Kazakh couple brings global kitchen expertise to Dubai's trending croissant cafe

CRUNCH opened its doors in Dubai with a menu built around miniature hand-rolled croissants and a founding philosophy borrowed from childhood breakfast tables. Behind the café are Mukhtar Kosbayev and Anastassiya, a Kazakh couple whose combined decades in professional kitchens across seven countries have converged on a single, deceptively simple idea: honest food that anyone, including their newborn daughter, could eat.

The croissant cereal is what most people come for first. Dozens of miniature croissants, each requiring 30 to 45 minutes of rolling work per portion, arrive with house-made croissant-infused milk, the milk itself produced from leftover croissants used during recipe testing, baked again before infusion to reduce waste. The inspiration was straightforward nostalgia: the sweet milk left at the bottom of a childhood cereal bowl. What began as a gift for invited guests went viral. Even so, Mukhtar says they chose not to exploit the moment, stating plainly that they did not want to “become greedy.”

Mukhtar’s path to that decision was long. He grew up in Kazakhstan, where his father owned restaurants but initially viewed kitchen work as a mark of failure in the country’s social hierarchy. Mukhtar’s real culinary education came from his grandparents, local bazaars and family recipes, supplemented by professional kitchens he entered in ninth grade, often returning home so exhausted he would collapse on the floor. He persisted, eventually working at acclaimed establishments including Noma and Frantzén before relocating to Dubai.

Anastassiya arrived at cooking differently. Her mother actively discouraged her, joking she would spend her life cooking for family anyway. After her first year studying marketing, Anastassiya walked into a restaurant with no experience and asked to learn. That single act of curiosity led to work across Kazakhstan, London, Moscow and Iceland, where she opened her own culinary studio and an online cooking platform.

The couple met in 2020 at a food festival in Kazakhstan. Mukhtar’s opening move, using an informal nickname, was met with a request for formality. They worked together the following day, made a bet that Mukhtar deliberately lost, and arranged for him to cook at her studio. That dinner became their first date.

By the time they opened CRUNCH, their daughter had just been born. Mukhtar says the timing was intentional: parenthood made him want more control over his schedule. Anastassiya notes, with some humor, that they now work around the clock. Their daughter has become central to menu decisions. The guiding principle is direct: if she can eat it one day, they are willing to serve it to guests. They bring her into the café regularly, describing the restaurant as their “second baby.”

The name itself reflects a conviction about texture. Crunch, they explain, is something people crave whether in perfectly baked bread or a flaky croissant. It is also easy to remember and, they note, genuinely fun to say.

Ingredient sourcing is treated with the same seriousness. Vanilla comes from Madagascar, spices from Sri Lanka, and butter, coffee, milk and matcha are all carefully selected. Mukhtar credits his time at elite restaurants not with teaching him to pursue luxury, but with teaching him attention to detail. The two describe their approach simply as seeking “honest food.”

Meanwhile, the city itself drew them in. Mukhtar had lived in seven countries, including Switzerland, the United States, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden, before first visiting Dubai in May 2023. He felt at home immediately. The café has since welcomed guests from more than 20 nationalities in a single day. Anastassiya describes their vision as creating “a place like a home for people who are far away from their home.” Guests have celebrated birthdays, engagements and marriages at CRUNCH, with other diners often joining in.

Dubai’s dining landscape is unforgiving. World-class restaurants are abundant, which means impressing a first-time visitor is only half the challenge. Securing a return visit is another matter entirely. That pressure has pushed the founders to obsess over details, from handwritten messages to playful signage reading “Welcome Home” and “Habibi, come to CRUNCH.”

On the subject of favorite ingredients, Anastassiya champions vinegar, an underrated staple she once kept in her car. Mukhtar, torn between eggs and bread, ultimately chooses bread for what it teaches: with only flour, water and salt, time and technique produce something remarkable. Whether CRUNCH can sustain its early momentum in one of the world’s most competitive dining cities may depend on whether that same patience holds.