Co-host Devina Divecha sits down with Chef Aphisith Phongsavanh, aka Chef AJ, the man behind The Legendary Naga, a culinary union between Laos, Persia, GCC and the Levant. The supper club and soon-to-be dining experience, is a reflection of his own rich story. Chef AJ is also a music producer, an illustrator, and a poet, and shares how the dish Gaeng Massamun led him to explore how Thai cuisine entwined with local ingredients as it traveled around the world. Links: Chef Faisal Naser on Nourish by Spinneys

We’re continuing our two part miniseries, The Artist and The Scientist. This week, co-host Tiffany Eslick speaks to Chef Tom Allen, head chef at the one-Michelin-star Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Atlantis The Royal. While incredibly creative, the menu at Dinner is backed by a rigorous scientific process where everything is so precise – from the way ingredients are sourced, how logistics are managed and how it’s all plated. Chef Tom also shares how he’s not much of a planner, and prefers to connect with good people and live in the moment. You can also catch the first part of the miniseries with Ossiano’s Chef Gregoire Berger in your podcast app right before this one.

We’ve got an exciting set of episodes lined up for you that we’re calling The Artist and The Scientist. Over two episodes, co-host Tiffany Eslick will be talking to two chefs from the two iconic Atlantis properties—Atlantis The Royal and Atlantis The Palm—here in Dubai. This episode features the artist that is Chef Gregoire Berger, who leads one-Michelin-star Ossiano. Chef Gregoire shares how he became a chef by accident, how his love for travel and photography continues to inspire his menus, and how he’s using AI.

Co-hosts Tiffany Eslick and Devina Divecha venture out to the Umm Suqueim Fishing Harbour to catch up with Ramie Murray, founder of Dibba Bay Oysters. They talk about Dibba Bay’s rise from producing 20,000 oysters to half a million oysters a month in December last year, their upcoming reef creation project and a number of nuggets about the right way to store, shuck and enjoy your oysters. You can also visit us at Spinneys.com where you can shop #2 Oysters from Dibba Bay, and if you pick them up in store, our fishmonger can shuck them for you as well.

Chef Ionel Catau shares some of the inspiration and the ingredients behind all the courses at Gerbou’s supper club. This continues our conversation with Chef Ionel Catau last week about the concept behind Gerbou, and what they’re looking forward to as they open up the full restaurant at Tashkeel in a couple of months. You can find the full episode in your podcast player right before this one.

Co-host Devina Divecha checks out the supper club at Gerbou, with Chef Ionel Catau. Gerbou is a collaboration between Tashkeel and Atelier House Hospitality, with a focus on celebrating of Emirati and Arab culture—from the food, to the furniture decor, to the art. Chef Ionel also shares a sneak peak into some of the plans for the full restaurant, which is set to open in a couple of months at Tashkeel. We’ll also have a bonus episode out next week with delicious ingredient details and some of the inspirations behind their full supper club menu.

Our hosts Tiffany Eslick and Devina Divecha get a Japanese tea masterclass from Viktoryia Toma. Viktoryia is the founder of Ikigai-cha, where they focus on single estates and single cultivators, so they work and source from small farmers directly to bring their teas to the region. They learn about Japanese tea history and culture, and discover a few different techniques to brew tea.

Co-host Tiffany Eslick sits down with Dina Macki, author of Bahari, the first cookbook on Omani cuisine by an Omani author. They talk about the origins of the book and its gorgeous cover, and some of the learnings from getting her first book published. Dina also cooks two dishes with Tiff, the Khoubz Mardhouf, an Omani date paratha, and samaki wa kupaka, grilled fish in a coconut curry. You can pre-order the book now on Kinokuniya or on Amazon.

Chef Rahul Rana tells us the origin story behind the ‘rabbit and two fig leaves’ plating of a new addition to Avatara’s chakra menu. You can also catch the full conversation with Chef Rahul in your podcast app right before this bonus episode, or on the web here.

Co-host Devina Divecha sits down with Chef Rahul Rana, who heads the all-vegetarian Avatara. They talk about the research and storytelling involved in the restaurant’s latest chakra menu, and the impact of receiving their first Michelin star last year. Avatara is part of Passion F&B, which also owns the award-winning Tresind and Tresind Studio, headed by Chef Himanshu Saini, who was on the show last year. We’ll also have more on a bonus episode with Chef Rahul next week, where he shares the story behind his favourite dish on the chakra menu.

