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Courtney Brandt otherwise known to others as A to Zaatar, is not only an author but one of the most respected food and travel writers in the Gulf region.
In her own words, she was late to the market, however one of the things she is most proud of, is that she is true to her word, above all, genuine and honest!
https://atozaatar.com
She started writing in 2007, with various books in the young adult genre, one of the books was almost commissioned twice to be shown on the big screen, so keep your eyes and ears open Hollywood producers.
The food writing came into its own in 2016, on an accidental foodie trip to the Scandinavian food capital – Copenhagen. The schedule should of been Nepal, but a monsoon had scuppered those plans, at the same time in the background the TV show - No Reservations was being shown, with the late great Anthony Bourdain as the presenter, who happened to be eating in Noma for that particular episode, which at the time happened to be voted the St Pellegrino number 1 best restaurant in the world, so not a bad place to start writing about food!
https://noma.dk
Courtney has dined all over the world, but if she is going to dine in any new city, it comes down to three things; word of mouth, is it worth the money? And would she return? Ultimately, this is what her readers want to know.
Dubai is a huge melting pot for culinary talent, people like Himanshu over at Tresind Studio, Yannick Alleno, Even Massimo Bottura from time to time.
https://tresindstudio.com
Of-course, the talk of the Michelin guide as to whether they will or won’t come to Dubai, the biggest gap in the market seems to be the service, reading guests is one of the most crucial parts of the entire experience, even to point of spotting a left-handed guest within 90 seconds. These details are what makes the difference between being good or being incredible!
To be a great food writer, you need to be able to able to not only understand food, but to also be able to constructively criticise a meal, always for the sake of making sure the guest experience is second to none.
At times this has got Courtney blacklisted from certain restaurants and PR companies, her reviews are always about being constructive and should be able to give an opinion, not to be negative but to always push that chef or restaurant to the next level.
Some Chefs could even argue the point of what qualifications, or technical background does someone like Courtney have to judge their food? The answer is simple, she has an incredibly educated palate, dines out at least 3 times a week, and she has a completely different point of view, which is from the diner’s perspective, the people who ultimately pay the bills.

Without a doubt, Courtney certainly knows and understands what it takes to be at the very top of the restaurant game, at the same time she articulates food to a level that we all want to read about. If you haven’t already make sure to subscribe to her incredible blog, the link is below.
https://atozaatar.com
Stay tuned for next week’s show, we talk to one of the most talented energetic pastry chefs in the UAE!
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Until next time, food is memories!

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