The original Dubai chocolate bar has a name that struck every chord in this pun-lover’s heart: Can’t Get Knafeh Of It. This, because the alluring, tahini-pistachio filling is packed with kataifi, the shredded phyllo that’s a signature of cheesy, syrupy knafeh (aka, kunafa, künefe and other variations; a Middle Eastern dessert some of you have likely heard me coo over in past columns). The Moon Festival’s signature snack is out of this world Its creator, Dubai-based entrepreneur Sara Hamouda, who founded FIX Dessert Chocolatier in 2021, told CNN she was getting six or seven orders a day back then.
In June, that was up to 100 orders per minute . This, because of a TikTok video, featuring fetching food influencer Maria Vehera enjoying a bar in her car , went super-viral. At press time, views were approaching 60 million.
These hefty handmade bars, which sell for roughly $19 apiece, are in high demand. And, for the time being, available only in Dubai, as Fix embarks on what I imagine is about to be an impressive upscale. But that hasn’t stopped enterprising chocolatiers — and others — from spinning up their own takes.
“All of our crew are always watching out for new and interesting things and one of them brought this to us and said, ‘This is going to be the next big thing,'” Kevin Wray tells me. “And man, were they right!” Wray, co-owner of Peterbrooke Chocolatier of Winter Park (300 S. Park Ave.
in Winter Park), got to work with his team, though figuring.