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SWICHS GOURMET WRAPS IN DUBAI

SHAWARMA NOUVEAU
Interview by Jade George / Photographed by Rawan Gebran
Many people switch from marketing to advertising in their careers. Others make a move from accounting
to business development. But fewer investment bankers become restaurateurs. But thats the switch Fadel
Belmahdi made. The Paris-born, Qatar-raised, London-turned-Dubai resident partnered up with his pal
Palestinian-Kuwaiti Bader Al Kalooti, also an investment banker turned entrepreneur. Together they created
a gourmet shawarma joint in the Marina area of Dubai, aptly named Swich.
Jade George is the chairperson of the Middle East region at the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants Academy and
the co-founder of Art And Then Some, the publishing operation and idea factory behind The Cartona
magazine about food culture and the Middle East. She joins Fadel, a friend and colleague over a round of
shawarmas at his shop.

Jade George: So, first things first. What got you


started on Swich?

JG: He was the chef at the La Petite Maison right?


FB: La Petite Maison then La Serre, yes.

Fadel Balmahdi: Well the real reason I wanted


our venture to be a shawarma joint was because
I couldnt find a decent shawarma shop in all of
Dubai.
JG: Waitis that skewer made entirely of chicken
breasts?
FB: For the most part, yeah. Its made entirely of
baby chickens and doesnt have any fat.
JG: How is it not super dry?
FB: Everyone thinks that moisture for skewered
meat can only be worked out by adding more fat
to the equation. It turns out to be not true at all.
You know, I think twice about what Im eating. But
also, Im big on flavor. And Swichs menu design
was pretty much based on that. Chef Izu Ani played
around with every kind of ratio to ensure the best
taste, moisture and quality possible were achieved.
If it meant more breasts, then more breasts it was!

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JG: Do you think thats what it took to make your


concept work? A fine dining chef?
FB: This is my first waltz with the world of food and
beverage. I wasnt going to involve myself in things
that were completely outside of my scope. My
business partner (Bader Al Kalooti) and I know what
were great at. And we wanted to work with the best
of the best and safely say that everyone was great at
what they were doing. I didnt want to compromise,
not on one single element of the business.
JG: Because its your baby
FB: Exactly. You understand that too. Its the same
thing with The Carton I suppose. You dont print an
issue unless its worthy of the paper its printed on.
I didnt want to deliver a single wrap if it wasnt
worthy of coming out of the kitchen.
JG: And the time you started your research was

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Can a wrap only be


authenticated as
shawarma if its dirty in
every sense of the word?
Every time I ate a shawarma
part of the experience?

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around the same time everyone in the UAE realized


that there was room for a good shawarma concept.

JG: Swich would do well abroad. Maybe even


better?

FB: I think the biggest trigger for everyone was


the success story of Just Falafel. They made a lot
of mistakes, but they made room for a universal
falafel. And there is definitely room for a universal
shawarma. And it was not going to be achieved the
way everyone was going about it.

FB: We built it leaving room for that in mind.


People in the west dont care for things remaining
static. Theyre less resistant to change and their
consumption is based on the product itself. Whereas
here, we face accusations of not being shawarma.
Whos to decide that its not shawarma? Sushi isnt
crabsticks, cucumbers and mayo either. If everyone
of us thinks it through, wed take the trajectory
of encouraging home-grown businesses that are
offering good alternatives.

JG: Well you cant possibly expect to reach different


results when the core of what you do is pretty much
where your predecessors got stuck. It takes more
than funky branding to elevate an offering.
FB: And an elevated product is what we wanted to
put forth. The only way to do that was to secure the
best individual elements and make them work well
together.
JG: How did you do that?
FB: Well for starters, we needed to dissect
peoples perception of shawarma and try to have
a logical definition ourselves. Can a wrap only be
authenticated as shawarma if its dirty in every
sense of the word? Every time I ate a shawarma I felt
like shit! Is that really part of the experience? An
aftermath of heartburns? And to be quite frank, no
patron that knows great meat would accept crappy
meat masked with a dollop of toom or tahini sauce
if they had a choice.

JG: If you think about it, nothing that has reached


us was ever the way it was created. Would you even
really want it to have been?
FB: Thats true. And the more we researched the
more convinced I became that shawarma could
actually be the next food fad. If packaged the right
way in every sense of the term: product, branding
It will succeed at doing that.
JG: The next hummus?
FB: Or the next burrito, but with an even bigger
appeal. Shawarma has a bigger footprint than a
burrito. It can even be the next hamburger if its well
thought out.
JG: Pretty ambitious. Burritos, I get. But a
hamburger is simple by definition.

JG: So how do you define shawarma?


