Carmen Rueda: “There are only about ten restaurants in the world dedicated exclusively to desserts”

Brix Journey is a dessert restaurant located in Dubai and run by Carmen Rueda, named Best Pastry Chef of 2025 by 50 Best MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

Here, the chef presents a sophisticated menu that focuses on ingredients and accompanies them with meaning, emotions, and a story. It’s no easy task, as restaurants dedicated exclusively to desserts are very rare worldwide and require a special kind of curiosity from the public.

As she explained to us in so good.. magazine 35, her goal is to elevate the world of desserts to the same level of quality and complexity found in the best signature restaurants in the world. We share the interview we conducted with him during our visit, exclusively on our website.

Discover so good.. magazine 35

What’s your assessment of your work at Brix Dessert/Brix Journey? Do you have a stable, regular clientele, or do you rely more on tourists and international customers?

The balance sheet for these years is very positive. We have grown steadily, both in learning and creativity. Each menu has represented a step forward—an evolution in technique, sensitivity, and storytelling—that has allowed us to consolidate our own identity.

At Brix Journey, with our exclusively dessert menu, we are demonstrating that this type of offering has a place and is gaining increasing acceptance. The public is beginning to realize that a sweet tasting menu can be as complete, technically proficient, and emotionally engaging as that of any fine-dining restaurant.

Today, we have a loyal and diverse clientele: residents who have been with us since the beginning and international visitors seeking a unique experience in Dubai. Many return or recommend the experience to their friends, confirming that Brix Journey has found its place and its voice within the region’s culinary scene.

The public is beginning to realize that a dessert tasting menu can be just as complete, technically proficient, and emotionally engaging as that of any fine-dining restaurant

Why do you think it’s so difficult to find other restaurants like yours that focus exclusively on plated dessert tastings? What do you think would be necessary for them to become more common?

There are barely a dozen restaurants in the world dedicated exclusively to desserts, which shows that this type of offering is still risky and uncommon. In our experience, many customers still arrive with a misconception of what a dessert menu entails: they expect something very sweet or heavy, when in reality our approach is based on balance, freshness, and contrast.

At Brix Journey, we play with flavors, textures, and temperatures that not everyone has experienced before. Each dish aims to surprise without overwhelming, demonstrating that pastry can be as broad and complex as savory cuisine.

I believe that for these kinds of concepts to become more common, we must continue to give visibility and space to what we do, through media, magazines, television, and collaborations, so that the public understands that a dessert menu can be a complete, emotional, and profoundly contemporary gastronomic experience.

What creative philosophy and what kind of sweet offerings do you present in each of Brix Dessert’s activities?

Our philosophy rests on several pillars: emotion, technique, flavor, and storytelling.

We strive to make the ingredient the true protagonist, accompanied by a texture that enhances it, allowing it to be seen, felt, and understood, elevating its essence without disguising it. From there, we add emotion—that sensory and cultural connection that makes a dessert transcend mere taste—and finally, the story, which gives meaning and coherence to the menu.

The offerings are always contemporary, with low sugar content, multiple textures, and modern techniques, but without losing the naturalness or the artisanal soul that defines our approach to pastry. We are also creating a small à la carte menu that incorporates dishes designed as mini-experiences. Each dish is accompanied by complementary bites, designed to make the tasting experience more complete, well-rounded, and immersive.

How do you organize your team? Is it a cross-functional team that operates across all the group’s spaces, or is it divided according to each establishment?

At Brix, we work with several teams. One of them is dedicated to Brix Journey and participates in all stages of the process: from menu creation and development, tastings and adjustments, to final service. This team is very involved in the conceptual aspects and the direct experience with the diner.

Another team is in charge of Brix Café and the production of desserts for both the café itself and the other restaurants in the group. For events, we allocate staff according to the needs of each project, as all team members are very versatile and able to adapt to different formats and work paces.

For us, the team is the heart of the company. They are the source of the energy, ideas, and unity that make each project possible. Their commitment and creativity are what keep the Brix spirit alive every day.

Team involvement is fundamental in the search for new ingredients, in generating ideas, and in the evolution of each proposal. The best result appears when everyone understands the ‘why’ of a dessert, not just how to make it

Do you like sharing the creative process with your team or do you prefer to do it alone?

The starting point usually stems from a personal idea, an emotion, a story, or a concept I want to explore. From there, the development becomes collective: it’s a long and enriching process in which the entire team participates and contributes their vision.

Team involvement is fundamental in the search for new ingredients, in generating ideas, and in the evolution of each proposal. The best result appears when everyone understands the ‘why’ of a dessert, not just how to make it. This shared understanding is what transforms a recipe into a meaningful experience.

What is the evolution of the concept you offer at Brix Journey, and what is it like today?

Initially, our concept relied more on technique and visual impact. Today we seek clarity and balance, less artifice and a much greater focus on flavor. The current menu reflects a more mature stage, with a clear emphasis on local produce and a narrative that places Emirati ingredients and the region at the heart of the experience.

We work with native ingredients and revisit historical elements that help the menu grow with meaning, coherence, and creativity. It’s not just about cooking, but about telling the story of the place through flavors.

As usual, we offer two menus: the main menu, centered on the Emirati territory, and The Silk Road, which is proving very popular. In this menu, we invite diners to travel through six countries on a sensory journey full of contrasts, ingredients, and textures.

I believe Brix Journey is a space in constant evolution. With each new stage, more ingredients appear on the table, along with more research and greater creative depth. This continuous search is precisely what keeps the essence of the project alive.

The current menu reflects a more mature stage, with a clear focus on local produce and a narrative that places Emirati ingredients and the land at the heart of the experience

You create desserts, but incorporate elements from savory cuisine. Do you think it’s interesting to dissolve the preconceived barriers between sweet and savory dishes?

Absolutely. The barriers between sweet and savory are, in reality, cultural. In terms of flavor, both worlds complement each other. Acidity, bitterness, or saltiness help to better express the natural sweetness of the ingredients and provide balance and depth.

I’m not interested in mixing flavors for the sake of provocation, but rather in seeking harmony and coherence. I like to think that there is no longer a “sweet cuisine” or a “savory cuisine,” but rather a single cuisine of flavor. For us, ingredients don’t have labels: we use all kinds of products, techniques, and contrasts to create unique experiences that invite diners to rediscover what they understand by dessert.

 Discover these creations by Carmen Rueda in so good.. magazine 35