Popular Dubai-based British-Nigerian chef Izu Ani opened his first London restaurant under his own name in May – a French-inspired eatery in upmarket Knightsbridge.
La Maison Ani, which is located in the luxury Carlton Tower Jumeirah hotel, is the second branch of a brand he launched in Dubai last year with leading Russian restaurateur Evgeny Kusin. It marks the second London opening from the pair this year, following their upmarket Greek restaurant, Gaia, which launched in trendy Mayfair, back in February.
Hailed as Dubai’s first celebrity chef, Izu has shaped the hospitality scene in Dubai for more than a decade. He is behind a portfolio of home-grown and franchised restaurant concepts, including Alaya, Gaia, La Maison Ani, La Petite Ani, Carine, Izu Burger, Shanghai Me, Scalini, Piatti by the Beach, Izu Doha, as well as the entire food and beverage operations of the Hyatt Centric Hotel Jumeirah, including Eunoia by Carine and chic Japanese rooftop restaurant, Kai Enzo and the world’s number one olive oil brand Theo, named after his eldest son.
Growing up in London, Izu’s passion for the kitchen began during his home economics classes at school. After his studies, he gained experience in Michelin starred restaurants and travelled across France and Spain to experience nouvelle cuisine first-hand, which influenced his culinary style and encouraged his flair for Mediterranean flavours. In 2010, he moved to the Middle East as the opening head chef of La Petite Maison which quickly garnered global recognition. He then went on to open La Serre, Gaia, Carine and many more before opening La Maison Ani, a love letter to French cuisine and culture.
We sat down with the renowned chef to find out a little more about his biggest inspiration, how he plans his menus and where you’ll find him on days off.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, including where you are today, professionally, and what got you here?
For me, cooking is a way of expressing your happiness and sharing it with others. It is a philosophy, a principle, the way you see life and how you eat. Those who underestimate their food, underestimate the essence of life.
After my studies, I gained as much experience as I could, I remember getting one of my first jobs in The Square in Mayfair, I was so excited. In my early career, I spent a lot of time in France and absorbed everything I could about the culture and cuisine. It is where I met my wife, and it gave me a wider spectrum of knowledge and understanding. From there, I travelled to Spain, and offered my services at the Mugaritz, one of the world’s best restaurants, located in San Sebastián. By working for free, I earned more than I ever expected and learned more than I could have imagined. I believe that in life, we do have to invest our time, effort and dedication to ourselves and our passions.
I moved to Dubai in 2010, when I was part of the opening team for LPM. The UAE has been such an incredible part of my journey, a place to build and grow, for my businesses, kitchens, and my family. I had the opportunity to experience real creative freedom, and work on my own home-grown concepts, alongside my partner Evgeny Kuzin at Fundamental Hospitality. Together, we opened La Maison Ani, La Petite Ani, Izu Burger, Shanghai Me, Scalini, Alaya, and Piatti by the Beach. I’ve also been fortunate enough to open Carine, named after my wife, Izu Doha, as well as the entire food and beverage operations of the Hyatt Centric Hotel Jumeirah, including Eunoia by Carine and a Japanese rooftop restaurant, Kai Enzo, which is named after my sons.
Over the past few years, we have focused on showcasing our restaurants and taking them from Dubai to the world. We first opened Gaia in Monaco, followed by Doha, London and Marbella. We have just opened La Maison Ani in Knightsbridge, London, and it feels quite surreal. It’s like coming home.
What, or who, inspired you to become a chef?
My mother. I remember her being so proud of everything I made, and nothing makes me happier than seeing a smile on her face after tasting my food.
One of the greatest lessons she ever taught me is to show up every day, to keep going and keep striving towards my dreams. My idol in so many ways, she leads by example and showed me how to make things happen, instead of waiting for things to change. There is so much beauty and power in putting in the work and taking daily action.
Her mindset is a gift, a concept that I live my life by, and hope to pass on to my boys one day. We can’t keep putting things off until tomorrow, we have to make the most of each day.
What’s your signature dish?
Every single dish in our restaurants has a different element that I love, but cheesecake is my signature dessert. It is a fingerprint that I leave across all of my concepts. I like to create a different variation, tailored to suit each restaurant and the guests that dine there. In Gaia, for example, the Gaia cheesecake is served as a scoop on a bed of hazelnut crumble with caramelised apple. Whereas in La Maison Ani, we serve a cheesecake with a selection of toppings, including caramel, coffee, pistachio, berries and passionfruit, for guests to enjoy exactly to their preference. My personal favourite is passionfruit, as the sharp, sweet flavours are enhanced by the beautiful creamy texture.
When are you happiest?
My favourite thing to do is spend time with my boys. Any time with my family is quality time and I cherish every second of it.
When you’re not in the kitchen where can you be found?
I also love to cycle and I make sure I take the time to work out every morning. My time on the bike, riding through the beautiful dunes of the desert or the Cote d’Azur coastline, is my meditation and it sets me up for the day. Knowing how to take care of ourselves allows us to be there for others.
How do you go about menu planning? What’s the process from picking the ingredients to getting them fresh into the kitchen and into dishes?
Our dishes are a constant flow of evolution and information. When developing a new menu, I always start with the inspiration – I ask myself who is this dish for, why are we creating it, how and when will it be enjoyed? My culinary team and I work very closely on new ideas, blending different flavours and ingredients, sourcing the best produce, to test and try until we find the sweet spot.
In this industry, we have to keep learning, constantly absorb information, trends, experimentation, explore everything and challenge the norm. I am so inspired by the ever-changing seasonality of food and how even the same ingredients change in taste throughout the year and around the world. This allows me to adapt new learnings and techniques into our menus and aim to offer something new to our guests.
What do your future plans entail?
We have some really exciting plans for the rest of the year and next year and I feel so grateful to be able to open our concepts internationally, across Europe, The Middle East and the US. Whilst expansion is a key focus, it is also vital to maintain our values and quality, cooking is about creating harmony on a plate and enhancing each ingredient. It takes a lot of care to ensure excellence and consistency in every country.
As far as goals go, I just want to keep growing while maintaining our ethos, continue challenging myself, and make people happy with beautiful experiences. It’s what I love and will always love doing.
