Ryan Hattingh likes his steak medium rare and he is hoping there are plenty of people out there with similar tastes. If that does prove the case, it will be a job well done as the first Gaucho restaurant opened at the Dubai International Financial Centre yesterday.
Hattingh heads the international operations at the chain, which specialises in South American cuisine, especially Argentine steaks. A privately-owned business that came into being in Holland in the late 1970s, Gaucho cut its teeth in the UK market and now believes the time is opportune to acquire a more global exposure.
But why hone in on the Middle East when the brand is unrepresented in prime European markets? “The brand is very niche and we don’t do the massive rollouts — we do one or two a year,” said Hattingh. Read on.