Author: L. Mohamed, Dubai Chapter

The mega viral chocolatey sensation: dubai chocolate. How did this confectionary feat originate? 

Photo Credit: NYT Cooking

Dubai chocolate was invented as a pregnancy craving in 2021 by Sarah Hamouda, a British-Egyptian engineer living in Dubai. This chocolate combined chocolate, pistachio, tahini, and knafeh, to revolutionize the chocolatier landscape. 

With this delicious idea, Hamouda worked with Nouel Catis Omamalin, a Filipino culinary consultant, and they created a chocolate bar with the delicious flavorings mentioned above in it. They formed the online dessert shop Fix Dessert Chocolatier, and in 2022 they released the earliest Dubai chocolate, “Can’t Get Knafeh of It”. 

Dubai started gaining virality in 2024 on social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram, which brings us to its status as a chocolate icon in our present society. 

As the product boomed in popularity, big chocolate manufacturers like Lindt began producing and selling Dubai Chocolate. Lindt, Aldi, and Lidl were sent a cease-and-desist letter because their chocolates were not produced in Dubai. 

In January of this year, a German court ruled that Aldi should stop selling its product named  “Alyan Dubai Handmade Chocolate” as the chocolate was actually produced in Turkey and might have misled consumers into believing it was produced in Dubai. 

Dubai chocolate has been looked at with mixed views; some believe it to be entirely too expensive; and not to mention the legal struggles enshrouding the chocolate. 

However, what we do know is that dubai chocolate is a feat of a sweet treat: the chocolate shell contains the creamy pistachio and tahini cream, and the kadayif’s crunch juxtaposes those flavors to form a great treat.