Rupesh Shetty

Hakkasan Dubai, the Michelin starred Chinese restaurant, has appointed Rupesh Shetty as its new general manager.

Originating from India, Shetty brings a broad experience, impressive adaptability and deep passion for the F&B scene in the UAE.

Shetty's hospitality career started in 2002, when he moved to Dubai to be part of the One and Only Royal Mirage pre-opening team. This lead to an assistant manager role at Jambase restaurant in Souk Madinat, before he moved to Mina A'Salam's Al Muna restaurant.

He then joined the pre-opening team at Mövenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel as assistant food and beverages manager, a role that gave him the opportunity to be part of every process from the concept creation to the implementation and operation. In two years, Shetty was promoted to food and beverages manager, leading a team of 216 employees of various cultures and nationalities, while also managing the hotel's high-end beach club, West 14th Restaurant and Marina Bar on Palm Jumeirah.

In 2014, Shetty accepted the position of restaurant development manager at Purple Honey Group, owners of Biryani Pot, Coriander, Zaytinya, and Tamba, where he assisted in expansion plans, concept creations, feasibility studies, as well as being responsible for the suppliers, recruitment, training, marketing, communication and overall operations. When the group decided to create their own stand-alone Indian-inspired restaurant in Abu Dhabi, Tamba, Shetty was the brainchild behind what is now one of the Capital's hotspots.

In its first 12 months, Tamba won a plethora of F&B awards including What's On Awards' Best Restaurant & Bar of the Year 2017, Time Out Awards' Best Indian Restaurant of the Year 2017, Fact Awards' Favourite Restaurant of the Year 2017 and Fact Awards' Chef of the Year 2016.