Ramadan 2021 Special - Chef Tim Newton

Send us Fan MailThis podcast is a two part  Ramadan special, bought to you by Gulfood - https://www.gulfood.com and Meelz - https://meelz.meFor the second part, I talk to one of the most exciting and prominent Chef’s of the region!Tim Newton started cooking at at an early age, cooking for his mum.He was raised in Southern California, first working in a pizzeria, he then stepped into a professional kitchen at the age of 18 in a restaurant called “ Stacy’s in Oakland,  then went backpacking through Europe,  and ended up studying culinary arts in Paris no less, an incredible place to study and learn his craft.Tim went onto work in England and Australia with some of the best people in the business.Matt Moran was one of them - https://mattmoran.com.auFollowed working in of London's most established restaurants - Lutyens - https://www.thened.com/restaurants/lutyens-grillAfter sometime, he got an opportunity to work in the Middle East, this time it was Dubai that welcomed him.Tim mentioned with a cheeky grin that he came to open a “small” restaurant named La Petite Maison - https://lpmrestaurants.com/dubai/This “small” restaurant went onto win several accolades,  and to this day, it is an extremely popular place amongst the dining scene in Dubai.A couple of years down the line, Tim became the Group Executive Chef for the demand group, that has such restaurants as Bagatelle, Opa and more recently Myrra - https://www.demindme.comThis has led Tim to open several ventures, with more to follow, he mentions that the success is also down to his solid team.His culinary heroes are the incredible Thomas Keller, the late great Anthony Bourdain, most importantly his Mother. She was the one who pushed Tim to go into the kitchen at home to then go into a professional kitchen.Ramadan as an expat chef could be daunting for cooks who experience it for the first time, but Tim respects the culture of what Ramadan means in this region, not only that, his wife who is also a chef, her family originate for Yemen, so there is a rich food culture within the Newton household.The chef has seen Ramadan change in Dubai throughout the years, his menus however, stay true to their concepts during this time.Tim has embraced the Arabic cuisine, to the point that he mentions the firm crowd pleasers, are some of his personal favourites.The real deal over Ramadan for him, are the Iftars, this is where you can really experience the true sense of the holy month, as well as the incredible flavours that are presented.To see what Tim is doing, you can follow him on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cheftim420Stay tuned for next weeks show, I will be giving a sneak preview on Season 3.Thank you to our partners Gulfood and Meelz, make sure to click on their links at the very top of the page.Until next time, food is memories!Support the showFollow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE