The colder months have a way of adding to your appetite. Maybe it’s got something to do with the slight chill in the wind during evenings, and the propensity to bundle up in a cosy sweater while steering all your plans outdoors. That route might take you somewhere like Sand & Koal, a beachfront favourite for open-fire cooking, located in the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi.
Behind the flames stands Head Chef Jack Jarrott, whose extensive experience is apparent in every dish on the menu. Esquire Middle East took the opportunity to have a chat with him and find out exactly what keeps the blaze going, so to speak.
You’ve gone from Bundaberg to London’s toughest grills and onwards to some of Dubai’s most talked-about kitchens. Looking back, which moment first made you think that this is the path that’s meant for you?
I actually came into kitchens a little later than most chefs. I’d worked in hospitality for years, but the second I trialled in my first kitchen, everything clicked. The intensity, the fire, the pressure of tickets hitting the pass, my mind dropped straight into a flow state I’d never felt before.
It felt natural, almost like muscle memory I didn’t know I had. That rhythm and the movement, the focus, the dance of service. I was hooked instantly, and it’s something I still chase today. As I’ve grown, that rhythm has shaped how I cook, lead, and build the story of Sand & Koal. The fire, the craft, the discipline; it all just makes sense to me.
Open-fire cooking has become something of a signature for you. What is it about that method that specifically speaks to you?
Fire has always pulled me in. It’s a force of nature you cannot ever fully control, you can only work with it. That challenge is what drives me and continues the obsession.
When I cook over open flame, it feels like a partnership: I guide it, it guides me. There’s a rhythm, almost a conversation, where the heat, the smoke and the ingredients all meet in the middle.
Over the years, it’s become a symbiotic relationship. I don’t just cook with fire, I think with it. And that energy is what shapes the heart of Sand & Koal and what I do.
Sand & Koal’s concept is described as being deeply personal for you. How did that translate into the way you built the menu and the experience?
After years in the UK and abroad, I realised how much I missed the feeling of Australian dining from the honest produce, fresh flavours, food that’s balanced, light and connected to its surroundings. When I arrived in Sand & Koal, the location itself told the story. The beach, the raw landscape, the two Grand Palaces, the Abu Dhabi skyline. The restaurant and menu didn’t need decoration or a fabricated narrative. It needed food that spoke the same language.
So I built the menu around that idea: fresh, clean, locally sourced where possible, with Emirati influences woven in naturally. Then I layered the techniques and balance brought to the menu by other continents’ culinary heritage that represents Expats in the UAE, letting the ingredients, the fire and the setting guide everything.
The result is a menu that feels raw, real and timeless, but still progressive. Much like the UAE itself.
You’re vocal about championing seasonal produce and the best of Australian land and sea, even here in the UAE. Dishes like your Reef & Beef carry that identity proudly. How do you balance heritage, place, and innovation to make food that feels like the most honest expression of you?
For me, it starts with respect for the ingredients, for where I come from, and for where I am now. Australia shaped my palate: clean flavours, incredible produce, and the natural connection between land and sea. When I came to the UAE, I didn’t want to recreate Australia: I wanted to translate it for my guests.
So the balance comes from letting the produce speak first, then grounding the story to this place. The Reef & Beef is a perfect example: the purity and quality of Australian Produce paired with flavours and fire that define Sand & Koal. It’s my heritage meeting the landscape I cook in today.
Innovation comes naturally when you stay honest. I don’t chase trends, I chase flavours, seasonality and that feeling of cooking with purpose. When the fire, the ingredient and the location align, that’s when a dish becomes a true expression of me.
You’ve worked with some big names, like Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants in London, Fernando Trocca at Sucre, and Paul Gajewski at The Guild. What philosophies or disciplines from those kitchens have found their way into the DNA of Sand & Koal?
Working with those chefs shaped who I am in the kitchen. From Gordon Ramsay’s group, I learned the power of standards and real discipline. Recipes were followed exactly, the kitchen had to look immaculate, and every action represented the brand. That level of accountability still guides how I run Sand & Koal.
From Fernando Trocca, I learned the emotional side of food. Every dish had a memory, a story, a piece of history behind it. Watching him cook and talk about his grandmother or his heritage made me realise how personal food can and should be. That taught me to bring meaning and intention into what I cook.
Paul Gajewski tied it all together. His calm precision, perfect persistence, his timing, his organisation, knowledge of his craft and all the surrounding aspects of what makes good food and lasting impressions for guests. He never accepted ‘good enough’. Everything had to be perfect and delivered at the right moment. His approach to leadership and execution has left a lasting mark on me.
All of these experiences built the foundation of Sand & Koal: discipline, story, technique and the commitment to making every dish feel personal for me, my team and most importantly, the guests.