Bait Maryam has been described as an extension of your private home. How do you translate that heat and id into knowledgeable kitchen every single day?
Each morning, I enter Bait Maryam not simply as a chef however as a number welcoming company into my house. From the best way we knead dough to how we greet each visitor, the whole lot we do displays heat, care and true function. Furthermore, my group appears like household, and collectively we prepare dinner with love, honoring our values via each element and dish. Thus, we use each our palms and hearts whereas remembering that behind each dish, there’s at all times a significant private story. Moreover, behind every plate served, somebody is trying to find consolation, and we honor that with intention.
After 4 consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand wins and being named Chef of the Yr, how do you keep grounded within the simplicity of Jordanian-Palestinian cooking?
These recognitions are actually humbling; nonetheless, they by no means alter the essence or the intention behind what I passionately do. I by no means chase innovation merely for its novelty; as an alternative, I try to create that means via authenticity rooted in reminiscence and place. Thus, I usually return to the acquainted flavors of childhood, the scent of my mom’s kitchen, heat and lovingly alive. Furthermore, I draw from methods handed down via generations of resilient girls who formed the culinary id of our area. Finally, my mission has at all times remained clear: to honor our meals’s reality with out ever compromising or altering its sacred soul. For simplicity, when executed with function and care, reveals exceptional depth, emotion and a permanent connection to who we’re.
Your meals bridges reminiscence and id. What story are you most proud to inform via a single dish?
Our akoub tells a narrative of house, resilience and heritage, narratives woven into each fiber of this humble, foraged plant. It grows wild throughout the hills of Palestine and Jordan; making ready it, nonetheless, calls for each meticulous care and quiet endurance. The truth is, it was among the many very first dishes that evoked the whole lot I had left behind and nonetheless carry inside. Furthermore, it serves as a robust hyperlink to my roots, grounding me in reminiscence, tradition and familial traditions lengthy honored. Via it, I join with numerous others who, like me, rediscover items of their previous via the language of meals.
You’ve mentioned Bait Maryam is a promise to hold your roots with satisfaction. How do you guarantee Jordanian flavors stay central in an evolving eating scene like Dubai?
By staying true to who we’re. Dubai celebrates range but in addition calls for authenticity. I make no compromises on substances or strategies. We prepare dinner dishes which can be precisely the best way they’re served on our desk rising up, not as a result of they’re stylish, however as a result of they matter. I take each alternative to coach company on the origins and that means behind every recipe. Once we inform our story with sincerity, the town listens.
As you redefine culinary heritage via Bait Maryam and Sufret Maryam, what does the subsequent chapter of that legacy seem like?
The subsequent chapter is about preserving our culinary traditions whereas thoughtfully passing them on to those that will carry them ahead.
Via Sufret Maryam, we’ve constructed an area that reconnects individuals with the essence of Levantine internet hosting, communal, beneficiant and deeply intimate. Furthermore, I’m dedicated to mentoring the subsequent technology of cooks, particularly girls from our area, providing them visibility and a voice. As a result of true legacy isn’t measured by the variety of branches we open, however by the lives, hearts and palates we contact. In essence, after we nourish others with function and care, we guarantee our story continues, rooted, resilient and profoundly significant.
Do you may have plans to develop?
We’re exploring new areas throughout the area; nonetheless, what excites me most are the seasonal occasions at Sufret Maryam. These gatherings highlight forgotten dishes and neglected traditions from Palestine and Jordan, reviving flavors that need to be remembered and celebrated. Past growth, our deeper focus stays on fostering connection, sharing tales, and serving delicacies that holds historical past, coronary heart and that means. Finally, it’s not nearly the place we develop however how we keep rooted within the soul of our meals tradition.
