Byblos at Four Seasons Bahrain Bay presents Arabian Horizons III, pairing Lebanese chef Tony El Khoury with Egyptian chef Shehab Medhat for 10-course dinners on 12–14 November.
A third chapter of regional culinary exchange
Byblos at Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay is presenting Arabian Horizons III from November 12 to 14, 2026. The three-night event pairs the restaurant’s chef Tony El Khoury with visiting Egyptian chef Shehab Medhat for a ten-course tasting menu. The series is intended to celebrate the flavours and culinary heritage of the Arab world while creating a platform for chefs to exchange ideas. This is a fixed run of collaborative dinners, not an announcement of a permanent change of head chef.
For visitors with a serious interest in regional gastronomy, Bahrain offers a location where different culinary traditions can meet. Lebanese cooking has its own approaches to vegetables, grains, spices and hospitality; Egyptian food draws on different histories and local ingredients. A tasting menu can bring these perspectives into dialogue, but it should not flatten them into one generic label. The announced collaboration recognises that each chef has a distinct point of view.
Tony El Khoury brings the voice of Byblos
Tony El Khoury leads the kitchen at Byblos, a restaurant identified with contemporary interpretations of Lebanese cuisine. Four Seasons describes his interest in heritage dishes and the opportunity to develop new conversations through food. As the host chef, he is responsible not only for his own dishes but for integrating a visiting team into the restaurant’s service, equipment and guest expectations. That organisational work matters as much to the success of an evening as the originality of a recipe.
A guest considering the menu should be interested in the expression of Lebanese food rather than expect a conventional set of mezze dishes arranged in luxury portions. The restaurant’s ongoing style provides a starting point, but a ten-course collaboration will have its own structure. Bookers should ask how dishes will be served, whether a wine or non-alcoholic pairing is available, and how the kitchen plans to handle diners who cannot eat particular ingredients.
Shehab Medhat adds an Egyptian perspective
The company identifies Shehab Medhat as the winner of MBC Top Chef Arab World 2025, Season 8, and notes his participation in Bocuse d’Or Africa 2022 and the regional finals of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition. Those details establish the background of the visiting chef without proving anything about the outcome of this specific dinner. The important prospect for guests is how his Egyptian culinary experience will be expressed beside El Khoury’s Lebanese approach.
Travel and competition can broaden a chef’s technique, but the appeal of Arabian Horizons lies in the relationship between tradition and contemporary interpretation. The organisers describe Medhat’s interest in food, memory and storytelling. A thoughtful diner may appreciate a discussion of regional ingredients and the decisions behind a dish rather than focusing solely on trophies. Any advertised interaction with the chefs should be verified; the release does not promise a separate masterclass or a personal meeting.
Ten courses with a collaborative final dessert
Four Seasons states that the menu moves between dishes conceived individually by the two chefs before concluding with a dessert created together. This format lets each culinary identity speak in its own register while giving the last course a symbolic role. Ten courses are substantial, and the timing may be important for guests with other evening commitments. The release does not publish every final ingredient or price, so the exact tasting menu belongs in direct correspondence with Byblos.
Long dining experiences work well when courses are paced carefully and the beverage programme supports rather than overwhelms them. An adventurous guest may welcome ingredients that are unfamiliar, but allergies and religious dietary requirements require precise discussion. A hotel should be able to explain which substitutions are possible and whether the central design of a course would be altered. The number of plates is not itself a measure of culinary quality; balance and service matter more.
A Gulf waterfront setting
Byblos sits within Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, providing an elegant contemporary setting for regional food. The restaurant’s existing Lebanese identity gives the visiting Egyptian chef a defined partner rather than a neutral pop-up kitchen. The waterfront location can also make the dinner a focal point for a short stay in Manama, with travellers combining the evening with cultural visits or meetings. The official photograph accompanying this feature comes from the hotel’s own event gallery.
A particular view or table should never be assumed from the hotel’s general location. Guests seeking privacy should ask about room configuration, any separate dining spaces and whether the collaborative menu can be served to a group outside the principal restaurant. The operator’s public announcement does not promise exclusive use. Those who require discreet arrival or a tightly controlled guest list should discuss arrangements well ahead of the event.
Why Lebanon and Egypt make a useful pairing
Lebanese and Egyptian culinary traditions share a broader regional context yet differ in their treatments of legumes, bread, vegetables, spices and celebratory meals. The concept of Arabian Horizons invites diners to notice both the connections and the differences. The stated emphasis on stories and heritage is a reminder that a contemporary dish can be innovative without losing its relationship to the everyday food culture from which it emerged.
A tasting menu designed for international travellers has to decide how much explanation to provide. Guests who are genuinely curious might ask which components refer to family cooking or regional history and which are modern inventions by the chefs. It is important not to treat either nation’s cuisine as a single unchanging tradition. The evening should encourage exploration, not claim to offer a complete survey of two large and diverse food cultures.
Making the most of a three-night programme
The confirmed dates are November 12, 13 and 14, a short opportunity for travellers who can align a Bahrain visit with the event. Guests should confirm the restaurant’s start time, duration, dress expectations, final menu, price and cancellation rules before relying on the reservation. The official release directs enquiries to Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, which can also clarify whether the same menu will be served on all three dates.
For a small group, a well-planned evening may include a quiet meeting beforehand and no additional commitments afterwards. Ten courses should be allowed time to unfold without pressure. A host who wants to seat guests together should request a clear table plan and discuss deposits directly with the property. Beverage preferences can be collected in advance, particularly where a mix of diners prefer wine, tea or entirely alcohol-free pairings.
A collaboration best judged at the table
Arabian Horizons III is distinctive because it brings named chefs from Lebanon and Egypt into a defined three-night programme at an established Gulf hotel restaurant. There is a specific ten-course structure and a collaborative dessert rather than only a general promise of cultural fusion. That makes the event relatively straightforward to evaluate and, for visitors who appreciate culinary travel, a worthwhile occasion to investigate.
The reviewed announcement provides no assurance of additional dates or future guest-chef pairings. The menu, price and individual seating opportunities must be verified with Four Seasons, especially as the event approaches. The most compelling reason to attend is the chance to taste how two working chefs interpret their own heritage together. The true value of the experience will be in the dishes and the conversation they create, not in a promotional label.
Primary source: official operator release. Information reflects announcements reviewed 31 October 2026; check current terms directly.
Event calendar: Arabian Horizons III at Four Seasons Bahrain Bay 2026.