Legendary hospitality host Satish Palayat has teamed up with celebrity chef Dominic Miles after a shock move from the Dilmun Club. He is now helping to front a rival catering operation at the neighbouring Bahrain Rugby Football Club (BRFC).

The Dilly’s long-standing F&B service manager, who recently celebrated 22 years at the expat club, has taken over as general manager of the BRFC’s Blindside Barbecue & Grill and Outside Catering which has expanded its operating hours and launched a new menu.

Dominic, 50, from Saar, a British expat who has been involved in the hospitality and food sector all his working life and has lived in the kingdom for nearly 20 years, is also heavily involved in a growing food import business and believes having Satish onboard is a match made in hospitality heaven. “Some have suggested Satish has moved over to the dark side but rather he will be an absolute star for Blindside!

“He is such a well-known, respected and much-loved part of the expat hospitality scene and can really help develop our operation. He’s my Jedi warrior!”

Satish, 45, from the Indian state of Kerela, who lives in Diraz, admitted he was saddened to leave his old post but couldn’t resist taking up the new challenge when it was presented.

“I’m delighted to step into this new role and look forward to welcoming old friends and making new ones with a promise of a first rate friendly service. We have some great ideas to develop the operation. It’s a case of do, as Jedi Master Yoda might say. Or do not. There is no try.”

The move has certainly stunned the expat community and came as a surprise as the Dilmun Club’s executive committee once described Satish in glowing terms in a letter published in GulfWeekly when he had to return to India for medical treatment in 2015, stating: “Indeed, whenever he is mentioned by members new or old, it is clear that there is huge affection for him and that he is held in the highest regards.”

The club ‘wishes him well’ in his new endeavours, GulfWeekly was told. General manager Stephen Chartres and the committee recently unveiled a new Sports Lounge, in partnership with Projects Bahrain and African & Eastern, which has been ‘much welcomed and appreciated’ by members.

Further up the road, a now fully fit and ‘raring to go’ Satish is working to develop Blindside’s new extended outside seating area as the evening temperature cools, as well as host a poolside BBQ every weekend.

And, Dominic, who built up a huge following on local radio during a spell offering weekly cooking tips and recipes, is confident a new range of dishes such as a sizzling lemon & garlic-marinated chicken breast wrap with salad, will prove popular with the rugby club’s hungry sports enthusiasts and their families.