“Dubatsa:” When Dubai Chocolate Meets Greece’s Pie, Bougatsa

Bougatsa, a favorite among Greeks nationwide, has gotten a trendy transformation. The “Dubatsa” combines Greece’s famous rustic pie with Dubai chocolate, the chocolate bar now known worldwide for its pistachio cream filling wrapped in chocolate.

The last thing Greeks lack is creativity, so it didn’t take long for Panayiotis Katselis, a co-owner of a family-owned bougatsadiko, a specialty shop that exclusively sells different types of bougatsa, called “Katselis Bougatsa” in Thessaloniki in northern Greece, to come up with the idea of dubatsa. It’s a name that combines not only the ingredients but also the words “Dubai” and “bougatsa.” 

For years, the shop has sold classic bougatsa with four different fillings—cream, cheese, minced meat, and spinach and cheese. Panayiotis, who is young and well-informed on the latest trends, explains to Greek Reporter that the hardest part was convincing his old-school father and shop owner that his idea of creating a new type of bougatsa based on the viral Dubai chocolate trend would “sell.”

Panayiotis and his marketing team designed and produced his new product for a month. They posted it on social media at the beginning of December, and, soon, dubatsa was not only for sale but also ready to become the latest craze.

“It has become a top-seller,” Panayiotis Katselis says. “Even my father wouldn’t believe it. There are people who come and ask if there’s any dubatsa still available. It is difficult to make, so, by afternoon, it sells out.”

The bakers make large trays of dubatsa every morning. They cut them into individual portions. Each sells for 4.50 euros ($4.73). Locals of all ages have to line up to buy a slice that fuses tradition with modernity the Greek way. It’s traditional airy dough, filled with caramelized and roasted kadaifi (finely shredded phyllo dough), meets chocolate and pistachio praline. The concoction is baked and finally enveloped in white praline and chocolate and sprinkled with Aegina pistachios.

What is the traditional Greek bougatsa?

Bougatsa is found in the undisputed Greek sweet capital, Thessaloniki. You can also find bougatsa in Northern Greece’s Central Macedonia region, particularly Serres, where Greek refugees from Constantinople brought it over in the 20th century.

The taste varies between regions. For example, bougatsa in Veria is very sweet and full of cream, while it is crunchy and not very sweet in Thessaloniki. In Chania, Crete, they make it with local mizithra cheese and sprinkled sugar.

TasteAtlas, a sophisticated online food guide, has recently ranked the Greek bougatsa as the fourth-best breakfast in the world.

Bougatsa is a traditional, rustic Greek pie consisting of a phyllo pastry. However, variations with minced meat or cheese layered with a semolina custard filling exist.

TasteAtlas claims that the dish’s name is derived from the Ottoman word pogatsa, a pie stuffed with cheese. Some social media users dispute this. “The name comes from the Byzantine Greek πογάτσα (pogátsa), from the ancient Roman pānis focācius. Nothing Ottoman about this dish,” says a user on X, formerly Twitter.

Another commenter says that bougatsa is not exactly phyllo. “It contains butter or margarine, and it’s spread differently from phyllo. In Greece, we call it ‘phyllo aeros’ which means ‘airy dough’ because traditionally it’s thrown on the counter and lifted up and thrown again and this creates air pockets.”

Chocolate made in Dubai that caused a worldwide craze

The original Dubai chocolate is a candy bar cleverly called “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” made by Dubai-based Fix Dessert Chocolatier. Founder Sarah Hamouda creates a series of handmade, stuffed chocolate bars, including vanilla custard, caramel and fudge, and Nutella brownies.

However, it is the pistachio cream bar that gave her company traction, along with the actual Dubai chocolate bar. Within months after a famous food blogger posted a viral TikTok video eating the chocolate bar, Dubai chocolate became omnipresent across all social media platforms, and people worldwide have been trying to get their hands on it.

Taking advantage of the high demand, more and more chocolate manufacturers worldwide are launching their versions of Dubai chocolate. The internet is also awash with recipes and Dubai chocolate products, including cosmetics and makeup sold in packages resembling the shape and colors of the scrumptious Dubai sweet.