Chef Sahar Parham Al Awadhi

Chef Sahar Parham Al Awadhi joined the Pastry Kitchen at Burj Al Arab in 2016, and in doing so became the first Emirati Chef to work at the iconic hotel. In 2019, she took at the helm of the kitchen as the Head Pastry Chef where she managed and worked alongside a team of 34 pastry chefs in a kitchen that operates 24 hours a day. She is an advocate of sustainability and loves creating experiences through her creations. After graduating from high school, she studied Communications & Design Management at the American University of Sharjah which was followed by a role in Marketing & PR at Zayed University. Chef Sahar started her culinary career at La Serre Bistro & Boulangerie in 2014. Her ability and hard work was recognised and rewarded when her head chef, Chef Izu Ani, sent her to Paris to perfect the art of bread making from his own mentor. Over the course of her career, Chef Sahar has had the honor to cook with respected chefs in the industry including Pierre Gaigner, Niko Romito, Frederic Bau, Himanshu Saini creating harmonious and memorable menus together. In 2022, Chef Sahar was awarded the Best Pastry Chef in the Middle East and North Africa at the inaugural World’s 50 Best Award MENA Ceremony held in Abu Dhabi and led the pre-opening team of Laduree Gordes in the south of France. She is currently the chef consultant of the much anticipated restaurant Gerbou, opening in the summer of 2024.