Your second home is here
" Peter de Kauwe, Grand Officier Maître Rôtisseur, is the Executive Chef "
The Club is Abu Dhabi’s favourite private members’ club, located on the crystal blue waters of the Arabian Gulf. The resort boasts a plethora of facilities, activities, services and events for members of all ages.
The Club is home to a variety of award-winning dining venues, a state-of-the-art health complex, a multitude of fitness activities. Members have the opportunity to participate in a range of different sports from sailing to tennis, diving to football. For members wishing to relax in the sun, The Club boasts two beaches and a 25-metre swimming pool.
Peter de Kauwe, Grand Officier Maître Rôtisseur, is the Executive Chef. A renowned chef, not only for how he runs a successful operation with a multinational team, but also his ability to share the wealth of knowledge and experience he possesses.
Peter grew up in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he began his formal education in hospitality and catering. He first joined The Club as Executive Chef in 1990 and stayed for over 10 years before moving to Sydney, Australia which he calls his ‘adopted home’.
Peter expected to find it more difficult to adapt to living and working in Australia than he did. Soon influencing local chefs by sharing his experience of the Middle Eastern palate, which helped to broaden their outlook and encourage them to try different ideas on the plate.
The life-changing invitation to return to The Club in 2009 saw Peter re-join an establishment that had changed and grown significantly in his absence. He introduced new ideas through his experiences of working in Australia, which helped to differentiate The Club from other similar venues.
The recognition needed to strengthen the skills level in the kitchen to deliver consistently high standards from a large team led Peter to devote his own time to deliver training activities for his chefs. Peter sees a focus on training as the future and says it will remain his goal to enable his staff to further their culinary education.
Peter has a passion for preparing tasty food that is pleasing to the eye, using spices and condiments to complement the readily available fresh meat and seafood to good effect. At The Club, he has hosted the annual Christmas lunch for members of the Bailliage of Abu Dhabi for nearly 10 years. He has taken on the challenge to serve goose for the main course every year, but not just a boring roast. Peter introduces the influence of different flavours and develops various styles of cooking and presenting the dish on every occasion.
The latest incarnation (the 15th year in fact) was on December 16, 2023. Conseiller Culinaire Rinaldo Boscaro reported that over 50 Chaîne members and their guests gathered to enjoy a ‘Christmas Feast’ in the Vista Restaurant at The Club. The group was honoured to welcome Bailli Délégué Ian Fairservice, who is a Member Honoraire of the Conseil d’Administration and a current Member of the Conseil Magistral who had travelled from Dubai especially to attend the lunch.
In keeping with the long tradition, Executive Chef de Kauwe served a trio of goose for the main course comprising of goose Wellington, confit leg wrapped in turkey bacon and pan-fried goose liver. Festive Brussels sprouts, confit Jerusalem artichoke and roast potatoes completed the delectation.
Featured dining option: Zarf - the Indian Kitchen