Amid Abraham Accords, Dubai chocolate entices

For $29.99, Oh! Nuts sells a kosher, pareve “Dubai chocolate bar,” a “luxurious confection that blends rich tradition with modern indulgence.” Two North Miami Beach sellers, Sweet Tooth and Le Chocolatier, hawk kosher Dubai chocolate, for $12 to $89 and for $20 respectively.

“Joining the Dubai chocolate bar fever is not difficult,” gushed the Orthodox Union Kosher Certification Service’s blog.

What began in 2021 as a TikTok non-kosher phenomenon — chocolate filled with pistachio and knafeh, essentially shredded filo dough — has found its way into the Jewish world. David Meubauei, owner of the kosher, Crown Heights-based ice-cream shop Boozery, calls its Dubai chocolate, which sells for $10, a “delightful blend of creamy and textured bites.”

Meubauei began offering Dubai chocolate last June, “well ahead for the Jewish market,” he said. “I started when it was going viral in the non-Jewish world, and most Jews didn’t know what it was.”

The Dubai-based Fix Dessert Chocolatier debuted the treat, inspired by traditional Arabic sweets. Originally called Can’t Get Knafeh of It, it spread on social media, particularly TikTok. The rebranded “Dubai chocolate” took off in 2024.

“I thought the trend would die within a month or two. I’ve worked with viral food trends before, like the Starbucks unicorn drink, and those never lasted long,” Meubauei said. “But Dubai chocolate is still pumping. People are ordering crazy numbers for Purim.”

Jewish consumers have embraced Dubai chocolate because of its familiar flavors, according to Meubauei.

“The funny thing is, Jews don’t do well with unfamiliar flavors. They like what they like,” he said. “The ingredients in Dubai chocolate, like pistachio and knafeh, are flavors that Persian and Syrian Jews already know from baklava and other Middle Eastern desserts. It fits nicely within the Jewish community.”

Meubauei is skeptical about how much longer the trend will last.

“I’m definitely looking for the next viral thing, but right now, people love that I’m making these trends kosher,” he said.