A business beyond bread and butter

dubai - Silvena Rowe's Omnia chain of restaurants promote healthy eating

Dubai is great for businesswomen as it has all the right ingredients to create the perfect atmosphere for success, said Silvena Rowe, celebrity chef and pioneer of organic Emirati cuisine in Dubai.

The concept of Omnia was born two-and-a-half years ago. Nowhere else in the world is it possible to create such a recognisable brand as Omnia has become in the Gulf, said Rowe.

She is a celebrity chef with 30 years of experience in the food industry. She has cooked for a variety of celebrities and A-listers and has appeared on British national TV - mostly on BBC 1, where she is a regular face on Saturday Kitchen - as well as on the US Food Network show Chopped, where she is a rotating judge. She has written eight cookbooks, two of which are award-winning and one of which is a book on breast cancer prevention diets, written along with the leading UK expert in this field, Dr Michelle Harvey.

Rowe was also the chef patron at Quince restaurant at the May Fair hotel in London. Recently, she relocated to the UAE. She is a part owner of five restaurants that have opened here in the last two years: Omnia by Silvena, Omnia Gourmet, Omnia Baharat, Omnia Blue and Omnia Glow. Omnia is an Emirati brand, known for healthy, clean and locally sourced food.

As soon as Omnia opened its first outpost, it won the UAE award for the best healthy restaurant as well as the innovation chef of the year award. Omnia is also among the top 100 restaurants in Dubai. Omnia restaurants specialise in preparing raw, paleo, vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free food, making it a leading brand in that field in the region. The Omnia brand continues to grow and will expand in the Gulf region in the future.

Trailblazer
Rowe remains the leading female celebrity chef in the region as well as one who is paving the way for making healthy, nutritious food with locally sourced ingredients.

"As a celebrity chef, based with various TV shows and a restaurant in May Fair in London, Omnia had to be different. Coming to Dubai, leaving behind my beautiful Quince restaurant in the iconic May Fair hotel in London, it had to be for something special," she said.

Rowe explained that Omnia was born to create alternative, delicious food that happened to be healthy. She was the first chef to concentrate on and pioneer organic food in Dubai, where normally the bulk of all foods are imports.

"I developed relationships with farmers in the desert and began creating food and menus around what they had. During winter, it is fantastic, but during the hot season, we need to bring ingredients from outside to complete our menus. Thus, Omnia was born to celebrate local and organic Emirati farmers and produce. In addition, I have a sweet tooth, so I decided to develop sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free, vegan and Paleo desserts," Rowe said.

Omnia has won a number of awards as a leading healthy food brand. "Omnia is well-known throughout the Gulf region and we are fortunate to count among our guests not only many from the UAE royal family but also royals from Saudi Arabia," added Rowe.

Restaurant locations
"I started as a private chef to the rich and famous, became a food writer for the Guardian newspaper, wrote cookbooks, about eight to date, cooked and am still cooking on TV. We have Omnia Gourmet, a heaven for sugar-free and gluten-free organic food in the Fishing Harbour 1 in Jumeirah 1; Omnia Blue, next to it on the sea with local fish and seafood catch; Omnia by Silvena is a flagship restaurant in Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, great for private parties and events; Omnia Baharat in the Mall of Emirates; and Omnia Glow in the Dubai Ladies Club."

Rowe said she would continue to firm up the Omnia brand as the leading heathy and delicious food alternative.

"We get approaches for expansion in the rest of the Gulf, but we'd rather take it slow as we are very young. For example, Omnia Baharat in MoE opened just over an year ago. We are very new and have to co-exist with brands that have been around for years."

Rowe said it is challenging to sustain the brand amid competition. "Food in Dubai has become something that everyone seems to think they know about simply because they love food. Business is tough, competition is fierce, with many openings and even more closures. Dubai residents love eating out. But most food seems to repeat itself, with a lot of similar restaurants opening. With rents expensive everywhere, prices reflect that. Omnia is making a very deliberate stand to keep prices very reasonable to attract diners."

"We at Omnia are unique in making food that no one else seems to be able to deliver. We stay true to making healthy, delicious and light food. Of course, we have certain nationalities that frequent Omnia more than others. So, the challenge is to remain inviting for all. I want to make the world a better and more delicious place in the healthiest possible way," concluded Rowe.

- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com