i. Biography
Chef Patron work at Moonrise in Dubai is built on self-directed training rather than a formal school lineage. In Solemann Haddad’s case, the absence of culinary school or an inherited restaurant script puts the kitchen’s reference points under direct control: local upbringing, a Syrian father, and a French mother. The cooking works across Middle Eastern memory, Japanese ingredients and techniques, and European reference points without separating them into fixed categories. The 10-course omakase format gives the restaurant a disciplined structure for memory and place. Haddad uses that sequence to work through childhood, the city, and mixed inheritance with contemporary control. The room’s identity is personal, but the execution stays tight: compact courses, clear references, and a menu rooted in Dubai while looking outward. “For me, the idea was to create a Dubai for everyone, and the only way to do that was to make a space that is distinctly Middle Eastern but not tied to one culture.” Solemann has said.
The Route
Since 2021, the founder-and-chef role at the restaurant has functioned as both workshop and public statement. Solemann Haddad’s route into that position was self-directed, with no formal culinary school behind it. Moonrise became the site where technique, memory, and instinct were tested in service, rather than separated into biography on one side and menu on the other. A non-conventional lineage defines the restaurant’s point of view. Haddad’s Syrian and French background is filtered through Dubai’s pace and mix of cultures, giving the dining room its layered identity. The line of descent is not a standard sequence of mentors or institutions; it is a cross-cultural practice built from place, family background, and close technical control.
The Work Today
The current work at Moonrise combines regional upbringing with Japanese ingredients and techniques in a 10-course omakase format. With Haddad as Chef Patron, the menu is built less as a catalogue of influences than as a personal route through childhood, city, memory, and technique. The menu studies home and childhood through regional, European, and Japanese influences. Ingredients and flavours from that heritage remain central, but they are set inside Japanese structure and European reference points rather than presented alone. The cooking often works by placing a familiar register — sweetness, smoke, salt, or richness — into another frame, then keeping the portion compact enough to unfold in a few bites. Several dishes show the method clearly. Explosion, the restaurant’s signature dish, was described by MICHELIN as an explosion of cultures in one bite. Moonrise Grilled Cheese is made with 36 Month Aged Red Cow Parmigiano, Hokkaido Mill Bread, Thai Black Garlic, and seasonal truffles; Haddad has said he has an arranged marriage with it because no one allows him to remove it from the menu. Bafun Uni on Toast adds date to sea urchin on toast, a small but direct example of how the kitchen places regional sweetness into a Japanese ingredient frame.
Signature
Signature dishes include Explosion: Moonrise's signature dish.
Credentials
Solemann Haddad has received MICHELIN Young Chef Award (2022). Solemann's honors include MICHELIN Dubai Young Chef Award (2022), Michelin star for Moonrise, and #4 at the MENA 50 Best Restaurant Award.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Solemann
What is Solemann Haddad's current position?
Solemann Haddad is Chef Patron.
What recognition has Solemann Haddad received?
MICHELIN Dubai Young Chef Award (2022).
What is Solemann Haddad known for?
Intimate, story-driven dining experiences.
