By Jojo Dass

Stories have it that most chefs started out when they were young, wandering about in the kitchen, watching their mothers prepare food, keen on the minutest detail about how it’s done, sometimes even running errands or actually helping with the onions.

Forty-six-year-old celebrity Chef Musabbeh Al Kaabi is quite familiar with this narrative.

“At a young age of seven, I would spend hours watching my mother cook,” recalls Al Kaabi, who would later grow up to first become a senior soldier with the UAE Army for seven years till 2000 before actually embarking on his career.

“As I was growing up, I started learning recipes and tips from her,” says Al Kaabi, who would soon learn the ropes and have fun preparing dishes, inviting friends over to sample his creations as cooking became a hobby.

And the hobby turned into a calling, a journey, inspired by his mother, into the culinary world. Chicken Mashbous, Al Kaabi says, became his favorite dish, adding that he learned how to prepare this from his mother.

Women’s place

Back in the day, the kitchen was almost solely the domain of women, Al Kaabi recalls. Men would just drop in to check what’s cooking, after catching a whiff of the aroma.

“It was not common for men at that time, in Emirati culture, to enter the kitchen and cook,” says Al Kaabi. Cooking, he stressed, “was something women of the house did.”

Present day

That was 39 years ago. Such set-up back then did not cause a stumbling block for the budding chef, not even a steep learning curve because Al Kaabi was doing what he loves and loving what he does.

“It didn’t deter me,” says Al Kaabi. “I needed to follow where my heart belongs.”

He added, and quite matter-of-factly at that: “I’m proud that now it’s acceptable for both men and women to pursue a career in the culinary arts. This is a massive change compared to (the days) when I started.  The idea of being a chef was a novelty in the past.

“But now, there are many culinary academies in the UAE. Food is a legitimate career choice. Being part of this change is something that I am incredibly proud of.”

Multi-awarded

The multi-awarded Al Kaabi’s culinary journey saw him starting out as Commis 3 at a beach hotel back in May 2000. A commis is food and beverage jargon for a novice chef.

He gradually rose from the ranks to become Commis 1 at Jumeirah Beach Hotel from June 2006 to March 2008; Sous Chef de Cuisine at Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC) from March 2008 to March 2009, then as Head Chef at Aspen Restaurant in the Kempinski Hotel at Mall of the Emirates from March 2009 to July 2009.

Al Kaabi started hitting it big in 2004 where he landed on the pages of the Arabic newspaper Shabab Al Khaleej as the first professional Emirati chef.

He was UAE representative to the World Expo 2015 in Milan, a “proud moment,” he said.

Al Kaabi would also become Executive Oriental Chef at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel –Palm Jumeirah for 10 years from August 2012 to March 2022 before taking on his current job as Group Executive Chef at Neem Tree Restaurant and Lounge – Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).