Meet the 16-year-old Emirati chef whose traditional desserts are going down a treat at Expo 2025 Osaka

The National

3 days ago

With its inviting glass facade design and showcase of the country's past, present and future, the UAE pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka has been popular with Japanese visitors.
The National was recently invited for a tour of the pavilion's sections, and how they demonstrate the UAE's deep connection to its past, while striving towards a better future. During the tour, we were told we would be attending a workshop hosted by an Emirati chef.
I assumed that it would be someone with a lot of experience, perhaps one of the chefs who put together the Emirati menu at the pavilion's restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the workshop would be hosted by Khalifa Mohammed Al Otaiba, who is only 16 years old.
Even more surprising was the number of Japanese visitors who flocked for one of the limited seats available to attend the workshop. In the 30-minute sessions, scheduled twice on the same day, chef Al Otaiba first cooked luqaimat, a traditional Emirati dessert consisting of fried dough balls covered in date syrup. Often eaten during Ramadan, luqaimat is a staple Emirati dessert. Always presented with a cup of coffee, they are often used in UAE homes as a way to welcome guests.
In the second workshop, Al Otaiba cooked sago, a traditional dessert made using tapioca pearls and cooked with saffron and rose water. It takes on a golden colour from the saffron and is the perfect way to end a rich Emirati meal.
Throughout the workshops, Al Otaiba was aided by chef Francisco Araya, Al Otaiba's mentor at the International Centre for Culinary Arts in Abu Dhabi.
'I feel really proud that I'm representing my country,' Al Otaiba tells The National. 'I feel like it's a chance to inspire other young chefs and young people to pursue careers in cooking.'
The passion Al Otaiba has for both cooking and the traditional Emirati desserts he's preparing really shone through in these workshops. Curious Japanese attendants were not at all concerned with the age of the chef, they hung on to every word and were looking to learn how to prepare these dishes, as well as taste them for themselves.
After the sessions were over, many attendees approached the young chef to thank him for showing them something new and allowing them to taste a piece of the UAE that they would have only been able to experience if they visited the country.
Al Otaiba was introduced to cooking by his sister. 'She introduced me to ICCA and when I went to the course, I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed it and now I'm pursuing this in my free time," he said.
'I'm more of a technical person. That's why I entered cooking because it's very technical.'
Despite his evident passion and talent, Al Otaiba surprised attendees when he said that he hoped to become an engineer, rather than a full-time chef. Cooking will remain his biggest hobby, he assured.
Chef Araya in-turn is not giving up on his protegee just yet. "He wants to be an engineer, but I'm just going to let him go to university and then catch him back because I need that Emirati talent, to show the world how good Emirati food is," he says.
The UAE pavilion has been hosting Emirati cooking workshops since the start of the Expo. Earlier in July, Emirati chef Mohammed Al Banna, owner of popular Dubai restaurant Al Banoosh, hosted workshops where he cooked margoog, a hearty lamb and vegetable stew seasoned with spices and dried limes.
The restaurant at Expo has also become a popular spot, serving authentic Emirati food, such as machboos, fish stew and a vegetarian eggplant option, presented in the style of Japanese bento boxes. Mariam Al Memari, deputy commissioner general and pavilion director, and head of UAE Expo Office says that they wanted traditional Emirati food to have a more Japanese presentation.
'We really wanted the Japanese audiences to get to know the Emirati culture through food. We've designed the restaurant offering in that sense,' Al Memari explains. 'We wanted to make it presentable to the Japanese by presenting it in a bento box, which is traditional to them.
"They're really loving the restaurant and the Emirati cuisine, which is something that was surprising knowing the Japanese and their taste palate – and they queue for more than an hour every day to get in.'