I first came to hear of Dubai chocolate when a dear friend gave me a bar for my birthday a few weeks ago.
Normally, I don’t do flick-flacks for chocolate of any kind, but this Dubai version was nothing short of celestial.
What makes this chocolate quite unlike any I have tasted is the magical pistachio filling, rather like a peppermint crisp — and then the flavours just melt in your mouth.
Knysna may just be a small coastal town on the Garden Route, but it is always impressive to see how quickly world fashions or fads get here.
When Birkenstock clogs became a thing, they were quickly available in local shoe boutiques.
When Hästens beds from Sweden became a world-phenomenon because of the millions they cost and the celebrities who sleep on them, Knysna got a showroom and store, along with stores in Cape Town and Sandton — the only three in Africa.
It should be no surprise then that this nutty chocolate is popping up everywhere, albeit pricey.
It can now be found at our Woolies, other mainstream grocery stores, and anybody who sells chocolate can’t ignore it.
One place in particular deserves a mention for its attention to Dubai chocolate and that is the newly revamped Knysna Food Lover’s Market, which opened new and grander premises earlier in 2025.
My friend told me she found my chocolate here, and so I went hunting.
To my amazement there is a whole little section in the store devoted to confectionery and I watched a chocolatier working her magic with homemade chocolates.
There is even a sign on the counter saying “chocolate production under way” and “Dubai chocolate made here”.
LOCAL STOCKIST: Hah, a box of Dubai chocolate found at 34South! (ELAINE KING)
Most media houses have written about the meteoric rise of this delicacy.
The Financial Times makes mention of a global pistachio supply crunch owing to its popularity in chocolate-making now — and how prices of the green nut have soared accordingly.
How it all came about, according to various sources, is this milk chocolate filled with pistachio cream was launched in 2021 by boutique Emirati chocolatier FIX.
Then, in the way of the world now, a TikTok video was posted in 2023 and by late 2023/early 2024 the bar exploded into internet fame.
The key driver of this first video on TikTok was an influencer by the name of Maria Vehera, who was seen breaking the bar and devouring it.
This clip garnered tens of millions of views and fuelled a worldwide craze for pistachio-filled chocolate.
The US is the biggest pistachio producer and Iran the second largest.
According to the Financial Times, Iran exported 40% more pistachios to the United Arab Emirates in the first six months of 2025 than the whole of 2024.
The magic chocolate is popping up all over the world and people can’t get enough of it.
In SA, while Dis-Chem was quick off the mark to stock the first Dubai chocolates in the country in November 2024 with a hefty price tag, other grocery stores have followed suit, though it should be noted it’s not yet ubiquitous like a standard Kit Kat or Bar One.
While most supermarkets and some gourmet stores stock it, don’t bank on finding it on all supermarket shelves.
The origin is fascinating. The Smithsonian Magazine says this bar of chocolate was invented in Dubai (hence the name) by Egyptian engineer-turned-entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda in 2021.
The story goes she was pregnant and craving something unusual.
Hamouda imagined a chocolate bar filled not just with cream, but inspired by the Middle Eastern dessert knafeh (which is shredded filo pastry, nuts and syrup) combined with pistachio and tahini.
Wikipedia says Hamouda teamed up with a Filipino pastry chef, Nouel Catis Omamalin, to refine the idea, and the result was a filling of pistachio-tahini cream plus chopped shredded filo strands inside the white chocolate shell.
Their first commercially sold version in 2022 in Dubai had the name “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” and it was sold in tiny hand-made bars.
The recipe was never patented though and it would seem the name has become generic and there are many versions of it around the world; the one common thread being the pistachio filling.
A casing of milk chocolate is filled with a mix of pistachio, tahini and the knafeh.
A What’s on in Joburg online article in April 2025 reported: “South Africans no longer have to wait to taste the viral Dubai-style chocolate as Lindt SA just confirmed the brand will release its own variety on May 2.
“The Swiss chocolatier launched its own version of Dubai-style chocolate with great success, as shoppers have been clearing the shelves of the newest food craze.”
Lindt’s Dubai Style Chocolate is made with the finest Swiss chocolate and features a luxurious 45% pistachio filling.
There are two exquisite varieties, including slabs which you’ll find at Lindt Boutiques, such as the one at Mall of Africa and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Go hunting online and you will find them.
I spoke to some boutique chocolate-makers on the Garden Route and one chocolatier told me she would not be making Dubai chocolates because of the expensive pistachio filling.
“It’s all the craze now, but very expensive.
“The other thing is these chocolates need to be eaten soon after they have been made so they are crunchy.
“If you leave them too long, even a few days, then the filling goes soggy and then they aren’t so special any more.”
No need for Fomo (fear of missing out) though, because I know I will find Dubai chocolate at 34 South, our favourite Knysna retail space adjoining the restaurant.
They specialise in an imported range of delicacies from the UK, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. Of course they have these special bars.
The Herald
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