‘DUBAI PUSHES YOU TO SHOW UP, TO MAKE IDEAS HAPPEN’

From Tottenham kitchens to Dubai fine dining: Meet Chef Izu Ani, who named a restaurant after his wife

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan

Honestly, Chef Izu Ani says with a grin, “if I do this, I want credit for at least ... no, lifetime credit!”

He’s talking about naming his signature Dubai restaurant, Carine, after his wife.

Dinner service is underway, calm, efficient, precise — plates moving smoothly, the team synchronised.

“Many men go home with flowers. I named a restaurant after my wife. Street credit for life,” he adds. It’s the kind of moment that defines Ani: focused, practical, and with just the right amount of humour. Did we also tell you that he has the widest toothy smile you can think of?

For Ani, Dubai is more than a city — it’s a place to plant roots and execute ideas. “If you live like you’re just passing through, nothing grows. I bought a home, planted roots, and told my wife, we're part of this. Dubai pushes you to show up, to run, to make ideas happen,” he says.

Ambition here is visible, but Ani approaches it with discipline, not hype. “Dubai celebrates action. It’s a place where you either engage fully or you don’t.”

Many a times, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of the Executive Council, was also spotted frequenting his restaurants.

Ani’s story is rooted in early responsibility and hard lessons. Raised in Tottenham by a single mother alongside four brothers, he started in kitchens at 13.

“One week, my brother lost the 15 pounds our mother gave us for groceries. That memory stays with me. It taught me resourcefulness, gratitude, and the value of hard work,” he recalls.