MARINA SOCIAL
Hosting friends for dinner can be a tall order. So when I heard that Marina Social at the InterContinental Dubai Marina can now host you and up to 12 guests for an intimate dining experience — complete with you and your guests getting to go backstage in the kitchen, preparing your chosen dishes — I wondered if hosting could finally start being less nerve-racking and more a joyful experience. And over the next few hours, I found out it could.
Here is how it works. In an open kitchen, your guests can enjoy an extensive menu cooked by you, with full view of the kitchen. But fear not, there’s no chance for you to make silly kitchen screwups, because you’re under the watchful eye of the head chef.
This was one of the very first events of its kind the restaurant was hosting, so I arrived early to have a menu run-through. Kitted out in chef whites, stepping into the kitchen was a scary prospect. I have cooked in a professional kitchen before but never in a live environment. I’ve seen Kitchen Nightmares on TV, but while there I realised it wasn’t at all like what I had seen on screen. The space wasn’t huge, but each person was busy at their station.
As my guests arrived, the nerves started to kick in.
When they were settled, I explained how the evening would work — I had chosen a sharing menu and would be dashing between the table and kitchen.
The nerves started to give way to excite-
ment, and I was now keen to get my hands dirty. I shadowed the chef as he prepared the beef tartare, horseradish cream, egg yolk jam and truffle dressing.
All the ingredients had been prepared; first, the beef was placed in a mould in the centre of the plate and topped with mushrooms. Horseradish cream was then piped into a circle, and then a blob of egg yolk was added to resemble a fried egg. Finally, we handpicked micro greens and finished off the dish with grated fresh horseradish. The finished dish looked incredible; mine looked pretty much the same as the chef’s. Looking up I could see my guests peering over the counter snapping pictures of my first course, which was served alongside a beetroot salad and confit duck and foie gras terrine with crystallised almonds and peach chutney.
As the dishes arrived, the chef talked the guests through the ingredients, preparation and how the dish was created, also taking questions.
No time to settle down though — I tasted the food I’d prepared and was soon back in the kitchen to make pizza and dessert.
The overall experience was incredible. It’s a great way to catch up with friends, pick up some food preparation tips and get a real flavour of what it’s like to work in a professional kitchen. This preparing-and-dining session is a perfect environment for you to show off your cooking skills.