The Innovators – Interview with Founders of Kitch-In including Evgeny Kuzin and Chef Izu Ani
Two of the most famous faces in F&B in the Middle East, Evgeny Kuzin and Chef Izu Ani teamed up with Accor earlier this year to launch Kitch-In, an innovative new concept developing a unique approach to augmented hospitality. Emirates Man sat down with the moguls alongside Accor’s Mark Willis and Yigit Sezgin to find out more
How did you come to launch Bulldozer Group? Bulldozer Group began in 2011 when we made our first venture into the nightlife and entertainment industry in Dubai. We started by importing internationally recognised brands, such as Cipriani, to raise the profile of the dining and entertainment landscape in the UAE. We wanted our friends and family to realize how up and coming the region was, to know that they could come to Dubai and enjoy the same luxury experience and service as they could expect in key markets around the world, such as Europe, the UK and the US.
The restaurant, nightlife and entertainment industries are very fast paced, and it is important to remain agile and ensure you are ahead of trends. I am really humbled and proud of everything we have learned and achieved. It is really amazing to know that our brands have played a significant role in the development of the UAE into a globally recognized tourist destination. Now, as the UAE market has matured, we are focused on developing unique and authentic concepts to export them from Dubai to the world, as well as using our expertise for digital concepts and technological innovations.
Can you talk us through all of your ventures in the region? We own and operate premium dining destinations and entertainment concepts Gaia in Dubai & Monaco, Cipriani DIFC and Cipriani Dolci in Dubai Mall, Shanghai Me and Scalini, as well as digital concepts Izu Burger and many more through our new cloud kitchens platform Kitch-In, a partnership with Bulldozer group, Chef Izu Ani and Accor that brings acclaimed chefs and food scientists together to deliver premium cuisine, high-quality flavours and affordable prices through Accor hotels kitchens.
We have significant expansion plans for the next few years, including a number of concepts set to open in Saudi Arabia and Europe, as Gaia will open in London’s Mayfair next year. In Dubai, we have a few new exciting projects, including a beach club, café concept and premium restaurant in DIFC all planned to open before the end of the year. How does the F&B industry here differ from other global locations? The UAE is an amazing place to build a brand, the cosmopolitan blend of nationalities and expats from all corners of the world forces us to consider our audience and tailor our offering to suit them. We try to incorporate flavours, tastes and attributes that resonate with a wide range of cultures so that each guest feels catered for and looked after. Dubai has given us an incredible platform to grow, expand and develop our skills, it really is unlike anywhere else in the world. The UAE aims to build a better future and I feel very lucky to call it home. We are dedicated to the development of Dubai into one of the best dining and entertainment destinations in the world, and I am excited to see how the region grows.
What are the hurdles you’ve experienced during your career? Challenges are an opportunity for our growth and expansion. We get our most important lessons and redirection from our most difficult moments, and they give us the time to slow down, restrategise and see what can be improved. Listening is one of our greatest values, we hear what our clients want and need, and we adjust accordingly. Our relationships are integral to our business, both with our clients, our suppliers and our team. It is through building honest relationships that people feel comfortable enough to share their true feedback, and this is so important to our brands and concepts.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, what have been the key milestones? We are always looking ahead, planning the next big thing and living in the moment, so it is important to stop and take a look at everything we have achieved. I am always so humbled and grateful for the support of the UAE Royal family. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum are regular guests at Gaia and Shanghai Me and we are thankful for the endorsement and approval they have shown us.
Some of our best moments and greatest milestones can be seen in the smiles of our guests, and the clients and customers that have become our loyal friends. The feeling of sitting in one of our restaurants, surrounded by happy people, talking, laughing and enjoying their cuisine and experiences has got to be one of the best things I can imagine.
You recently launched Kitch-In under the Bulldozer umbrella. Can you talk us through this
venture? Kitch-in is the first and only food technology platform that enhances the lives of its users and transforms room service across the hotel industry worldwide. We are honoured to partner with Accor on this project, one of the world’s leading hospitality brands, and gain insight from their knowledgeable and talented team. We plan to improve the home-delivery and in-room dining experience through an intelligent infrastructure that maintains consistent quality control at every stage. Our goal is to simplify cooking, nutrition and sustainability by providing convenient access to great cuisine, prepared by industry experts. Through Accor’s global network, we are excited to touch people’s lives with our great cuisine.
