Tasting the World on a Plate with Dubai-Based Food Blogger, Haya (@TheDubaiList)

Sunday, 9 May 2021

By Samira Banat

Online creator Haya (@thedubailist), shares her food blogging journey during a global pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only been a time of profound stress and tragedy but a period to discover and pursue lost passions. One such person was online food creator Haya (@thedubailist), who during the pandemic, managed to reignite her stovetop and with it, her love for food.

In the U.A.E., particularly in Dubai, restaurants used their diverse cuisines to induce a sense of travel in their customers while physical travel around the world was made unavailable to most. Haya supported the unique concepts of travel through taste by promoting local businesses, including a bakery that launched a 'sweet tour around the world', with a new dessert introduced each week to represent a particular country. She shares: "It was fun, creative, and the cakes were out of this world!"

Although Haya's career prior to food blogging revolved around the oil and gas industry, the 2019 Christmas season sent along a special, delectable greeting. It was around this time that she had made the decision to utilise oil and gas somewhere closer to home and closer to heart: the kitchen.

On how her Instagram page, The Dubai List, which has now garnered over 28k followers, came to be: "It started out for fun as I always love finding hidden gems and funky places or cool dishes. I love to be wowed!" Soon after, the pandemic hit and shut down the once-thriving businesses whose aromatic recipes would entice Haya and her followers to undergo gastronomic adventures sourced right off their menus.

Luckily, Haya's pre-pandemic outings left her with more than just memories of exquisite flavours of the world on a plate, but with a massive backlog of photos as well. And so, the dining recommendations flowed freely on her page, with the latest guests: home delivery. Despite not knowing the eventual outcome, she hoped that this approach would get people excited for 'normal' life again.

Based in Dubai, U.A.E., it made sense that her target destinations would be in and around the Emirate, hence the name of her page. However, the origin of The Dubai List was a tad more literal. Haya's phone contained a list titled 'Dubai', an ever-growing bucket list of over 500 places, which her friends and colleagues were also fans of. This list later came to life and took on a more colourful and visual form on Instagram.

With Haya's impressive portfolio capturing the countless eccentric feasts she has savoured, it's clear that her page is a food lover's haven. However, it comes as quite a shock that someone so fond of food has a lengthy list of foods to avoid, such as fish, spinach and eggplant, she shared with a laugh. Although, she makes up for it with her passion for the intricacies of dining: "I love experimenting with flavours and cool dish presentations."

As Haya lacked familiarity with other food bloggers, she found inspiration elsewhere. "I would say I was inspired by all the restaurants, cool places and dishes popping up all over Dubai, so I wanted to experience and share them all!" However, she did not expect how time-consuming creating content out of the food she ate would be: "At first, I thought it would be 'take a picture and post', but it's much more than that!" In her case, 'more' represents the growth and work ethic required to succeed on Instagram.

Fortunately, any hurdles blocking her path were overcome with the help of her online community, who she refers to as "foodies": "The best thing is having a community of people (foodies) who have the same passion and appreciate your recommendations, and are usually the first one to find out about and try new spots."

Haya continues to embark on mouth-watering adventures around Dubai, cherishing the availability of flavours, decor and dining atmospheres during a global pandemic. "Food is a huge part of our lives and our enjoyment and social activities", she concludes.