A BIG thank you for your support over the past year. We’re delighted that the show has won 2 Bronze Signal Awards in 2023, in the Branded Shows—Arts, Culture & Lifestyle, and the general Lifestyle categories! This couldn’t have happened without your incredible support. If you haven’t already done so, we’d love it if you gave us a quick review in your podcast app. See you next week with a new guest, more engaging conversations and fresh ideas!

Co-host Devina Divecha speaks to Kathy Johnston, Chief Chocolate Officer at Mirzam Chocolate Makers, to talk about their journey into well-sourced, beautifully-crafted, and locally-made chocolate nearly 8 years ago. Mirzam makes all of its chocolate in-house at its factory in Al Quoz, which also has a cafe where you can grab some hot chocolate and shop for all of their single-origin chocolate. Kathy shares how they work with their chocolate producers as well as a number of artists who contribute to their wrappers, and they close out with a delicious chocolate tasting.

Co-host Tiffany Eslick sits down with one of our cheesemonger friends, François Robin, while on a trip to Lyon. François holds the prestigious title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France, which he earned in 2011, and has tasted more than 1,500 types of French cheeses to date. He’s also the author of Le Fromage pour les Nuls, or Cheese For Dummies. François and Tiffany unpack the cheesy details behind Comté, Beaufort and Reblochon.

Last week, the Nourish podcast crew joined Chef Troy Payne out in the desert to enjoy a delicious barbecue. This week, we’re sharing some more snippets about about Troy’s own journey, his love for broccoli, and great tips on doing more with food. You can listen to the full episode where Chef Troy cooks a tomahawk steak, makes fish and chips barbecue-style, sears some broccoli stems, and finishes with some lamb ribs marinated with fig jam and toum, in your podcast app, or on the web here.

The season to be outside and cook with fire is finally here. This week, co-hosts Tiffany Eslick and Devina Divecha drive out to the desert behind Town Square for a barbecue session with Chef Troy Payne. Chef Troy cooks a tomahawk steak, makes fish and chips barbecue-style, sears some broccoli stems, and finishes with some lamb ribs marinated with fig jam and toum. He also breaks down the the difference between barbecue and braai, and shares a number of tips that could elevate your next barbecue evening! We’ll also have more on our bonus episode next week with Troy’s early cooking journey, and some simple tricks to bringing out the goodness even in ingredients we don’t really enjoy. If you enjoyed this episode, we’d also recommend you check out our very first episode with Hatem Mattar, the UAE’s own pitmaster, talking about smoking meat.

Last week, co-host Tiffany Eslick spoke to Chef Himanshu Saini about his cooking inspirations and the story behind his iconic restaurants in Dubai. On this bonus episode, we’re sharing all the delicious details behind the Rising India menu at TresInd Studio.

This week, Tiffany sits down with Chef Himanshu Saini, the chef behind the award-winning Tresind Studio in Dubai. Tresind originally opened in 2014 with a take on a progressive Indian fine-dining experience. Since then, they’ve opened more restaurants and brands—for example, Carnival by Tresind and the all-vegetarian Avatara, among others. Their flagship restaurant, Tresind Studio, now located in Palm Jumeirah, earned two Michelin stars this year. Chef Himanshu shares the inspirations behind his cooking, and why there’s a framed dinner plate paired with all the awards they’ve won.

As we gear up to COP28 here in Dubai, co-host Devina Divecha talks to Naim Maadad, founder of Gates Hospitality, and Bojan Cirjanic, executive chef at Folly. They talk about the F&B industry views sustainability across the different verticals—food waste, packaging, talent and education and the supply chain as a whole. Gates Hospitality owns a number of award-winning brands including Reform Grill, Bistros des rates, Publique, as well as Folly. They’re also running a number of concepts at Expo City during and post-COP28.

Co-host Devina Divecha sits down with Emily Mikulla and Stewart Howison this week to talk about all things cycling in the lead up to the Spinneys 92 Cycle Challenge. Emily runs Mindful Body here in Dubai, and is also a certified yoga therapist and instructor, a certified orthopedic manual therapist and a Pilates teacher. Stewart owns Revolution Cycles Dubai and is a founder of the Spinneys 92 Cycle Challenge. The next edition of the Spinneys 92 Cycle Challenge will take place on the 24th and 25th of February 2024. You can find out more and sign up here.

Co-host Devina Divecha visits Glucare, an integrated diabetes clinic in Dubai to experience a full-body check-up, and speaks to its co-founder Ali Hashemi. They talk about the nutritional challenges with our lifestyles today, and how they’re expanding the success of Glucare into other aspects of healthcare.