How does it differ from any other ventures you’ve launched in the region? Kitch-In is a completely new concept, both for me and the technology verticals that we are working on, so it has been a fascinating project since the beginning. With a physical venue or restaurant, our experience has given us a deep understanding of each project and we know what to expect. Kitch-In has given us the opportunity to use our skills and knowledge to explore new possibilities. We have spent the last few years working on research and development for this unique platform. We wanted to improve the standards of delivered cuisine and serve restaurant-quality dishes developed and endorsed by talented chefs. By studying, understanding and managing each aspect of the business chain, we can maintain consistent quality control and ensure it is scalable. Kitch-In is the first and only F&B platform that has the capacity and technology to effectively monitor quality control across the entire ecosystem. This gives us the ability to scale each vertical quickly and skillfully, from the development of illustrious digital restaurant brands endorsed by celebrity chefs to efficient delivery. With Accor’s extensive hotel network, there is no limit to our scalability, and we have ambitious plans for a worldwide expansion. What’s next for Kitch-In? We have ambitious plans for a fast and dynamic expansion and are on track with our growth strategy. In April 2021, we launched Kitch-In with 4 virtual restaurant brands and one central kitchen. Today, we have four kitchens in Accor properties in Dubai. We will launch a new delivery location in Dubai very soon, as well as two kitchens set to open in Abu Dhabi to serve our customers there. Our strategic international roll-out will begin in Saudi Arabia next month, followed by the opening of 70 kitchens across the GCC, UK and France in 2022. We aim to serve cuisine from over 1,000 digital brands worldwide in just one year. We have quadrupled our offering in less than six months, and this is something we are really proud of, especially considering the time and dedication required for the quality at this level and menu development.
Can you talk us through your career history? At the beginning of my career, I focused on absorbing all of the knowledge and experience I could. I spent a lot of time in France, working my way up through kitchens and from there I travelled to Spain. I offered my services at the Mugaritz, one of the world’s best restaurants located in San Sebastián. By working for free, I earned more in knowledge than I ever expected and learned more than I could have imagined. I believe that in life, we do have to invest in ourselves and in our passions. Invest our time, our efforts and our dedication. My travels and experiences continue to shape my understanding of cuisine and have enabled me to translate this through the menus I work on.
As a Chef, I am a storyteller through food. I think it is important to remember that food belongs to the culture it comes from. By understanding the culture, we have the privilege of knowing how to extract the experience and tell each story from the source. My aim in life is to keep adding to my life journey through food and to be able to share this with people who are as keen as I am to explore how we can push the limits of creativity.
How do you believe your restaurant ventures set you apart from others in the industry in this region? I believe that what sets us all apart, as individuals, is not what restaurant or business ventures we embark on, but who we are inside. The philosophy of who we are binds what we do. There is a cause and effect behind everything in life, a reason for being, for wanting certain things and this is reflected in our work and our passions. Our values can be seen in everything we create, and I have a very conscious approach to food. As restaurant owners and concept creators, we have a responsibility
to consider the health and social consequences of our cuisine. Our kitchens and menus are carefully curated to reduce wastage, the spare ingredients from one dish can often be incorporated into another so that we make the most out of our produce and products. Similarly, when it comes to health, I believe we should enjoy everything in moderation, fuel our bodies with essential ingredients, the best quality meats and fish as well as beautiful fruits and vegetables. Of course, have a burger or a pizza, but enjoy one made with clean ingredients, cooked with methods that ease digestion and use it to fuel an active and exciting lifestyle. You’ve recently begun to diversify your offering in the F&B space in the Middle East. What was the inspiration behind this? Inspiration, to me, comes when I am constantly moving, learning, searching for more information. It’s like a river. When a river flows, it breathes new life, fish swim, wildlife grows, there is energy. If a river is stagnant, it becomes murky, fish are unable to swim there, it dies. Keeping still kills creativity. I am constantly looking for new experiences and opportunities to learn and evolve. This is why I find the delivery space so interesting, it has seen such vast growth in a short period of time, and there has been a level of experience that people accept because they enjoy the ease and accessibility of home delivery. Why can’t we order a meal at home and it be of the same quality as a restaurant? We aim to provide a better service, excellent cuisine, efficient delivery and affordable pricing.
Can you talk us through all of your ventures in the region? Most recently, we launched Izu Burger, a virtual brand serving dirty burgers made with clean ingredients. We also launched Kitch-In in April 2021, an innovative food technology concept, Kitch-In encompasses a research atelier, developing new virtual restaurant brands, as well as a technology platform that utilizes the Accor kitchen framework to deliver excellent quality cuisine made with conscious ingredients and cooking methods, reduced wastage and transport times.
Gaia opened in DIFC, Dubai in 2018 and just celebrated its second anniversary in Monaco. A Greek-Mediterranean concept, Gaia combines warm hospitality with intricate details and alluring aspects, creating a journey of discovery in each and every visit. Our cuisine showcases the core elements of Greek culture, humble, simple yet flavoursome dishes that are served in layers and designed to be shared between friends and family.
