Abu Dhabi, UAE: A mille-feuille is usually a dessert of straight lines. Layers of pastry and cream are stacked neatly on top of each other, creating the kind of order that makes the French classic instantly recognisable. At Bloom Arjaan by Rotana on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, chef René Millan decided to break that rule. His version takes its inspiration from the architecture of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry.
Instead of keeping the pastry in its traditional rectangular form, Millan plays with rounded shapes, sharp angles and an intentionally unconventional structure.
There is yuzu in the crémeux, too, a smooth cream made with the citrus fruit yuzu, known for its bright, tart flavour. It adds acidity to a dessert that is meant to look as bold as the building that inspired it.
“I was inspired by the abstract architectural forms used by Frank Gehry,” Millan says. For a hotel opening on Saadiyat, the dessert turns the island's architecture into something guests can taste.
"Bringing Saadiyat to the table"
Millan, who comes from Puebla, Mexico, first had the idea for the dessert around September last year. “We aim to be ambassadors for Saadiyat Island,” he says. “I wanted to bring that sense of place to the table through the dessert.” The timing makes the idea particularly relevant. Saadiyat has increasingly become associated with Abu Dhabi’s cultural ambitions, with museums and cultural institutions shaping the identity of the island.
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, expected to open on December 11, 2026, is among the major projects that will add to that landscape. For Millan, the architecture offered a way to interpret that identity without trying to reproduce it literally.
The dessert reflects what he sees in Gehry’s design: rounded forms, angular shapes and contrasting materials across the façade. The chef emphasises there is no prescribed way to eat it: "That is open to each guest’s own interpretation, just like art". His own preference is simpler. Break the layers of pastry into the crémeux and eat them together in one spoonful.
“Simplicity is the key”
The hotel's desire to do things differently is perhaps most evident in its approach to food. During the opening, on a bright and already-hot Abu Dhabi morning, Amna Al Nuwais, Chief Strategy and Assets Officer at Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, spoke about food as one of the hotel's defining features. “Simplicity is the key,” she emphasized.
It is an approach that might sound at odds with a mille-feuille inspired by one of the world's most recognisable examples of contemporary architecture. But that contrast is part of what makes the concept interesting.
Al Nuwais describes Millan as a “really good chef” who does not come from a traditional hospitality background. That, she suggests, is part of the appeal. She explains that the hotel wanted to take a different, more “out of the box” approach. Millan's Mexican background and the Saadiyat setting therefore become part of the mix, rather than the hotel following a more predictable international formula.
A restaurant designed for more than hotel guests
At Distrikt Social, Bloom Arjaan's all-day café and terrace, the food and beverage team is also looking at how the restaurant can appeal to a wider audience.
Pia Castañeda, the hotel's food and beverage manager from Peru, says the concept includes gluten-free options, healthier dishes and drinks without alcohol.The intention is not simply to feed hotel guests, but to create a place that can become part of the neighbourhood.
Hotel General Manager Marwa Mustafa says the restaurant's ambition is to become a favourite dining destination for both guests and the local community: “If we build lasting relationships with our guests, create a motivated team and become an active part of the Saadiyat community, we will consider that a successful first year,” she says.
A hotel with a local point of view
Bloom Arjaan by Rotana is located within Bloom's Park View on Saadiyat Island and has 217 serviced hotel apartments, each with a fully equipped kitchen. The property also includes an infinity pool, a fitness centre and a 24-hour Grab & Go offering snacks and essentials. It is also pet-friendly. But the hotel's identity may ultimately be decided less by its room count or facilities than by what happens around its dining table.
A Mexican chef from Puebla is looking at a building that has not yet opened and turning its architecture into pastry. A hotel executive is talking about simplicity. A restaurant team is making room for gluten-free food and healthier choices. And a new property is trying to become part of a neighbourhood that continues to evolve.
Back at the dessert, there is no correct way to approach it. Millan says guests can interpret it as they wish, just like art. He prefers to break through the pastry, bring the layers and yuzu crémeux together, and take one spoonful. Perhaps that is also the simplest way to understand what Bloom Arjaan is trying to do on Saadiyat: take something familiar, break the usual structure, and see what it can become in a different place.
