Dubai chef Izu Ani receives 10-time UAE golden visa

Popular Dubai chef Izu Ani, the man behind several restaurant concepts in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has been awarded a UAE golden visa for his dedication to the restaurant industry.

With the golden visa, a program announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in May 2019, Ani could have a renewable 10-year visa in the UAE.

He says he feels honoured and proud to be a recipient of the golden visa.

"To me, Dubai isn't a transient place, it is somewhere that we can call home, instead of just pass through. This is a destination which allows us to expand,” the Nigerian-born London-raised chef stated in a statement.

“When we spend money on ourselves, in our passions and jobs, we plant the seeds of production. Dubai enables us to start to see the community with the eyes of a child, to explore and build our dreams into our realities, and for that I'll continually be grateful.”

Ani, who started out his career found in London and lived found in France for 6 years, relocated to Dubai in 2010 2010 by joining the award-winning La Petit Maison. He then transferred to La Serre, as well in Dubai, before launching YSeventy7, his own innovative consulting and management organization, specialising in the food and beverage industry.

Through the agency, he’s launched many preferred dining concepts in your community, including Carine, The Lighthouse, Izu Brasserie & Bakery and Gaia, in partnership with restauranteur Evgeny Kuzin, in the UAE. Through the entire GCC, he's also launched Sum+Points in Riyadh and Izu Restaurant, at the Mandarin Oriental in Doha.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai, is a regular at some of Ani’s restaurants.

Before this month, Ani, along with Kuzin, launched Kitch-In, a food-technology system that will deliver high quality cuisine at affordable rates. The service will at first be launched at the Movenpick Grand Plaza by Accor in Dubai Mass media City.

“With every restaurant, I put myself in a different situation,” Ani told The National within an previous interview. “It permits me to adapt, to create myself relevant. It’s my way of discovering who I am. In the event that you do a similar thing over and over again, why does a person arrive and have to try it another time? I assume that each concept will need its own identification. It really isn’t about me; I’m just in the background.”

The 10-year golden visa programme was in the beginning awarded to 6,800 investors and businessmen. In November last year, the UAE drastically expanded the machine to attract more international professionals and encourage them to settle for longer.