Moroccan Restaurants in UAE Pivot to Delivery for Ramadan Amid COVID-19 Restrictions

Unlike previous years, Ramadan 2020 takes place in a context marked by the implementation of restrictive measures against the spread of covid-19. Home delivery therefore remains the credible alternative for Moroccan operators to support their Emirati customers during this period. Hicham Hensali is the director of the "Al Boughaz Al Maghribi" restaurant, located in Dubai. He plans to offer "the delivery of several formulas for breaking the fast, at affordable prices". This is his way of being "in solidarity due to the exceptional circumstances related to the coronavirus", reports the MAP.

Inaugurated in 2015, Al Boughaz is used to organizing, with the help of a group of Moroccans from the United Arab Emirates, the "Ftour Bladi" (Iftar of my country) initiative. The initiative allows "free meals to be offered to compatriots in difficult situations". And that’s not all. The restaurant also "helps Moroccans who have lost their jobs following the economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus". An initiative that has been beneficial for Moroccan tourists stranded in the United Arab Emirates following the suspension of flights, a total of 600 people. "We continue to work although our revenues have decreased significantly in these times of covid-19, most of our customers having confined themselves at home," says Hicham Hensali, also an accountant and football coach at the Emirati club Al Wasl.

In Abu Dhabi, there is Hassan Zeghadi, owner of the "Meknès" restaurant. He has planned four cars and two motorcycles to ensure home delivery during the month of Ramadan. Meknès has been open since 2006, and for this period marked by confinement, it has concocted "a rich and varied menu, composed of all the essentials of the Moroccan Ramadan table", to accompany its customers throughout the fast. The restaurant, according to the MAP, "will also offer free iftar meals to Moroccans in distress due to the coronavirus".

According to the same source, these owners and managers of Moroccan restaurants hope to see the end of the pandemic to continue to promote authentic Moroccan gastronomy in their host country.