You might not know the name Alexander Orlov, but you know his work. If you live in the Gulf and love to eat well, Orlov and his partners at Bulldozer Group have helped create one of your favourite restaurants—and changed the region’s food scene forever.
The jewels in the Bulldozer portfolio—Gaia, Shanghai Me, Cipriani, Scalini—are mainstays of the Esquire Middle East 50 Best Restaurants list, and with the quality they’ve maintained and the dishes they’ve innovated, they’ve forced the rest of the pack to up their game.
Because of the efforts of Orlov and those like him, the rest of the world is now starting to take notice, with international restaurant guides Gault & Millau, The World’s 50 Best and now The Michelin Guide all finally making the trek to the region in order tell the globe what the Middle East has to offer.
In the thick of that success, Esquire Middle East pulled Orlov out from behind the curtain to discuss the future of Bulldozer Group, as well as how his personal touch has helped aid the brand’s success.
Interview with Alexander Orlov
What is your vision for the future of Bulldozer Group?
Bulldozer Group has many areas of development. There are chain projects, there are more luxury projects, so the future is very bright. We will continue to open a great range of interesting quality restaurants in all countries where we are represented, especially in Middle East Dubai.
What are your immediate plans for expansion? What can we expect in the coming months and 2022 overall?
In Dubai we are opening about four different restaurants such as Virgin Izakaya, Not Only Fish, Tanuki in Sharjah and other projects. Therefore, in 2022 there will be active extension not only in Dubai, but also in other countries. We are planning to open a Gaia
restaurant in the UK, we are also opening a Gaia restaurant and Cipriani in Moscow, so there are a lot of plans. Overall, I think that in 2022 we will open about 20 new projects and restaurants around the world.
Operating across the world, what makes Dubai unlike anywhere else, and how to you cater to this city differently than other markets?
Dubai has become the centre of the world, actually. It’s one of the most interesting and rapidly developing megacities in the whole world. Many people from Europe and America move to Dubai, as it is a really very comfortable place to live. Dubai is very fast growing and progressive, there are a lot of new development projects, a lot of hotels and, accordingly, this is a great field for the restaurant business. Therefore, we plan to continue developing there. And, of course, the special aspects such as people are very demanding, especially locals, so everything should be perfect, both service and food.
What is the difference between a very good and a truly great chef, and how do you go about identifying that difference personally?
To be great, you can’t just be a talented chef who knows how to cook well, you have to be a very cool organizer and a person who is constantly self-development. A great chef is a person who is a very good arranger who can assemble a team, cooks well, eхplores new areas, develops himself, travels, studies new trends and never stands still. He has to think like a business owner.
How have your own tastes changed over time?
They haven’t changed much. I prefer simple, delicious and high-quality food. I like to try different cuisines, but this is part of my job.
What of your own personal qualities do you see reflected most vividly in your business?
Due to the fact that we are very actively developing and opening a lot of restaurants and projects in different countries, my most important quality, which helps to do this, is multitasking and quick decision-making.
Outside of the restaurant business, what are your current goals in your life, and how are you working to fulfil them?
My main goal is constant self-development. This is demonstrated in many ways, both in sports, and in travel, and in self-education. Therefore, self-development is the main thing.
What are the lessons you took from mistakes you made earlier in your life that you apply most strictly now?
The main lesson is not to repeat mistakes.
What is your greatest joy in life?
The greatest joy is realizing a project that has been worked on for a very long time, especially a restaurant, with a very large team working on it and as a result it opens and it is full of guests, it is successful and everyone wants to get there. That’s really the joy from the profession that I get.