TimeOut Abu Dhabi – August 21, 2019

Richard Sandoval

timeoutabudhabi.com August 21 – September 3 2019 27

“I think the

location for

VaKaVa is

iconic”

that together with the great location and the

venue, I think it’s a winning combination.

Do you have any favourites?

The sea bass ceviche is one of my favourites

and from the entrées we have a new Chilean

sea bass, which is served on a tray and then

mixed with miso and Japanese rice until it’s

all incorporated in together. That’s a new

dish that I’m very excited about. There are

a lot of new things that I’m trying out and

haven’t been on my menus before.

Did you enjoy creating the menu?

For me creating menus is the most enjoyable

part of my job. I still love getting into the

kitchen. It’s the place I go to relax and pull

all my thoughts together, and move some of

them from my mind to my plate.

It’s always exciting to work with my chefs,

and every year we have a test kitchen where

we get together in one part of the world and

create. It’s never boring.

All my dishes have been inspired by my

travels. I used to be a professional tennis

player and I travelled throughout the world,

but food was always one of my passions. This

menu is like a mix of different cultures and

dishes that I’ve eaten on my travels through

South America.

VaKaVa

Which country have you enjoyed the most?

Obviously Mexico (because I’m from there),

but I enjoyed the forests of Columbia a lot

and I really liked Brazil. But the thing about

Mexico is that the cuisine is so vibrant.

There’s so much of it, there’s always new

chillies to try and other things, which to me,

as a chef, is very exciting.

Do you still travel a lot now?

I’m not travelling as much as I used to, but

I still do South America at least once a year

and also get down to Mexico to see what the

chefs are doing. Mexico is now a melting pot

of great chefs and it has really exploded in

the last Àve years. So I try to go to there at

least two or three times a year.

Which restaurant are you most proud of?

I opened Maya in New York 20 years ago and

I’m very proud of that. It was my Àrst foray

into Latin cuisine in the US and I’m also very

proud of Toro Toro in Dubai. When we opened

it six years ago it was probably the Àrst

South American restaurant in the city and we

introduced ceviches and other dishes. To be

the benchmark for Latin cuisine is nice.

Tell us about opening VaKaVa.

Personally, I think the location is iconic, I love

Etihad Towers and once the weather turns

we have a beautiful deck outside that people

can sit on. It’s so close to Dubai too and

people have embraced my three restaurants

there, so I think that having a restaurant in

Abu Dhabi is a natural transition.

I think the city is a little quieter than Dubai,

which I like. I’d say Dubai and Abu Dhabi are

like New York and Washington, New York is

a big city and everything is very fast, while

Washington is still a big city but it’s quieter.

Abu Dhabi kind of reminds me of that.

O Open Mon-Sat 7pm-11.30pm. VaKaVa, Jumeirah at

Etihad Towers, West Corniche (02 811 5666).

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