z serwisu The Best Chef.
