Chadi Saloum returns to Cove Rotana as culinary director
Rotana names Chadi Saloum director of culinary at The Cove Rotana Resort in Ras Al Khaimah, back where he once ran the kitchen as executive chef.
Chadi Saloum is back at The Cove Rotana Resort in Ras Al Khaimah, this time as director of culinary rather than executive chef.
Rotana named him to the new post on October 12, putting him in charge of culinary operations across the five-star resort's restaurants, dining venues and banqueting facilities. The brief covers menu development, quality control and training kitchen staff across every outlet on site.
Chadi Saloum's three Rotana postings
Thirty years of Gulf kitchens, and this one he already knows.
Saloum has worked inside the group for years. He ran the Cove's kitchen as executive chef before moving up to cluster executive chef across three Northern Emirates properties: the Cove, Fujairah Rotana Resort and Spa, and Al Noor Arjaan by Rotana.
His most recent post was complex executive chef at Rotana's Al Jaddaf Hotel Complex in Dubai, overseeing three hotels at once. Food and beverage revenue there grew more than 20% under his watch; banqueting and events revenue rose 54%. The complex also added Travelife and Green Key certifications and kept Gold-level food safety ratings throughout his tenure.
Chadi Saloum brings more than 30 years of international culinary experience to the new role, split between large-scale resort kitchens and multi-property management. The World Luxury Restaurant Awards named him the Middle East and North Africa's best head chef; the Hospitality Excellence Awards named him the region's chef of the year.
A fuller resumé for Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah's hotel count keeps rising, and Rotana is adding to it: the group is opening Rotana Ras Al Khaimah, The Mangroves, this year, part of a portfolio of more than 100 properties worldwide under six brands, including Rayhaan, Arjaan and Centro. Nearby, Dubai's dining scene keeps collecting its own hardware, from The Cullinan Dubai's World Culinary Awards win to Tresind Studio's three Michelin stars.
Saloum is also a certified judge with the World Association of Chefs' Societies, a senior member of the Emeriti Salon Culinaire and a co-founder of the Syrian Culinary Guild, credentials that sit outside any single hotel kitchen.
Rotana has not said when the new title formally takes effect, only that his focus now runs across every kitchen and function room the Cove operates, not just one restaurant pass.
Chadi Saloum's thirty years of Gulf kitchens end up, for now, back where several of them began.
