Nrupen Pottavatri has been promoted to executive chef and Mouin Al Najjad is the new sous chef of Bait Al Nakhla

The Retreat Palm Dubai MGallery by Sofitel has promoted Nrupen Pottavatri from executive sous chef to executive chef, and welcomed Mouin Al Najjad as the new sous chef of Bait Al Nakhla. Chef Nrupen Pottavatri has been with The Retreat Palm Dubai since November 2017, starting out as sous chef. He was promoted to the role of executive sous chef after eight months, and was eventually named as executive chef. In his role, he will continue to head the culinary team of the hotel’s four dining venues namely Vibe all-day dining restaurant, the Arabic dining outlet Bait Al Nakhla, Chapters Café, and Ripples Juice Bar. He is also in-charge of Rayya Nutri, a part of Rayya Wellness brand which offers a range of healthy food and beverage products including customized healthy meal plans.

He has more than 15 years of culinary experience gained in UAE and India. Before joining The Retreat Palm Dubai, he was the sous chef at Movenpick Hotel Bur Dubai. He also previously worked at Filini at Radisson Blu Yas Island, and at Segreto at Madinat Jumeirah.

Working closely with Chef Nrupen is Chef Mouin Al Najjad, the new sous chef at Bait Al Nakhla, the hotel’s recently-opened Arabic dining venue. Specialising in Arabic cuisine, Chef Mouin will lead Bait Al Nakhla’s kitchen team and ensure authentic Middle Eastern flair and flavours in every dish.

Prior to this role at The Retreat Palm Dubai, he was the Arabic chef at Lapita Hotel at Dubai Parks and Resorts. He also worked as a chef de partie at Al Iwan Restaurant at Burj Al Arab, and as sous chef at Bonnington Hotel JLT and Tamani Hotel Marina.

Samir Arora, cluster general manager, expressed his confidence on the culinary team: “We congratulate Chef Nrupen on his promotion, and welcome Chef Mouin to The Retreat Palm Dubai family. Chef Nrupen has been instrumental in developing the hotel’s healthy culinary offers over the past four years, especially in spearheading the launch of Rayya Nutri. Moreover, we have received exceptional feedback on Bait Al Nakhla’s authentic Middle Eastern dishes, thanks to Chef Mouin. We are indeed fortunate to have such skillful chefs at the helm of kitchen operations as we know that their talents will continue to impress and excite our guests’ taste buds.”