The United Arab Emirates is fast becoming the destination of choice for Chefs and Food & Beverage workers looking to advance their careers. The booming hospitality sector in the middle east with brands such as One and Only, Six Senses, Bvlgari, Hilton, Raffles opening newer and bigger luxury resorts. Hospitality workers can feel at home as nearly 500,000 expats live in the United Arab Emirates alone. More expats live in neighbouring Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait with Saudi Arabia also becoming a more popular resort hub. Saudi is seeking to adopt a similar hospitality strategy to UAE with an increasing focus on hotels and restaurants especially with its upcoming Dead Sea Projects.
The biggest incentive attracting hospitality workers to move to the Middle East are the tax-free packages on offer, with most hotels offering salary packages which also include an accommodation allowance, health insurance, childrens private school fees, living allowance and usually a return flight home every year.
The downside to living in the middle east for westerners can be the sale of alcohol and pork products is restricted. Many chefs have historically refused to work in Saudi Arabia, but we have seen at Gourmet Recruitment that due to the softening of restrictions with regards to alcohol (now available in hotels) European Chefs in particular are becoming warmer to the idea of Saudi Arabia. In some areas women are not afforded the same social standing, so work opportunities can be limited in some industries and regions, and conservative dress is essential. Those that follow the news will have seen countless stories where Westerners have been arrested in Dubai because of discretions regarding dress and public decency.