Baky Hospitality, founder of several fine diners and bars in Cairo, has announced that renowned top Chef Reif Othman will be its exclusive culinary advisor, aiming to bring Egypt’s name to an international scale, Invest-Gate reports.
The company, which is behind Sachi and Shinkō restaurants, thrives to take Egyptian hospitality experience to another level by taking such step via renewing all its menus and using mostly local products and ingredients – a mad challenge that is being undertaken by Othman, Baky revealed in a press conference on June 9 in Kazoku at Swan Lake Compound, New Cairo.
Since his work has untimely been seen instrumental in fine-tuning the culinary landscape of Dubai, Monaco, London, Miami, Singapore, and the UAE, Othman will create refined gourmet cooking that alternates between contemporary Japanese cuisine, Mediterranean fusion, and modern Italian dishes, the company underlined.
“When we drove in Cairo, I saw someone grilling corn and frying [sweet potatoes]; this intrigued me. So I thought let’s do something with this, let’s bring the street into the fine world,” he uttered, highlighting that the capital’s food scene would be much better in the upcoming five years.
On the sidelines of the conference, the multi-award-winning international chef exclusively told Invest-Gate that Egypt’s hospitality sector, in general, beholds vast potential to further grow and boom in the future.
Othman was named by Arabian Business the “12th Most Influential Person in Dubai” on the magazine’s “Dubai 100: Most Influential People in the Emirate” in 2017. Moreover, he was credited with kicking off Dubai’s fine dining scene after he becoming in 2019 the regional executive chef of Zuma Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Turkey, while overseeing Miami and Hong Kong. Under his leadership, Zuma Dubai became the only restaurant to make it to the coveted list of “World’s 100 Best Restaurants” in 2012 and managed to keep it for four consecutive years.
As owner and chef of PLAY Restaurant and Lounge, Othman, along with his team, won “Time Out–Restaurant of the Year.” With so many achievements under his belt, he also partnered with Flávio Briatore at Sumosan Twiga in London, Moscow, Monaco, and Dubai, which is basically a restaurant brand that blends Italian signature dishes with contemporary Japanese cuisine.
Egypt-based entrepreneur Ayman Baky founded Baky Hospitality in 2014 and was since then driven to take the hospitality scene in Egypt to international standards, while expanding his company’s interests in all aspects of hospitality, food, and beverage. To this day, its portfolio of establishments counts five establishments: Sachi, Kazoku, Shinkō, Sachi by the Sea, and Lexie’s, featuring many acclaimed international performers.