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#Food Engineer

CHEF ALESSANDRO MICELI

EXECUTIVE CHEF(Bella Restaurant & Lounge), GR8 HOSPITALITY

With 29 years of experience in some of the world’s most renowned kitchens, from Italy to England and the United Arab Emirates, Chef Alessandro Miceli is now at the helm of Dubai’s most disruptive Italian dining destination: Bella, at the Grand Millennium Hotel Business Bay.

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He has a quick eye, attentive to detail, and always harbours a warm smile on his face, filled with the joy and kindness Italians are reputed for.   He wears his heart, and his passion for food, on his sleeve. 

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From the early age of 10, he started cooking for his younger brother, with his parents working hard in the farmlands of Syracuse.  This is where his innate generosity originates, from the love of feeding his friends and family.  And now at Bella, you will feel exactly as such: a close relative he wishes to please with a vibrant, ingredient-driven, flavourful and temperamental cuisine!

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In London, where he served the elite at the service of the Dutch embassy and Her Highness Beatrice, he also developed a talent for training at the Metropolitan Hotel.  He then took over the popular Italian restaurants San Marco and Piccolino, with warmth and flair.

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Attracted by the youth and innovative dining scene of Dubai, the “Sand Princess”, he started off at Ossigeno and La Fornace at the Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa, then joined the Samman family as Executive Chef for Byblos Hospitality, before leaving his mark at the legendary Bice and DIFC’s Italian gem Roberto’s.

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Alessandro is a multi-facetted Chef, who gladly forgets to be arrogant, despite the long list of awards he has earned along the way, from Pro Chef’s Best Italian Chef in the UAE in 2019 to TimeOut and What’s On in so many categories it becomes hard to keep count.  Kindness, empathy and true love of food are what make this gentleman-Chef a natural leader to his teams and a benevolent host to his guests.

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CAREER

HISTORY

Executive International Chef with 29 years of culinary experience developed across United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Italy.

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Currently appointed as Roberto's Dubai's Executive Chef, where Italian dining presented with a contemporary design to create cosmopolitan experience for Dubai's discerning crowds and become one of the A-list team of Roberto's that have come together to create a homegrown concept that blends Roman passion for food, Riccione hospitality, and Milanese style in Dubai is where my culinary experience of both the familiar and new by offering classic and modern Italian cuisine including signature dishes are served in its elegant main dining room, Il Ristorante, the buzzing lounge, Il Salotto, and an open-air terrace, La Terrazza.
 

Former Executive Chef cum F&B Consultant for the Byblos Hospitality Group based in Dubai. Entailed to my duties and responsibilities, which is I'm involved in the over-all F&B operations and tasked as Team Leader for the HACCP of the newly established Byblos Hotel, (a chain hotel of the Byblos Hospitality).


One of my key accomplishments is when I supervised the conceptualization, planning and constructing of Al Dente which is now an established Italian Restaurant. My ongoing project is overseeing and planning the F&B Chameleon Night Club of the same Group; which targets the A market of UAE.

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To summarize my recent previous working experience, I was the Executive Italian Chef at Ossigeno Restaurant & La Fornace, both are 5 stars restaurants of Le Royal Meridian Beach Resort & Spa and In-charged at the Piano Bar (serving Italian Tapas and Asian ).

In addition, one of my achievements is a quite successful experiment as showing the results of my participation at the Unilever competition, “Chef of the Year 2009” in Dubai.

Whilst living in London, Alessandro also gained invaluable experience working for the Dutch Embassy as Head Chef for the residence of Bentinck Family and catering to world dignitaries and government officials. I was also in charge of cooking and organizing for the Royal Dutch family her Highness Beatrice. During this time, he also maintained a part-time training position with London's Metropolitan Hotel to further his culinary education. In 2006, Alessandro to popular London based Italian restaurant San Marco as a Head Chef, and then to Piccolino as the opening head chef and manager in their London. In 2007 Alessandro relocated to Dubai where he took up the post of Head Chef for Bice at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. During his tenure with Bice Dubai, he was a part of making BICE as one of the sorts after the restaurant in Dubai by creating a culinary journey for all the high-profile dignitaries, royal family to experience, during that period BICE has received numerous awards and became one of the iconic Italian restaurants in Dubai.

