Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality unit of global developer Emaar, has appointed Riad Haidar as director of Food and Beverage and Spencer Lee Black as executive chef for Al Manzil and Qamardeen Hotels.

Haidar joins Al Manzil and Qamardeen Hotels from the position of director of F&B at The Address Dubai Mall, another leading Emaar Hospitality Group property, where he oversaw 10 F&B outlets including meeting facilities and 156 staff.

In his new role, Haidar will be responsible for the F&B operation, administration and profitability of eight diverse culinary outlets within the two popular Downtown Dubai hotels.

Executive chef Spencer Lee Black joins Al Manzil and Qamardeen Hotels from Al Murooj Rotana Hotel where he also held the position of executive chef, overseeing the hotel’s 5 restaurants, pool bar, room service, executive club and banquet operations.

Spencer brings more than two decades of experience to his role, with half the years of his professional career being spent in Dubai. He has also completed intensive training as part of the prestigious Culinary Arts Program of the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon.

“Riad and Spencer will be quite the powerful duo on our F&B team. These two high-level appointments are set to further solidify our strong and unique restaurant offering within the bustling Downtown Dubai area,” Emaar hospitality said in a statement.

“Our award-winning outlets are popular amongst both Dubai residents and tourists alike and have received several recognitions for their quality of food, service and unique ambience. Riad and Spencer have a firm foundation on which to build the hotels’ F&B reputation even further and they seem to have plenty of exciting ideas on new directions in which to take our menu offerings.” – TradeArabia News Service