Behind electric blue lacquered wooden doors and amid the hubbub of Zamalek, the island neighbourhood in the centre of Cairo, is a tiny yet vibrant culinary hub offering Egypt?s most traditional street food dishes, with a gourmet spin.
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Z??ba, the brainchild of Chris Khalifa and Moustafa El Refaie, opened its doors earlier this year and on the menu is sandwiches of foul with sojou? sausages, aged Egyptian cheese, koshari and plenty of fried falafel, better known locally as ta?amia. All are served, amongst many other dishes, with a special blend of spices and dips such as red pepper hummus, to customers who sit at the restaurant?s one communal table, crowding the small but brightly coloured space.
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Underfoot are handmade mosaic tiles reminscent of those used in 19th century old Egyptian homes and behind a counter where large vats of koshari are being prepared, a sculpture wall of glazed tiles, maintains the restaurant?s vibrancy.
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Though food carts are regularly scattered within any neighbourhood throughout Egypt, Z??ba differs with its efforts to offer those much loved dishes to people on the go from a kitchen that strives for innovation, creativity and a hearty dose of wholesomeness.
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Khalifa and Refaie don?t pretend to have invented the concept of street food, but certainly Z??ba is one of the first places in Egypt to offer a gentrified version in a setting that is hip, bright and contemporary.
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?I spent years looking for the perfect location for a concept food store,? explains Khalifa. ?I wanted to re-instill the value of what was considered to be local and traditional in our food culture. It was something that had been previously lost.?
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Simply, Z??ba is redefining Egyptian street food by producing it with the freshest ingredients available, taking old staid recipes and reworking them to incorporate spices or flavourings that are locally inspired but have never been paired together. Such is the case with the areesh ? a kind of cottage cheese ? made into a sandwich with cumin, orange zest and honey. The bread comes in its regular form as well as pink or green varieties that have been hand-flavoured with beetroot or spinach and that nestle comfortably in small basket frames of latticed wood.
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Jostling for space n the shelves are home-made pickles of artichokes, beetroots, cherry tomatoes and kumquat fruits sitting in large, fat jars. On the drinks menu is strawberry and basil juice as well as traditional mango and asab (sugar cane). For snacks there is asaliya, a molasses-honey candy stick.
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As well as filling numerous empty bellies and satisfying many cravings, Z??ba is also helping people regain a sense of cultural pride. ?Over the past twenty years what was valued in Egypt was international cuisine and international franchises,? says Khalifa. ?But if you were to visit Lebanon, for instance, the source of pride there for the Lebanese is what?s local and part of their food scene. The same could be said for the Moroccans and Syrians who take pride in their national cuisine. I wanted to reintroduce that here in Egypt.?
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Although creating a street food concept had always been a dream for Khalifa, a former banker at EFG Hermes, it wasn?t until he met Refaie, a chef formally trained in the United States that his dream became a reality.
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?My initial idea was to create a koshari restaurant and not an Egyptian street food concept, so when I met Moustafa we developed the ideas together and clarified what we were really offering and presenting . When I found the store, I quit my career in banking,? he says.
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Refaie had an extensive career as an executive chef in upscale hotels and restaurants and although he admits that when he started he didn?t know the difference between many of the pastas or spices he had to work with, he quickly became an expert.
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?When I came back to Egypt I had never cooked Egyptian cuisine,? he recalls. ?I?d always had a dream of working and cooking Egyptian food but I didn?t know how to put that dream together until I met Chris.?
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The success of Z??ba is due to the duo?s creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, but it is also a relatively easy sell considering that Egyptian food has many merits. It is versatile; it can be light for summer meals or warm and rich for winter dinners. Additionally, it is reliant on many vegetarian and vegan recipes and as such, can accommodate those with different dietary requirements or food preferences. Finally, almost no Egyptian food exists abroad in the manner and style that locals are familiar with, making it an undiscovered cuisine for the international market.
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The challenge, however, has been in the production process. The pair spent a lot of time and energy finding traditional recipes from different parts of the country and sourcing people skilled and knowledgeable enough to execute them. Egyptian cuisine is somewhat muddled, a variety of dishes with various origins are considered traditional on the Egyptian menu. On how they determine what recipes to work on, Khalifa says: ?we don?t really know what?s indigenous to Egypt because so much has been introduced and we?re not always clear on the historical provenance of some of the fruits and vegetables but we?re integrating ingredients into our food concepts as they become standards in Egyptian cuisine.?
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To populate potential future kitchens and outlets, Z??ba is currently comprised of around 30 people most of whom are certified chefs, the pair are attempting to make future expansion both locally and abroad as efficient as possible. They are also expanding the menu under Refaie?s watchful eye. ?I want to develop an artichoke salad and infuse that with karkad? (hibiscus flower) dressing both for colour and flavour. I will boil it down into a sort of syrup for a kick or tang and then use it to give the artichoke colour. I am also thinking about dessert wraps with tehina, halawa (sesame paste), eshta (cream), honey and perhaps creating chocolate truffles combined with these toppings,? he says conjuring up the mouthwatering creations as he speaks.
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Creativity abounds and helps the entrepreneurs overcome the small operational kinks. As for the future, they are both excited about the possibilities for Z??ba. ?From sourcing seasonal produce, creating new recipes, to writing a book, there?s a lot of room to play,? concludes Refaie.
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Source: http://www.brownbook.me/eat-like-an-egyptian-4/
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