Carine is our French-Mediterranean restaurant located in the Emirates Golf Club.
Named after my wife, I wanted to develop something that represented a part of me, for the person that has been by my side throughout my career. Carine is elegant, yet adventurous and edgy, and these elements make up my journey with her. The French culture woven throughout the restaurant stems from her and everything I learned in France, from where we met and what we have built together.
Kitch-In is a first of its kind in the Middle East. Can you tell us the story behind the venture? Everything we eat is a reflection of who we are and how we are feeling. When we order at home, we aren’t in the mood to go out and socialize, it is often when we are feeling tired or relaxed. We created Kitch-In to become a part of your daily routines. Food is a comfort to us, and we want to nurture people and make them feel cared for with home-cooked meals, delivered to their door.
Our culinary team works really hard to curate new menus for our digital brands, using their skills and understanding of culture, cuisine and ingredients. We have developed a thorough training and education system to help onboard new members of staff and maintain the same level of quality as we grow.
Since moving to Dubai, what have you learned about the industry that you wouldn’t have learned anywhere else? Dubai enables us to see the world with the eyes of a child, to explore and build our dreams into our realities, and for that, I will always be grateful. The UAE holds a special place in my heart, it is an incredible place to have the opportunity to grow and develop. Dubai has a way of accelerating our creativity, its ever-evolving nature gives us the ability to expand our skills and learn about different cultures, tastes, flavours and people.
What has your transition been like from chef to concept creator, restauranteur and entrepreneur? I live by the philosophy that life is not about ownership. Everything is loaned or borrowed in some way. When you learn that nothing belongs to you, you can consider that you have learned only a small portion of what there is to learn in life. This inspires me to keep learning, keep moving forwards. I am humbled and grateful for everyone who has supported my growth and the experiences that have shaped my journey so far.
What are the hurdles you’ve experienced during your career? There is a lesson in every situation, and challenges give us valuable knowledge that we may not have been aware of otherwise. The trick is to pay attention. It is all information, and information is everything. The more we know, the greater our spectrum of understanding, which leads us to better opportunities and experiences.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, what have been the key milestones? When we work with passion, we can enjoy the art of dedication and practice. By focusing on improving every single day, we can see how much there is to achieve and really embrace the process. I believe that the milestones are often found in the small moments. I find the most pride and pleasure when I am consistent and striving towards my goals every day.
What’s next for Kitch-In? My aim for growth and expansion is consistent across all of the brands, restaurants and concepts that I work on. It is about maintaining the same honesty and approach that it had when we first opened, making sure that our philosophy doesn’t get diluted. Our goal is to grow as a business while keeping the ethos and quality intact.
“I believe that in life, we do have to invest in ourselves and in our passions.” – Chef Izu Ani
MARK WILLIS
CEO Accor Middle East
Can you talk us through the team behind KitchIn? We have been really fortunate to work with such an inspired team for this project, and I believe that the passion of the people we are working with, combined with the skills of our internal team, gives us the strength and ability to grow at a remarkable rate.
Kitch-In brings together the knowledge of food scientists for optimal delivery, in-house nutritionists for health advice, expertise from award-winning restauranteurs and hoteliers as well as the skills of a celebrity Chef. Each person is dedicated to the success of the project, which is evident in the quality and creativity found in every dish, menu and delivery. It’s a very unique venture to be a part of – how did the idea come about? At Accor, our focus in recent years has lain in our aim to create a lifestyle, with hospitality that feels like an extension of the home. Advances in technology, social media and online shopping have created an urgency for us to manage and stay ahead of. Consumers and our guests have an expectation for the best rates, quick confirmations, the best cuisine and fast delivery times. This is a really
dynamic and exciting time for hospitality, and I think the changes we make now will have a huge impact on the future of the industry.
With Kitch-In, we wanted to change the way we look at in-room dining, raise standards across our properties, and create something so good that people want to order the same dishes at home. The digital infrastructure aligns with our network perfectly, allowing us to create a truly wonderful service that can be delivered wherever you are.
What does this partnership for Accor mean? How does it differ from something that’s ever been done before? In the past, in-room dining has often been overlooked and accepted based on the timings. Kitch-In offers something very different, the kind of in-room delivery that guests look forward to. It is perfect for business travellers, who may be tired after a day of meetings in a different country and would rather dine in their room and relax with a beautiful meal, and for families that can order dishes from different cuisines and flavours to ensure everyone can choose something that they like.
