The UAE-based pit-master, who recently launched FIYA Dubai and completed a residency in Maldives, offers advice and discusses his plans to expand into the Kingdom  DUBAI: UAE-based chef Hattem Mattar has never been busier. The Arab world’s barbecue king has been making waves in the Middle East dining scene for a while. And while overseeing the recent opening of his brand new live-fire-cooking restaurant concept — FIYA Dubai — and planning his upcoming expansion into Saudi Arabia, he was invited to showcase his unique style of live fire-cooking in the Maldives at Soneva Fush in the Baa Atoll and at Soneva Jani in the Noonu Atoll in late April, as part of their Soneva Stars program — a year-round roster of acclaimed visiting experts and one-of-a-kind activities. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle Mattar is the first person from the GCC to be invited to the program. “I feel a great responsibility to put my best foot forward,” he told Arab News in early April. “I feel very honored obviously. There is a very big GCC community that stays at Soneva. I hope there are guests that can relate to what we’re doing, that know who we are. And I hope they can come back home and be like, ‘I spent time with the Mattar family at Suneva and we had dinner together in the middle of nowhere.’ I think that would be a really cool story to tell.”  Mattar, who had the chance to showcase his skills in Saudi Arabia in December last year, is also excited about his upcoming plans to set up shop in the Kingdom.   “We went right before Christmas to cook at the King Abdullah Financial District, where I had a supper club at Level 23. There’s been a lot of Saudi interest from people who know it from Dubai. We are setting up in the Bujairi district in Diriyah with the biggest names in the city. And we’re really excited to get to make our food for the Saudi crowd,” said Mattar.  Here, the renowned chef discusses the challenges of barbecue cooking, courage in the kitchen, and keyboard warriors.   When you started out as a professional, what was the most common mistake you made?  The trick with barbecue is that it’s not something you can replicate. The fire is different. The wind is different. The piece of wood is different. The meat is different. It’s not digital. The biggest mistake I made was trying to adjust more than one variable at a time. I wouldn’t know what it was that I did that made that right. And if there was something wrong, I couldn’t tell if it was the thing that I adjusted that made it wrong. I was trying to do too many things at once. And I realized I had to just decide. Do I want to fix texture? Do I want to fix flavor? Do I want to fix crust? And it was just brisket. It was the one thing that I was trying to perfect. That’s the beauty and the challenge of barbecue. It’s the last analogue food experience, I think.   What is your top tip for amateur chefs?  My top tip is a philosophical one. It has nothing to do with your equipment. It has to do with your courage and your belief in the dish you’re making. Unless you’re feeding other people, there’s no such thing as making a mistake in the kitchen. So, if you want to put mustard with peach and put that on a chicken sandwich with buffalo sauce and a really soft potato bun, man, do it. Give it a go. Don’t be afraid of what comes out. Because you’re going to eat it. And if it’s good, you’re like, ‘Maybe I should invite my friends.’ And, before you know it, you’ve got a real dish on your hands. But if you don’t have the courage to try, you’ll never get a chance to see how much you’re capable of doing.  What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?   It’s such a weird combo of ingredients but tomato, parsley and onion work on virtually anything — rice, eggs, sandwiches, meat, fish, pasta… anything.  What’s your favorite cuisine when you go out to eat?  I’m very partial to Thai. And Indian. I’m also very partial to the Arabic kitchen but not the standard ones. I love Iraqi cuisine. I love Syrian cuisine. Anything home-cooked. So, the cuisines that have spice; I’m not going out for steak. I’m going out to try things that have more spices in it than people have in their cabinets.  What behavior by customers most annoys you?  I detest customers that are brave when they get home to their keyboard but don’t have the courage to say something about their meal, warranted or not, to your face. I always appreciate when someone’s like, “Hey man, this is not what I ordered,” or “You guys missed this” or “This is too spicy.” Then I’ll go out of my way to make sure that that guest is not only well looked after, but is made to feel compensated — over-compensated, actually. I try and make a point of visiting most of the tables. And when I see someone writing online, “Our waiter brought the food incorrectly and by the time it was sent back, it was cold” then I’m, like, “Man, I was at your table. Why not tell me?” But digital life has made people braver than they would be in real life, because digital life has no consequences.  What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?  Getting the skin of the cod crispy. Fish in general is tricky, but on the barbecue, it’s even more tricky.  As a head chef what are you like in the kitchen with your crew?   My management style is like our cuisine: It’s barbecue, it’s laidback. I give everybody room to grow and to make mistakes. But after a certain point, if you’ve been on the team long enough, I expect excellence. I expect it out of myself first. And then I hope I demonstrate it. And I hope they follow suit.