TAREK IBRAHIM

Certified master chef Founder of Umami restaurants and Company Brand Ambassador Meat & Livestock Australia mla.com.au umami.eg

Simplicity is key

Simple food made well is what’s trendy. Most of the food we serve has been prepared lovingly and doesn't exceed five or six ingredients, including salt and pepper, so it is very important to focus on the craft of making the food and highquality ingredients. Simplicity is key: going back to the old dishes that people were used to seeing and reimagining them without the fuss.

I use natural stocks and glazes made from bones or chicken broth from old and aging chicken, for example. This gives me a very clear stock that I can use to create the deep flavor that I want. People always say how much they like the dish. For example, we do something called porretta chicken. The ingredients in it are very simple, namely soya sauce, a knob of butter, a little onion, some basil and cream sautéed chicken. There are very few ingredients, but people absolutely love it! That is what I want to introduce, not only in Egypt but also in the Middle East in general. I make everything from scratch, although I use foreign ingredients; I would like to emphasize that I do it with “Egyptian hands,” which I am very proud of. When it comes to burgers, I use wagyu beef in my restaurants. It’s a favorite among guests.

Bestselling items

Tenderloin is the most popular cut because people consider it to be tender and nice. I personally disagree, but it still remains the most popular cut, even in my restaurants.

Lamb

Rack of lamb is one of the most popular cuts of lamb. It is small, easy to eat and very tasty. Even though most people in Egypt and Lebanon are not consumers of it, except on special holidays, we still have considerable demand for rack of lamb at the restaurant.

Beyond grass-fed meat

A problem I sometimes face is clients wanting to remove certain items from a dish. I encourage them to keep the items as they are, without touching any ingredients/items, as this avoids altering the essence of the dish. In my view, people need further education, and they need to let the chef do their job because once you amend a plate, you change its whole identity.

Each nation in the Middle East still prefers to consume local meat. There is a gap in this area. Those who understand meat will consume Australian or U.S. meat. The trend nowadays is to consume grassfed meat as it is considered to be more natural. Still, a large number of people are not educated enough when it comes to meat; they are unable to distinguish between the meats’ provenance, or grass-fed beef versus grain-fed beef.