How do you believe UAE and the Middle East differ from other places when it comes to the hospitality industry? The UAE can be described as an innovation hub when it comes to the hospitality industry. The leadership of the country has made it a priority to offer entrepreneurs and brands the opportunity to “think outside the box” and come up with new concepts that have not been seen anywhere else in the world. This push for innovation has made it possible for Accor to bring some new lifestyle brands into the market, such as the newly opened SLS Dubai, which has already proven to be a hit with guests and residents alike. Another premium example is the launch of KitchIn which already shows great signs of success!
What are the hurdles you’ve experienced during your career? “I’m not sure as I jump them all!” On a more serious note, of course, throughout my career, there have been many professional hurdles that has affected the way we work, the most recent one would be having to navigate through COVID 19 while ensuring our teams were as safe as possible and offering them as much support as possible. I am a strong believer that no matter what hurdle comes your way, a positive attitude and a desire to succeed helps you overcome anything, a smile on top of that always helps, especially in our industry.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, what have been the key milestones? All the big steps that I have had through my career have been milestones, from working at my first Michelin star restaurant to my first General Manager role, to completing my MBA and taking 1 year off in 2005 to refocus and align my goals for the next years.
I am very privileged to be able to say that I have had the opportunity to move into a large variety of roles in various locations around the world, each of these moves has definitely been a milestone. Most recently moving from my role in Thailand, as President for Asia for Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, to joining the Accor team in Dubai as CEO for the IMEA region, this has absolutely been my latest milestone.
YIGIT SEZGIN
Chief Commercial Officer Accor
What’s the story behind Kitch-In and its partnership with Accor? The pandemic gave us a unique opportunity to review our internal processes and the ways in which we operate. We asked ourselves how we could improve our services, streamline our approach, and utilize our infrastructure while the travel and hospitality industries were put on an indefinite pause. We wanted to create a positive impact on the lives of those in lockdown.
During that time, everyone was heavily reliant on home deliveries. Having a beautifully prepared meal delivered to our homes was a huge source of joy, something to really look forward to. We were speaking to our good friends Evgeny Kuzin, Bulldozer Group and Chef Izu regarding their plans to launch an elevated food delivery service. We thought, why not combine our skills and expertise and build something completely groundbreaking? We knew we had the kitchens, the team, the manpower and the framework. This, combined with the creativity of Chef Izu and the expertise of Evgeny Kuzin, felt like an extraordinary opportunity. As a fully integrated digital concept, Kitch-In further develops our approach to augmented hospitality. It is not just about planning for tomorrow, it is about designing tomorrow. Through KitchIn, we have the ability to enhance and improve in-room dining, giving our guests the exclusive opportunity to enjoy exquisite, restaurant-quality cuisine without needing to leave their room. Our digital approach means that we can quickly and efficiently upgrade culinary options for our destinations and extend the experience of our hospitality outside of the premises of our hotels.
It’s a very unique venture to be a part of – how did the idea come about? When we are surrounded by like-minded people, we bounce ideas off each other and brainstorm opportunities. It is really inspiring and exciting. I have always liked to think ahead, plan our next project or campaign and remain active. We started with a clear aim, a few objectives, and the idea of an excellent-quality delivery service. From there it just kept building and growing. We realized how much of an impact this could have on our operations across all of our hotels and properties, as well as how easily it could be scaled and implemented across the Accor infrastructure worldwide.
How do you believe the UAE and the Middle East differ from other places when it comes to the hospitality industry? The UAE, especially Dubai, is a global hub that welcomes, encourages and embraces innovation. New dining concepts, hospitality products and services, alongside art & culture and lifestyle remain a priority. It is clear to see that the city attracts new dining concepts which provide a high level of services both when dining in the restaurant as well as dining at home. Over the past years, a large number of brands have entered the market which has proven to be very successful, which has been driving innovation levels to ensure concepts remain fresh and original to be able to compete in such a competitive market. The same can be said for other countries throughout the Middle East, such as in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where we are seeing more international chefs and brands entering the market.
What are the hurdles you’ve experienced during your career? Throughout my career I have dealt with a number of adversities, however, I am a firm believer that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! The way I look at adversities is that they can “paralyze you or fuel you”, personally I choose for them to fuel me! As they say “it’s in the flames of adversity that our greatness is forged.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, what have been the key milestones? I think from almost every challenge I have encountered, I have managed to come out on the other side stronger, for this reason, I actually believe that each adversity has resulted in a milestone for me. The last 18 months have definitely brought a large number of milestones with them due to having to “think outside the box” and create new innovative ways to do business.
Some key achievements include: forming the Kitch-In partnership; creating a new bookers program with Accor; completing tenders around the FIFA 2022; increasing our activities and focus on a dining and lifestyle platform; and F&B earn and burn platform for our loyalty members of ALL. In addition, a personal highlight for me was conducting my own Ted Talk in August 2020 – Polar bear in the desert.