Doha, 30 March 2023 (Qatar Tribune)

By Ashraf Siddiqui

Chef David Dahlhaus, a German national serving as Executive Chef in Hotel Ritz-Carlton Doha for about 10 months now, is a passionate, focused, humble and dedicated culinary expert.

On the recently-hosted first-ever prestigious FIFA World Cup 2022 by Qatar, Chef David said, “Indeed it was a great pride to be part of the historical event hosted in this region.”

The FIFA World Cup, he noted, attracted football fans to Qatar from all across the globe – bringing diversified cultures to the country to share one passion of football. “It was a rare opportunity to showcase Qatar as a modern, highly developed, safe and secure country,” he added.

“People in the West have different perceptions and different understanding about the culture of this region. The leadership and the well-skilled team not only displayed unprecedented organisational skills but also left a big challenge for future hosting countries.

“The organisers very successfully presented rich Arab culture, Arabic cuisines and its heritage during the almost two months of festival environment created by the world’s most unique hosting of the mega football tournament,” he pointed out.

Talking about choosing a career in the culinary sector which is highly time-consuming, 365 days a year, having to meet tastes of such a diversified and multi-culture region like of Gulf States, he said he has a deep passion for learning, and understanding the essence of diversified food cultures. In addition, he said, he keeps passing on his knowledge to the young professionals helping them to grow further and honing their skills. “Moreover, this is the career which meets food requirement on a daily basis and anywhere round the clock in any part of the world,” he noted.

Chef David Dahlhaus was born in Capital city Berlin in Germany, and is the elder child among two siblings. He pays his high gratitude to his grandmother who took care of her both grandchildren almost on daily basis until they returned back from school, as his parents were a working couple.

He cherishes his childhood memories spent with his grandmother especially the spark and love in her eyes while preparing food for them.

“Grandma used to describe about the ingredients and preparation of food while cooking which helped me in understanding the quality and basics of food right from my childhood,” he revealed.

He was four years old, a kindergartener, when, after discussion with her younger sister, he decided to prepare breakfast for his parents every week-end. By the age of eight, he prepared his first pasta.

When the age was ripe to decide about choosing of career, he was clear that he wanted to go in the culinary field. So, he told his parents this career would provide him with opportunities to work in various parts of the world and he would bring pride to the family.

“Being away from family and motherland is a big sacrifice. However, it is my 17th year working abroad and I visit my family back in Germany during vacations.”

He got first job in the United Kingdom, from where he got offer to work at a number of places including Bahrain, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

It was in Dubai working for JW Marriott in 2007 where he met his life partner, a Philippines national working in the same hotel. They got married in 2015 and the couple has a daughter, now one-year-old.

“In the food industry it’s important that your life partner understands your nature of job as Chef which demands long hours of working, and sacrifice so much so that either of the partner may not be able to celebrate birthdays and any celebrations,” he said.

“But here in the Middle East, there are so many celebrations and festivals ongoing, that anyone in the culinary profession helps others to enjoy their time,” he said.

“I take myself as a role model for youth working in culinary sector and have a passion to pass on my experience to them for their growth and development,” one could see in his eyes the same reflection of his grandmother's eyes spark and love.

Besides, this is a career that provides opportunities to work around the globe, meeting the people and learning about their cultures, he said, adding that he has a deep passion for the culinary sector, and he’s a focused and happy person in all situations.