Only 15 minutes," said the PR person handling Martha Stewart's visit to the UAE, hosted by Takhayal Entertainment, the company that publishes her magazines in the Middle East, including the recent Martha Stewart Weddings. "Room for negotiation?" I asked, aware of how slim the chance was of taking up a bigger portion of her 48-hour stopover last month.
At dusk, the breeze, still warm from a typical day in June, fluttered around the terrace of the Al Sarab Rooftop Lounge at the Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa. Amidst the light flutter, an oud player performed. Arabian notes and the crackle of voices wafted down as I climbed up to the top storey that was cordoned off as a VIP-access area. Stewart, dressed in a sheer off-white blouse worn over a yellow one and paired with neutral trousers, extended a graceful hand. But I noticed the sartorial details after her most recognisable feature - her smile; endearing, unburdened and comforting.
Seated next to her was Yousuf Al Deeb, the chairman of Takhayal Entertainment that airs Stewart's food shows exclusively on its Fatafeat television channel. He had invited her to learn about the local culture and promote her regional titles. The previous day, he had organised a signing at Tavola in Mall of the Emirates, where Stewart met fans.
The interview unfolded, starting with her previous association with the region before the Takhayal Entertainment connection. Stewart, her skin lustrous, and eyes, limpid brown, explained it had been "just some haphazard visits here and there. This is my first visit to the UAE. It's all new, and exciting. I like the desert."
A country of interesting contrasts
Her itinerary had included visits to the Shaikh Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding; the Bur Dubai textile souq; the Bastakiya area; and a falconry experience at a desert resort.
"Any primers in terms of association?" I probed. "Well in college…," she paused, "I studied ancient history.... Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt in art and architecture. But modern, very little, except what I see in the newspapers and watch on television. So it's interesting to see first hand what life is really like here."
"Pleasantly surprised?" I asked, searching for that telling crinkle around the eyes. "Oh yes, very much," she replied immediately. "The people are so friendly. And aware of Western culture as well as their own."
As Stewart's trip focused on local culture, I asked her if she was looking forward to anything in particular. To which she emphasised that she had been in the country only a short time. She said, "We got to see old Dubai. It was interesting to visit the old market. Then in contrast, we visited the Emirates Mall with all the modern, upscale shops. We signed magazines at Tavola; hundreds came… local residents, their families and foreigners. Obviously they are as thirsty for knowledge and home improvement as my readers in the States."
After exploring UAE-specific subjects, we shifted the focus to her regional perspective, specifically on four subjects - food, interiors, gardening and entertaining her brand is synonymous with.
First off was food. She said, "… it's eclectic. We ate at the beautiful More Café at the Emirates Mall. That was delicious. But again they had tagines from Morocco, pasta from Italy… My favourite drink so far is the mint and lemon ale; I already tweeted the recipe and I am sure many have started making it at home. I am anxious to taste more of the food here, especially the local breads. I cook a little at home using Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern cookbooks. I love Indian food too. You have, what, [a] 70 per cent Indian population here? So that kind of influence is obvious - beautiful curries and other dishes."
I asked if she planned to use any of these ideas in her own recipes.
"Of course! I use everything. I am a sponge for information," she replied.
Observations of heritage and hospitality
On interiors, Stewart said, "I am staying at the One & Only, The Palm, Dubai which has palace-like interiors and here I am, out here in this beautiful desert resort, which is rustic…I have not seen the interior of a real home, but I would love to. I visited home-furnishing shops, and it's quite varied."
"Did it align with your personal interior design philoso… ?"
"Oh yes!" she said before I could finish my question. "In contemporary buildings with the high-rises, lots of windows, and open floor plans, the products we design will fit nicely."
On gardening, she said, "I love the landscape here. It's beautiful. [Gardens] in the desert…you can liken these to some of the gardens in Arizona."
My next question dealt with entertaining -also the subject and title of her first book published in 1982. Given that Stewart is known for her unique visual presentation of food and catered events, I asked, "Are there more similarities or differences in hospitality and entertaining here?" She contextualised with an observation. I notice that they have lavish serving platters so there must be a lot of entertaining. At the magazine signing, many told me that they bake tremendous amounts at home. And that they love to entertain. Again having not witnessed that yet, I'd like to see for myself."
Stewart trailed off, forcing me to take stock of the time. "Excuse me," I said, turning to the PR person present. "How much longer doI have?"
"About five minutes," was the reply.
Stewart gave in to an amused chuckle, signalling me to continue.
"As a brand, how have you kept reinventing yourself?" I asked, little expecting an exhaustive response. But she explained, "It's not so much reinvention as it is evolution. We continually treat the brand, build the brand, and add tothe brand. We don't eliminate so much as we add. My belief: we design products that canbe heirlooms. We just finished designinga fantastic line of stainless steel pots and pans that rival - in quality and construction - the highest quality available in the United States. But ours are one-third the price. That is why we have a big market."
Tempted, I explored the possibility of Stewart translating her visit into the design and functionality of her future products. "Sure I am going to add!" she said.
We segued into talking about her global audiences in the context of how productsare designed. "Many products, especially the basics, are getting to be standard. Going through the shops earlier, I found many from India, China and North Africa. It was hard to find something uniquely Arab or made in the UAE. I like to find those [traditional] things. I like to see what was made and could be made."
"Are you hinting at artisanship?" I asked. "Yes, I look for that everywhere - fabric construction and beautiful woodwork and metal work," she said.
An empire built on teaching basics
"One last question," I blurted out, "You've taken something basic like ‘how to fold a fitted sheet' [aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show] and turned it into an empire - Living Omnimedia with its expansive multimedia and merchandising portfolio. What are your thoughts on this?"
She said, "I'd like to think of myself asa replacement mom for so many womenwho join the workforce, leaving their kids at home - latchkey kids. They come back from school and let themselves in. Who is going to teach them to brush their teeth or make an omelette? I am. I am going to teach them all the good things."
In parting, I thanked her and left. I looked at my watch - my 15 minutes had passed.
By the way...
- In November this year, an Arabic version of the flagship Martha Stewart Living magazine will be launched.
- Martha Stewart's latest and 76th book is Martha's Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations
