Cardamom-Scented Torta’t Mama Brings Italian and Emirati Flavours Together
- Eat Well Feel Well Live Well
- 27 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Author: Eat Well · Feel Well · Live Well Editorial Team
Source: The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi / JRN Consultancy
Cardamom, saffron and rose — three fragrant botanical ingredients rooted in Middle Eastern food culture — come together in a new dessert launching in Abu Dhabi.
To mark Emirati Women’s Day 2026, The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi has announced an exclusive collaboration with award-winning Emirati chef Sahar Parham Al Awadhi.
For one month, Café Ginori Saadiyat Island will serve Chef Sahar’s signature dessert, “Torta’t Mama”, a contemporary interpretation of the Italian classic Torta della Nonna.
Blending Italian pastry traditions with distinctive Emirati flavours and personal memories, the limited-edition creation also offers a new perspective on beauty food — one shaped by botanical aromas, natural colours and the pleasure of eating with all the senses.
Torta’t Mama, Scented with Cardamom, Saffron and Rose
Torta’t Mama is Chef Sahar’s reinterpretation of Torta della Nonna, a traditional Italian tart whose name translates as “grandmother’s cake”.
The dessert combines buttery shortcrust pastry with delicately scented pastry cream and caramelised almonds. Cardamom, saffron and rose are then introduced to create a meeting point between Italian pastry and Emirati culinary culture.
Cardamom lends the dessert its fresh, aromatic character, while saffron contributes its distinctive colour and fragrance. Rose adds a floral note that gives the finished creation an elegant and lingering aroma.
Rather than simply placing Middle Eastern flavours onto an Italian dessert, Chef Sahar uses the three ingredients to create a conversation between two culinary traditions.
Three Botanical Ingredients at the Heart of the Dessert
The combination of cardamom, saffron and rose is one of the most distinctive elements of Torta’t Mama.
Cardamom is widely used across the Middle East to flavour coffee, tea and sweets. Its bright, lightly spicy aroma can bring freshness and depth to rich or sweet dishes.
Saffron, recognised for its vivid colour and unmistakable fragrance, has long been valued in both savoury cooking and desserts. Rose is also familiar in Middle Eastern sweets and beverages, where its floral aroma adds a delicate finishing note.
Beauty food is often discussed in terms of nutrients or functionality. Torta’t Mama offers a different interpretation: appreciating the natural colours, aromas and visual qualities that botanical ingredients bring to the table.
It is a dessert designed not only to be tasted, but also to be experienced through scent, colour, texture and presentation.
From the Italian Nonna to the Emirati Yadditi
The idea of the grandmother forms the emotional heart of Torta’t Mama.
In Italian, “nonna” means grandmother. Its Emirati counterpart, “yadditi”, means “my grandmother”. Although the words belong to different languages and cultures, both evoke family memories and recipes passed from one generation to the next.
“Food has always been one of the ways we preserve our memories and share our heritage,” says Chef Sahar Parham Al Awadhi. “This collaboration is an opportunity to celebrate those traditions while expressing them in a new way.”
Instead of simply reproducing an inherited recipe, Chef Sahar transforms those memories into a contemporary pastry. Torta’t Mama reflects her own culinary identity while recognising the women and family traditions that helped shape it.
Celebrating Emirati Women and Local Culinary Talent
Chef Sahar is known for her technical precision, creative approach to pastry and commitment to expressing Emirati flavours and stories through contemporary dining.
Created for Emirati Women’s Day, the collaboration celebrates women’s creativity while highlighting culinary talent from within the UAE.
Arun Narayanan, Multi-Property General Manager, notes that exceptional talent is often sought beyond national borders, even when remarkable creative voices can be found closer to home. He describes Torta’t Mama as a creation inspired by Chef Sahar’s grandmother and the memories connected to her recipe.
The partnership therefore goes beyond the launch of a limited dessert. It places Emirati heritage, local talent and the work of women shaping the UAE’s evolving culinary identity at the centre of the experience.
Served in the World of Ginori 1735
Torta’t Mama will be presented at Café Ginori Saadiyat Island, located within The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi.
The café draws on the heritage of Ginori 1735, the historic Florentine porcelain house founded nearly three centuries ago. Italian craftsmanship, expressive tableware and contemporary design form the setting for a menu of pastries, cakes and Italian-inspired café creations.
A curated selection of teas and beverages will accompany Torta’t Mama, chosen to complement its Italian and Emirati flavours.
Surrounded by Ginori 1735 tableware and overlooking the Saadiyat Island shoreline, the dessert becomes part of a broader experience in which flavour, fragrance, colour and presentation are considered together.
Torta’t Mama will be available exclusively at Café Ginori Saadiyat Island for one month.
Information
Dessert：Torta’t Mama
Chef
Sahar Parham Al Awadhi
Location
Café Ginori Saadiyat Island
The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi
Availability
Exclusively available for one month
Reservations and enquiries
電話：+971 2 498 8443
