From Spirits to Sustainability: Maher El Tabchy at the Gulf Bar Show

At the inaugural Gulf Bar Show held at Madinat Jumeirah, Maher El Tabchy, founder of Tabchilli and former Diageo veteran, took the stage to deliver a powerful session titled “Sustainability & Fermentation: Turning Bar Waste into Value.”

Bringing with him over a decade of experience in the liquor industry, Maher shared hard-won insights into how bars can transform food waste-like citrus peels, fruit scraps, coffee grounds, and herb stems-into probiotic-rich, flavor-forward ingredients using fermentation.

From Diageo to Dubai Ferments

Before founding Tabchilli, Maher spent 10+ years inside the global drinks powerhouse Diageo, giving him deep knowledge of bar operations, beverage trends, and what really happens behind the scenes. That background fueled his unique take on sustainability-not as a buzzword, but as a practical, profitable movement.

In front of bartenders, bar owners, and beverage innovators from across the region, he challenged the audience to:

• Rethink “waste”: What’s thrown out daily could be the base for next-gen mixers, syrups, kombuchas, or house ferments.
• Use fermentation to not only preserve ingredients-but enhance flavor, gut-health functionality, and story behind the glass.
• Shift from purely alcoholic offerings to functional, probiotic beverages that serve both the planet and the consumer.

Key Takeaway:

“Fermentation is not just for chefs or health nuts- it belongs behind the bar.
If we can turn cabbage into kimchi, we can turn your citrus scraps into a gut-friendly mixer that’s good for people and the planet.” Maher El Tabchy

Why It Mattered

This was more than a talk. It was a call to action. The GCC’s hospitality industry is growing fast-but so is its waste. Maher used the platform to inspire a new mindset: one where bars become labs of sustainability, and flavor doesn’t come at the expense of the Earth.

With Tabchilli, he’s already building that future-one jar, one ferment, one gut at a time.