Tête-à-tête with Chef Bernard Charles
It was a pleasure meeting such an emblematic figure like Bernard Charles at Bateel International factory in Dubai.Bernard has been working at Bateel for over 16 years and has been appointed director of Research & Development in the gourmet and confectionary section in 2020. He manages the production of dates, chocolate and cookies for GCC including KSA and UAE.KSA and UAE.
While we had a VIP tour of the factory, we also had the opportunity to create content with Bernard to highlight their products such as handcrafted filled dates chocolate, from the filling with praline to the chocolate coating and topping- famous delicacies that are a must in many households of the region!
Bernard and Brice, Pastry chef of Ecole Valrhona IMEA, were working on vegan Japanese recipes with several flavors, from dates to yuzu or raspberry, using the Valrhona Inspiration range. This moment is also the opportunity to develop a new range, new focus and to collaborate.
As per Bernard told us:
“My favorite chocolate is from Brazil is Macaé because of the taste profile, the color and also Jivara for the sweetness and maltiness.”
Born and raised in Mauritius, Bernard Charles started his career in the hotel industry as a chef after having graduated from the Hotel Management School in Mauritius Island.
He has worked for the likes of Accor Group for four years before joining the Berjaya Beach resort and Casino Le Monde, a Malaysian group of hotels, for 3 years where he took his first position of pastry chef in 1995. He then joined the Beachcomber Group at Le Paradis Beach Resort and Golf until 2002.
Followed by his desire to keep on learning and challening himself, he took his first expat role at the One and Only Royal mirage in Dubai. He then moved to Barbados in the Caribbean as executive Pastry Chef for nearly 4 years at the Luxury Sandy Lane beach Resort and Golf.
Bernard came back to Dubai in 2007 and joined internationally acclaimed Bateel International LLC. Bateel, a homegrown Saudi brand based in GCC, is the ultimate luxury gifting destination, which presents an array of gourmet organic dates, confectioneries, and exclusive specialty products: an invitation to experience the exceptional. As per Bernard, Bateel is synonym of: “quality, innovation, authenticity and integrity”!
