Ras Al Khaimah is getting another ambitious food and hospitality business. This time, an award-winning Indian celebrity chef is behind the Ishijyot Surri RAKEZ culinary venture.
Chef Ishijyot Surri has established Maison Management through Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ). He founded the culinary and hospitality company with investor and entrepreneur Sameer Musale.
The new company will become Surri’s regional base for expansion across the UAE. And the first move is already taking shape.
Maison Management plans to launch multi-concept cloud kitchens with Talabat. The rollout will begin in Business Bay and Al Rashidiya in Dubai.
For RAKEZ, the arrival adds another food business to its expanding F&B community. It also shows why Ras Al Khaimah keeps attracting Indian entrepreneurs looking for a UAE base.
Ishijyot Surri Picks RAKEZ for His UAE Expansion
Chef Ishijyot Surri is using RAKEZ as the base for his next stage of growth. Maison Management will lead his culinary and hospitality expansion in the UAE. Sameer Musale joins the venture as a partner. RAKEZ supported the company during formation and visa processing. It also provided ongoing business support for the international team.
That setup gave the founders a quicker route into the UAE market. For Surri, the attraction was practical. He described the UAE as one of the world’s most exciting culinary markets. He also pointed to Ras Al Khaimah as the right foundation for the business.
Cloud Kitchens With Talabat Come First
Maison Management isn’t waiting long to enter the market. Its first major move will involve multi-concept cloud kitchens developed with Talabat. Business Bay and Al Rashidiya in Dubai will be the starting locations.
The cloud kitchen model gives the company an interesting entry point. It can introduce different food concepts without relying only on traditional restaurant locations. It also puts the brands directly into Dubai’s busy food delivery market.
The strategy could provide useful market feedback too. Successful concepts could eventually move beyond delivery and into physical restaurants.
Maison Management Has Bigger Plans Than Delivery
Cloud kitchens are only the beginning. Maison Management plans to develop distinctive restaurant concepts in the UAE. Food-processing facilities are also part of the company’s longer-term plans.
The business will also provide restaurant management and food consultancy services. That creates several possible revenue streams under one company. Over time, Maison Management wants to explore technology-enabled dining experiences as well.
This makes the venture broader than a celebrity chef opening another restaurant. Surri and Musale are building a platform that could cover several parts of the food industry.
Chef Ishijyot Surri Brings Several Restaurant Concepts
Surri already has experience across restaurant development, catering and culinary innovation. His existing portfolio covers several cuisines and dining formats. That background gives Maison Management concepts it can potentially adapt for the UAE market.
His portfolio includes Mulk, an award-winning North Indian dining concept. There is also MiniyaTurk, which mixes Turkish, Middle Eastern, Mexican and Pan-Asian flavours. Pachinco operates as an Italian diner and café. SJI Gourmet focuses on premium catering.
That variety could suit the UAE particularly well. The country’s dining market is highly international. Customers are already comfortable moving between regional and global cuisines.
RAKEZ Wants More F&B Businesses in Its Ecosystem
Maison Management joins a much wider food and hospitality network inside RAKEZ. The economic zone supports companies across several parts of the F&B value chain.
Those businesses include hospitality management and catering companies. RAKEZ also works with food traders, producers, packaging companies and distributors.
That mix matters for businesses planning to scale. A restaurant concept may eventually need production, storage or distribution capacity. Having those activities within the same wider business ecosystem can make expansion easier.
RAKEZ has been actively positioning itself as an F&B manufacturing hub. Its ecosystem already includes companies working in finished foods, ingredients, equipment and packaging.
Indian Entrepreneurs Remain Important to RAKEZ
There is another layer to the Maison Management story. Indian businesses have become a major part of RAKEZ’s growth.
RAKEZ said India remained its leading source market for new investors during 2025. Indian investors accounted for 33% of new companies that year.
That relationship has been building for some time. RAKEZ previously reported thousands of Indian investors within its business community. It has also established a Mumbai office to support companies considering UAE expansion.
Surri’s arrival fits neatly into that trend. Yet this one comes with a different flavour. Instead of manufacturing or general trading, Maison Management brings a chef-led hospitality business with consumer-facing ambitions.
RAKEZ Handles the Business Setup While Surri Focuses on Food
RAKEZ says it worked with Maison Management throughout the setup process. That included company formation and visa processing for its global team. Business support will continue as the company moves into operations.
RAKEZ Group CEO Ramy Jallad said the economic zone aims to support companies beyond registration. The organisation works with clients as they move from setup into operations and growth.
For entrepreneurs entering a new country, that can be just as important as the licence itself. The paperwork gets the company started. The real challenge begins when the business has to hire, operate and expand.
Ras Al Khaimah Is Becoming a Bigger F&B Business Base
Ras Al Khaimah may not have the restaurant profile of Dubai yet. From a business perspective, though, the emirate is building something different.
RAKEZ has been expanding an ecosystem that stretches beyond restaurants. Manufacturing, food processing, packaging, catering and distribution all sit within the wider picture.
Maison Management adds hospitality and chef-led concepts to that mix. Its first customers may order through cloud kitchens in Dubai. The company itself, however, will have its regional base in Ras Al Khaimah.
That’s the interesting part.
RAKEZ isn’t simply trying to attract businesses that sell inside Ras Al Khaimah. It wants companies to establish there and use the emirate as a base for the wider UAE and regional markets.
Maison Management is now putting that proposition to the test.
What’s Next for Maison Management in the UAE?
The immediate focus will be the Talabat cloud kitchen rollout in Dubai. Business Bay and Al Rashidiya are first on the list. After that, Maison Management has several directions it can take.
Restaurants, food processing and consultancy are already part of the plan. Technology-enabled dining is also being explored.
Surri called the RAKEZ establishment the beginning of a new chapter for his business in the region. The bigger question now is which of his concepts will gain traction first.
For RAKEZ, the deal brings another international entrepreneur into its F&B community. For Surri, it gives Maison Management a UAE base with room to build well beyond one restaurant.
Sources
Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) — Award-winning Indian celebrity Chef establishes UAE culinary venture with RAKEZ
Published August 26, 2026.
Read the official RAKEZ announcement