How the ‘Dubai chocolate’ took over the world

It was a pregnancy craving for knafeh that got Ms Sarah Hamouda dreaming in chocolate, imagining a bar that recalled the crunchy-creamy Middle Eastern dessert of her British-Egyptian childhood.

“I told my husband the next day that I wanted to start a chocolate business,” she said from her home in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

She had never made chocolate before. But, undeterred and halfway through her pregnancy, she began working from her living room, with the elements of knafeh – cream or akkawi cheese, shredded filo known as kataifi, nuts or date syrup, and orange blossom or rose water – in mind.

Eventually, her Can’t Get Knafeh Of It bar was born, a milk chocolate shell bursting with pistachio cream and kataifi, and adorned with bright yellow and electric green splotches.

Ms Hamouda had no idea that it would take on a life of its own, earning the nickname “Dubai chocolate” among fans online and spurring countless imitations.

In fact, when the couple opened their online shop Fix – which stands for Freaking Incredible eXperience – in 2022, “we were selling about a bar a week”, said Mr Yezen Alani, Ms Hamouda’s husband.

“There were so many days we wanted to give up,” Ms Hamouda said.

Then came the viral TikTok video.

After the couple reluctantly took a fan’s suggestion and sent some chocolate bars to local influencers, content creator Maria Vehera posted an ASMR-style TikTok showing off its snappy shell and cascading pistachio cream, then taking a big, messy bite.

It led to a waterfall of orders, Mr Alani said – at least 30,000, which was when the delivery app they were using crashed.

“It was like the scene in The Bear where the tickets wouldn’t stop coming in,” he said, referring to the comedy-drama series (2022 to present) about a chef taking over a sandwich shop belonging to his late brother.

Ms Hamouda said: “I remember throwing my phone onto the street.”

Things are better now. The Fix team has grown to 50. The bar has gained a global following. Lindt, the Swiss chocolatier, even created a version for a limited release of 300 bars in December. It sold out in a day.

And British delivery app Deliveroo said that, in 2024, the Can’t Get Knafeh Of It bar was the top item ordered worldwide.

While Ms Hamouda and Mr Alani object to the numerous versions sold by big companies, they love it when small businesses and home cooks “do their own takes”.

Canadian oncology pharmacist and chocolatier Venessa Liang, known as FoodiePharmBabe on social media, sold her Taste Of Dubai bar for C$100 (S$95) a bar. Made with a dark chocolate shell, gold chocolate filling with pistachio cream, toasted turmeric kataifi and caramelised pistachios, they sold out in three to five minutes, she said.

For Ms Liang, Dubai chocolate’s magic is in its crowd-pleasing base ingredients and adaptability. She has even been using it in homemade ice cream. “Those flavours just work,” she said.

The Can’t Get Knafeh Of It bar may have a hold on the world, but Ms Hamouda is already moving on. In late January, Fix released a bar made with caramelised pecans and cookies, called Catch Me If Pecan.

“The name is a bit cheeky,” she said. “It’s like our way of saying to the rest of the chocolate world, ‘You have to catch up to us.’” NYTIMES