Anyone heading to next month’s Dubai Lynx festival would be wise to take the lead from Iris Minnema and head out to the desert to relax in the burnt umber landscape.
Iris, who was last year promoted to the position of managing director of DDB Dubai, has lived in the Emirate for over four years and has become something of a local. But Iris has not lost touch of the culture of her native Netherlands – her favourite artist is Rembrandt!
Travel
o Place of birth: Hoorn, The Netherlands
o (Current) Hometown: Dubai, UAE
o Staycation:
Qasr Al Sarab – nothing better to relax the mind than staring at beautiful red desert dunes
o Vacation: Anywhere in Asia; you can find me where there is sun, beautiful nature and good food (spices and chillies make me happy)
o Place of workout: The stairway of my apartment building – I’m on the 24th floor
o Mode of transport: My car
o Miscellaneous Travel Essential: I never leave home without eye drops (those damn contact lenses) and a phone charger
Culture
o Musician: Prince!
o Commercials director: I would love to work with Lance Acord one day
o Film director: Our very own
Ashish Varghese (Producer at DDB Dubai and short film Director)
o Photographer: Erwin Olaf
o Film: So many great films out there – most recent one: ‘The Post’
o Series: ‘The Sopranos’ (best series ever) and ‘Six Feet Under’
o Commercial: This one seems to divide people. Mountain Dew - ‘Puppymonkeybaby’. I love it. How did they sell this to the client?
o Book: ‘
Shantaram’ by Gregory David Roberts. You will want to visit Leopold Café in Mumbai after reading it
o Magazine: Delicious & Marie Claire
Food and Drink
o Restaurant:
Okku (Japanese) in Dubai and
Loetje (steak) in Amsterdam
Loetje
o Cheap bite: Ghee roast masala dosa
o Working lunch: Goat cheese salad
o Dish: Indian, Thai, Sri Lankan or Indonesian curry
o Snack: Banana bread
o Guilty Pleasure: Liquorice. Once I start, I cannot stop eating it
o Tipple: Gin (Hendrick’s) – with tonic and cucumber
o Soft Tipple: Beer, Peroni, Tiger or Heineken
o Miscellaneous Beverage: Diet coke and sparkling water
Kit
o Phone: iPhone 7
o Computer: MacBook Pro
o TV: Sony flat screen, but since moving to Dubai I’ve stopped watching TV
o Headphones: Parrot
o Camera: Canon – since forever
o Sound system: That’s my husband’s thing
o Pen / pencil: Whatever I can grab
o Where you document an idea: MacBook
o Watch: Multiple
o App: Deliveroo ;)
o Miscellaneous Kit Essential: Ray Ban sunglasses