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In July 2008 he joined Le Royal Meridian Beach Resort & Spa as Chef de Cuisine for Ossigeno where he continues to delight guests with delectable signature dishes and was featured in Friday Magazine in June 2009 with Pass the Pasta article. In 2010 Alessandro was nominated as the emerging chef of the year 2010.

In 2010 Alessandro joins the Samman Family as Executive Chef to assist in the opening of the Byblos Hospitality which caters to fine dining restaurant and experience and the opening of the Italian restaurant Al Dente which is an open kitchen with fresh ingredients and culinary experience.

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In October 2012 Alessandro joined the Italian Quarter of DIFC, Roberto's, as a Head Chef keeping the tradition of providing delicious delicacies with a contemporary twist. Alessandro's devotion to good food shows in many ways and is admired by many guests. All his passionate efforts under Roberto's and the army of the kitchen team were so fruitful and evident in all the awards the Roberto's have won since the door opens for Italian food lovers in DIFC. Alessandro was featured in several food events such as the interview for 'I love Italian Food & Friends in Dubai in 2016 and the most recent one 'Food for Champions - Globe Soccer' in 2017. Throughout the years, Alessandro's culinary skills sharpened with the support and collaboration with some of the best Italian Michelin Chef such as 2 Michelin Starred Chef Enrico Bartolini who served as Roberto's Chief culinary advisor sharing same dedications and with new techniques featuring traditional & contemporary Italian dishes.

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Chef Alessandro and Roberto’s want to give their guests the authentic and traditional experience of Italian food. It is important for him to give his guests the best quality food, cooked with the highest quality ingredients. He selects the best of the products and ingredients and monitors the quality of the same. He isn’t only managing admin work and kitchen hours but is also required to make guest interaction and ensure diner satisfaction. When requested by several guests, he personally explains all the dishes and their ingredients. With the kitchen staff, Chef Alessandro takes care of plenty of things. He makes sure that the team is aware of the ingredients and the exact recipe to bring authenticity in flavor. He is also responsible for maintaining the kitchen standards, he must make sure that the teams keep their stations tidy and in limitations of the Health guidelines. For a fine dining restaurant that serves hundreds of guests every day, Alessandro consistently delivering exquisite dishes and special guests' requests is with no doubt has gone above and beyond the call of duty. His inspiration and continuous motivation to the team boost morals to passionately drives them in the right direction and achieve Roberto's high standards. Alessandro's great relationship with the suppliers was also a great factor in receiving the freshest ingredients in the market. His continuous collaborations with the suppliers on special events definitely a big plus on making any events a success.

AWARDS

2019

  • The Pro Chef Awards - Best Italian Chef in the U.A.E

  • Awarded from Accademia Italiana Della Cucina

  • Fact Awards Winner

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2018

  • What's On - Best Business Lunch 2018

  • Taste of Dubai – Best Italian Wine List 

  • Time Out Dubai – Highly Commended Italian 2018

  • 100per100 Italian’ acknowledgment – Given By I Love Italian Food to Head Chef Alessandro Miceli

 

2017

  • Time Out Dubai – Highly Commended Italian 2017

 

2015

  • What's On - Best Italian 2015

  • Ahlan Top 100 Restaurants 2015

  • Time Out Highly Commended Italian 2015

 

2014

  • What's On - Best Italian 2014

  • Grana Padano Italian Cuisine Worldwide Award 2014

  • Three Black Hats on the Black Hat Guide (2012, 2013, 2014)

  • Caterer Magazine Independent Restaurant Team of the Year 2014

 

2013

  • Highly Commended for Best New Bar - Time Out 2013 Awards

 

2012

  • Best Restaurant Design Middle East - The International Interior Design Association 2012

  • Best New Restaurant Middle East - Caterer Magazine 2012

  • Best New Restaurant - BBC Good Food 2012 Award

  • Favorite Italian Restaurant - What’s On 2012 Awards

  • Newcomer of the Year - What’s On 2012 Awards

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