From global kitchens to Dubai: Meet the couple behind Dubai’s viral cafe 'CRUNCH'

Dubai: What do you get when you mix Michelin-level experience, a newborn baby and an idea inspired by childhood cereal? One of Dubai’s most talked-about new cafés.

Before they opened CRUNCH in Dubai, Mukhtar Kosbayev and Anastassiya had already spent years moving between kitchens, countries and culinary cultures.

Between them, the Kazakh couple have worked across some of the world's most demanding kitchens and lived in seven countries, from Kazakhstan and Switzerland to the US, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and, eventually, the UAE.

Now, they are putting everything they have learnt into CRUNCH, with one very important person helping shape the menu: their daughter.

For Mukhtar, becoming a chef wasn’t a career choice, it was the only plan he ever had. "As long as I can remember, I wanted to become a chef,” he says.

Growing up in Kazakhstan, his father owned restaurants, although, ironically, he wasn’t the one doing the cooking. “I thought my dad was the chef. He could barely fry an egg,” Mukhtar laughs.

Instead, it was time spent with his grandparents that shaped his love for food. Trips to local bazaars, cooking together and learning family recipes became the foundation of a career that would eventually take him across Switzerland, the US, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and beyond.

It wasn’t always an easy path. “When I first started working in a professional kitchen in ninth grade, I’d go home and literally fall asleep on the floor because I was so exhausted.”

Back then, becoming a chef wasn’t considered prestigious in Kazakhstan “My father didn’t like the idea at first. People thought working in a kitchen meant you had failed in life. Eventually, I proved to him this was what I really wanted.”

Anastassiya’s story couldn’t have been more different. “My mum never let me cook,” she laughs. “She used to say, ‘You’ll spend your whole life cooking for your family, so there’s no rush.’”

After completing her first year studying marketing, curiosity got the better of her. “I was walking through the city wondering, ‘How does a restaurant kitchen actually work? How do they cook so many dishes at once?’”

Without any professional experience, she simply walked into a restaurant. “I told them, ‘I don’t know how to cook. I don’t know anything. I just want to learn.’”

They gave her a chance. That leap of faith eventually led to kitchens across Kazakhstan, London, Moscow and Iceland, before she opened her own culinary studio and online cooking platform.

Years later, that same curiosity would lead her to co-found CRUNCH.

Their first meeting wasn’t exactly love at first sight

Their relationship began in 2020 during a food festival in Kazakhstan.

Mukhtar still remembers introducing himself. "I called her ‘Nastya’ the informal version of Anastassiya.” She wasn’t impressed.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Please use the formal way of speaking. And call me Anastassiya.’”

Mukhtar’s first thought? “Oh my gosh… who is this girl?” The next day, after hours of working together, they made a bet. Mukhtar admits he intentionally lost.

“The prize was that one of us would cook for the other at her culinary studio. Either way, I was winning.” That dinner became their first date.

Before launching CRUNCH, Mukhtar spent years working in acclaimed restaurants including Noma and Frantzén. Surprisingly, he says the biggest lesson wasn’t about luxury ingredients.

“It taught me attention to detail.” For him, quality always comes before price. “If you start with poor ingredients, you can’t expect an amazing result.” That philosophy runs through everything at CRUNCH.

Their vanilla comes from Madagascar. Their spices are sourced from Sri Lanka. Their butter, coffee, milk and matcha are all carefully selected.

“We wanted honest food.”

A café built alongside a baby

Opening your first restaurant is stressful enough. Opening one with a newborn at home is another story entirely. “When she was born,” Mukhtar says, “I realised I wanted more control over my own time.”

Anastassiya laughs. “Now we work 24/7.”

Still, they say building CRUNCH alongside raising their daughter has changed how they think about food.

Their biggest test? “If our daughter can eat it one day, we’re happy to serve it.” That mindset influences every ingredient they choose.

They also bring their daughter into the café whenever possible, balancing parenthood and entrepreneurship one day at a time.

“It’s our second baby,” Anastassiya says.

Why 'CRUNCH'?

The name wasn’t random. For the founders, texture is one of the most important parts of eating. “Crunch is something people crave,” Mukhtar explains.

“It’s memorable.” Whether it’s perfectly baked bread or a flaky croissant, that satisfying crispness is what makes food exciting.

“We wanted something easy to remember and fun to say.” CRUNCH stuck.

The croissant cereal that accidentally went viral

Perhaps the café’s biggest talking point wasn’t even supposed to be on the menu. Their now-famous croissant cereal originally started as an invitation gift for guests.

“We just wanted to make something fun,” Mukhtar says.

Inspired by childhood memories of finishing a bowl of cereal and drinking the sweet milk left behind, they wondered:

“What if adults could feel like kids again?” The result was dozens of miniature hand-rolled croissants served with house-made croissant-infused milk.

Making a single portion takes between 30 and 45 minutes just to roll the tiny croissants. The milk itself is made using leftover croissants from recipe testing, which are baked again before being infused into milk, a creative way to reduce food waste.

The response surprised even them. “People kept coming in asking only for the croissant cereal.”

Despite the hype, they resisted increasing the price dramatically. “We didn’t want to become greedy,” Mukhtar says. “We just wanted people to enjoy it.”

Dubai felt like home

So why Dubai?

For Mukhtar, who had lived and worked across seven countries, the city offered something he hadn't found elsewhere: an unusually diverse and open audience.

"I feel like Dubai is one of the very few cities where it's so multicultural, and people are actually so excited and willing to explore new things."

He first visited Dubai in May 2023 and says he was immediately struck by how quickly the city felt familiar.

"It's a second home."

The diversity was a major draw. At CRUNCH, they say they have welcomed more than 20 nationalities in a single day, with guests from across the world coming together under one roof.

That is exactly the kind of atmosphere they wanted to create.

"Our idea about CRUNCH was that we build this place like a home for people who are far away from their home," Anastassiya says.

That philosophy extends beyond the food. Guests have celebrated birthdays, engagements and marriages at CRUNCH, with other diners often joining in the celebrations.

For the couple, those small shared moments are part of the restaurant's purpose.

Winning over Dubai diners

The founders know opening a café in Dubai isn’t easy. “I think Dubai diners are spoiled,” Mukhtar laughs.

With world-class restaurants on every corner, impressing customers is one thing. Getting them to come back is another.

The city’s high standards have pushed the pair to obsess over every detail, from ingredient sourcing to handwritten messages and playful signs reading “Welcome Home” and “Habibi, come to CRUNCH.”

It’s those small touches they hope guests remember long after the last bite.

Bread, vinegar and a little patience

Ask the couple about their favourite ingredients and you’ll get two very different answers.

For Anastassiya, it’s vinegar. “I think it’s one of the most underrated ingredients.” She jokes that she used to keep a bottle in her car because she loved it so much.

Mukhtar finds it impossible to choose between eggs and bread, but bread eventually wins. “It teaches you patience,” he says. “With just flour, water and salt, time and technique can create something incredible.”

It’s a fitting philosophy for the couple themselves.

After years spent travelling the world, learning from elite kitchens and taking risks together, they have built something from simple ingredients: hard work, family and a lot of patience.

And judging by the queues forming for the croissant cereal, it’s a recipe that’s already proving to be a success.