FB: Shawarma means different things to different
people. Dner kebab is shawarma to a Turkish
person and so is gyro to Greeks. What we did is we
standardized the cooking and marinating process.
But choice has become an expectation today. You
can see this from the 5,000 variations of shawarmas
created on Swichs community page. Our job is
to offer the better choice. If you want to be a
growing concept you need to let people define what
shawarma really means to them.

FB: The idea is to give the task of shawarma


building to the customers themselves. A burger
ordering process now looks something like this:
swiss or cheddar cheese? Aioli or barbeque sauce?
Iceberg or romaine? Bacon? Onion rings? Fried egg
on top? Avocado?... The list is endless. The idea is to
have the basic ingredients be universally palatable.
JG: I suppose. Burritos should definitely watch out
though.
FB: Right?

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JG: So back to the elements.

FB: [Groans]

FB: Sourcing traceable meats. We secured hormonefree, grass-fed beef and grain-fed veal.

JG: Thank me later. The music here is good when


its blasted.

JG: Its interesting to see veal on a shawarma menu,


let alone duck and mushrooms.

FB: Swich needed a harmonious urban sound. We


asked a young music aficionado who goes by the
name Madradar to put the playlist together. Its good
because shes a London-bred British-Iraqi and shes
lived in Lebanon for a while then moved to Dubai
so she gets it. We love encouraging and supporting
young local talent where we can.

FB: The trick was really to achieve consistency of


premium ingredients. Trying to source organically in
the UAE is difficult but whenever its possible were
happy to go the extra mile and that will continue to
be our philosophy.
JG: Youre the best brand ambassador. [Orders
lunch] Can I have the Edith, I Love You please?

JG: Anarchitects (the architecture agency that


designed the space) being amongst them.
FB: Yes. Those guys are good at what they do.

FB: Whats that?


JG: Theyve got good attention to detail.
JG: Its a shawarma Ive created that our team keeps
ordering when were in Dubai. Beef in whole-wheat
saj bread, lettuce, parsley, spring onions, jalapenos,
bell peppers, tahini and spicy honey. Boom!

FB: Havent heard that one.

FB: The interior architecture had to be representative


of the product. Attention to detail is part of our
brand. In upscaling gourmet, quite a bit needed
to be standardized. And again, things had to align
thoroughly across the board and reflect the pride in
our product. So Anarchitects brought the kitchen
out. They brought the heart out. And consequently
the design of the shop had to be in line with the
products ethos. Non-pretentious, confident, fun,
smart.

JG: What are you ordering?

JG: Was the cost justifiable?

FB: My wrap. The Smoking Castro. Get it? Cause


Im Fadel? And its

FB: Some items cost more than others but at the


end of the day, its that extra mile I was talking
about that will take your brand the extra mile too.
The reason other shawarma places failed to start a
movement is because their concepts dont align and
lack in essence.

FB: Damn. Why Edith? As in Piaff?


JG: You would think. Its a line from the song The
Strain by Blockhead we keep reciting at the office.

JG: No, Fadel.


FB: No? I thought it was cool name.
JG: Whats in it?
FB: Veal in whole-wheat saj with caramelized
onions, lettuce, hot potato cubes, rocket leaves,
truffle sauce and spicy green.
JG: Sounds like it would be good. Lets share.

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JG: I think that the balance youve achieved in the


space and with the food is whats to be highlighted
here.
[Food is served]
FB: We try. Fast food really doesnt have to be bad

for you. An emphasis on the freshness of the brand


and the integrity of our products cant possibly make
us less of a shawarma. Just because we bake our
own breads, give extra options and make our own
sauces, doesnt mean we arent still a shawarma. We
still have the option of the classic combination of
ingredients.
JG: If youve had to deal with that judgment, Im
assuming youve had complaints about prices when
compared to a shawarma at some hole in the wall.
FB: Yes, when truthfully our prices are pretty
cheap. Competitors in our spherebasically when
considering what else a customer would want at that
moment in timeare more expensive especially
when considering the value for money. Anyone that
offers the same type of convenience either falls
behind on taste or on quality.
Damn this is good by the way! I love you Edith?

JG: Edith, I love you. Youre welcome. What do


you think is going to make Swich compete with
burritos or burgers?
FB: Catering to todays universal customers
needs. Their health needs, the right type of brand
engagement, focusing greatly on our online
operation and perfecting it. Its to create a global
champion with a universal appeal.
JG: Having seen what it takes to open up a successful
F&B business, would you do it again if you could go
back in time?
FB: Depends on the day you ask me. Its an exciting
industry when youre doing something you believe
in, and you have a great product and a great team.
Really, I mean it. But it takes a lot to keep your staff
happy and to maintain quality and have time to think
strategically. Every day is like opening a store for
the first time.

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