DUBAI: A Dubai restaurant has taken an unusual approach to marketing by turning its staff into actors.
Bocasu, a Japanese-inspired dining concept in Al-Quoz, Dubai, has launched “BocaShow,” a 10-episode scripted comedy-drama series on YouTube featuring its own team playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Billed as the first hospitality concept in the UAE to create and produce its own scripted series, the project stars chef Yu Hasegawa, operations manager Izza and other members of the Bocasu team, alongside guest appearances from renowned MMA coach Javier Mendez, UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem and Emirati fighter Hadi Omar Al-Hussaini in Season 1, with Season 2 on the horizon.
For Bocasu founder and CEO Tim Albermann, the idea was born from a desire to move beyond conventional restaurant advertising.
“Because most restaurants focus on traditional marketing tactics, we wanted to do something genuinely different,” he said. “If someone watches the show, we want to be top of mind in a specific way. Not just ‘let’s go to Bocasu,’ but ‘let’s go meet Chef Yu’ or ‘let’s go see Izza.’
“Storytelling is now equally as important as the quality of the food and service itself, and that will only grow. Guests don’t only remember what they ate. They remember how they felt,” he added.
The series traces the transformation of a warehouse in Al-Quoz into the restaurant that exists today. Rather than creating an entirely fictional narrative, the show reimagines real events that took place during the venue’s development and launch.
“It wasn’t invented from scratch,” Albermann said. “It was a re-enactment of what actually happened during the build. Real events, real people, real decisions, given a shape.”
According to Albermann, the filming process also had a profound impact on staff morale and confidence. While most of the team had little or no on-camera experience, he said they quickly embraced the project and discovered unexpected talents for improvisation and performance.
“Getting into the rhythm of filming took time. But we were all surprised, genuinely surprised, by the talent that came out. The improvisation, the instincts, the moments no one planned. That was the best part,” he said.
A second season is already in production, while Bocasu is also developing an original anime series inspired by its Japanese identity, further blurring the line between hospitality and entertainment.