Source : Mecca Ibrahim from Richmond, UK - Me and Gary Rhodes, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4331970 ( accessed 7.2.22)
When I asked Thang where he recommended I took Erickson for his birthday dinner he suggested Rhodes twenty 10 at Le Royal Meridien. He described it as a Steakhouse. The name Rhodes was familiar and when I googled him I realised he was a famous British Celebrity chef. He was , like me , born in 1960. Then I had a shock. He was dead. In fact he died over 2 years ago in Dubai. Another " Oh shit" moment as Debbie would say. Another nail in my coffin . What's happening to all these people my age- Gary Rhodes, Prince Andrew ( sorry, sick joke!)
Wikipedia gave me the background:
"Gary Rhodes OBE (22 April 1960 – 26 November 2019)[1] was an English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of English cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style. He fronted shows such as MasterChef, MasterChef USA, Hell's Kitchen, and his own series, Rhodes Around Britain. As well as owning several restaurants, Rhodes also had his own line of cookware and bread mixes.[2] Rhodes went on to feature in the ITV1 programme Saturday Cooks, as well as the UKTV Food show Local Food Hero before his sudden death at age 59."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Rhodes ( accessed 6.2.22)
Sudden death? At age 59? In Dubai?
The lady at the Sofitel filled me in! He died of an illness he had earlier that had not been treated. According to Wikipedia:
"Rhodes died in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 26 November 2019; he was aged 59.[10] Rock Oyster Media and Goldfinch TV said in a statement to the PA news agency that Rhodes was taken ill very suddenly at home, during a break in filming a new television series, and died a short time afterwards.[30] It was later confirmed by Rhodes' family that his death was a result of a subdural haematoma, normally associated with a brain injury.[31]
Many fellow celebrity chefs paid tribute, including Marcus Wareing, Aldo Zilli, Ainsley Harriott,[32] Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, the latter saying he was "a massive inspiration to me as a young chef", adding that he "reimagined modern British cuisine with elegance and fun".[33] Tom Kerridge described Rhodes as "one of the greatest British chefs who almost single handedly put British food on the world stage".[34]"
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Rhodes ( accessed 6.2.22)
Another spooky coincidence was that Gary owned and operated Rhodes W1 at The Cumberland Hotel in London, where I trained as a Chef as part of my degree in Hotel Management. He moved to Dubai in 2011 ( a year after I moved to Bahrain) and "he headed Rhodes Mezzanine, later Rhodes W1 Dubai, at the Grosvenor House Hotel,[26] and another restaurant Rhodes Twenty10 at Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa.[10] In 2013 he opened his first restaurant in Abu Dhabi, Rhodes 44 at The St. Regis Hotel.[27] "
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Rhodes ( accessed 6.2.22)
the first page of the menu ( finally a restaurant that gives you a proper menu, not a QR code to scan) pays tribute to Gary with his portrait and the fact that the Rhodes Twenty 10 menu contains some of his favourite dishes.
You can see what is on the menu by clicking the link below:
https://www.rhodestwenty10.com/our-menus
Erickson and I, having just had a huge afternoon tea at Sofitel Obelisk, decided to miss the starter, and share the :
It was beautifully presented and served from a trolley at the table and we replaced the onion rings ( fried) with grilled Asparagus and accompanied it with Hollandaise sauce for TBK and Mushroom Sauce for the Birthday boy ( We asked for it to be Medium cooked , in case you are wondering!)
Erickson selected a glass of wine and I had my usual sparkling water. My Brother, Richard, would also have been impressed that I declined the bread and parmesan butter, although we both enjoyed the Amuse - Bouche, ( or in French cuisine Hors d'oeuvre according to Thang!) ( another French phrase for you to look up Bunso) which was Tomato and red pepper soup with a face in the top served in a small tea cup. Erickson declared it was the best Tomato soup ever.
Erickson's video of the service of the
"Mr Porter, you are hedging , what did you really think? "
( I hear Mr Gregory cry from Notre Dame or was it the Bapco club?)
Well , like many Celebrity Chef's restaurants in the GCC ( Wolfgang Puck at Four Seasons , Bahrain; Indigo by Vineet at Grosvenor House , Dubai etc.) Rhodes Twenty 10 is house in a grand hotel- in this case Le Royal Meridien Beach resort in Dubai. Our taxi dropped us off at the grand entrance, the doorman opened our doors and directed us to Rhodes and then we set off on a long hike. I spent the last 16 hours fasting and trying to think how to put this politely. It may be because I am also working on a blog on the Underground system here, but I described the walk to the restaurant to Chester as like " changing platforms on the London Underground, miles of long corridors past the gift shop, the spa, the bar, and finally we found Rhodes Twenty 10"
This is the hotel:
We were given a warm welcome and they did have our reservation but then my metro analogy continued:
" The restaurant was like a long metro carriage with tables for two on either side of a long thin room and the waiters charging up and down the middle. It seemed strange that in a time of Social distancing we were all packed so closely together, and I spent the night watching the old French man on the table behind us staring at Erickson , ( as Chester said, he has a lovely smile) while his wife checked her Facebook , looking very bored. Another British couple were seated opposite us and asked to be moved ( I showered before we went out). The curtains were drawn and at one point as I stared down at the picture of Gary in the menu I wondered if they were trying to create the atmosphere of a funeral parlor. Erickson went to investigate alternative seating and was told they did have an upstairs section but it was closed " as they weren't busy"
So in spite of the excellent menu, food, service and our chance to once again to taste the favourite dishes of one of the early British Celebrity Chef, this is one restaurant that TBK will not be eating again'
The bill- with 40% Marriott staff discount ( they only gave us 25% at first and eagle eyed Erickson sent it back) came to 402 aed 40 bd , 80 GBP!!
" Sorry sir , a fault on the till"
Don't blame the people blame the system , eh Mr G? !
Thanks to Thang for recommending the restaurant and to Erickson for his Marriott staff discount and the photography and video.
Let us hope that the next venue for TBK eats, Indigo by Vineet, also selected by Thang, is more enjoyable!
My measure of enjoyment is time spent- 2 hours with the lovely Mar Mar at the Sofitel and one hour at Rhodes ( in 7 pm and out 8 pm!)
This is The British Kabayan who , having spent his formative years in Huddersfiemd , West Yorkshire, says it as it is! Sorry if I caused offence to the Gary Rhodes fans who paid full price to see and be seen at Rhodes Twenty 10. but it was not my cup of tea!
PS here is the vlog. Sorry its a bit short but we did not stay long!
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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