WHEN friends' passion transforms into a unified vision, and then is cemented by their collective commitment the result is a business venture that's rooted in tradition while reliving culinary delights. A group of friends, 22 of them, unified by one shared interest: traditional homemade cooking, pooled in their expertise in various areas to form Akel Awal, meaning ‘Food of the Old Days'. The 22 partners, including 5 main chefs, formed Akel Awal a catering business that values tradition and builds on it — meaning the partners are ready to evolve with the times their craft. Going by the motto “Arabian food of the old days with a modern flavor”, Akel Awal offers a variety of traditional cuisines from different regions of Saudi Arabia by female chefs. The five chefs Hanaa Habib, Rajaa Abuljadayel, Samia Matbouli, Jameela Al-Suwaini, and Iqbal Kanaan don their cooking caps to serve up a traditional fare. Together they create a rich blend of authentic Arabian cooking, namely Hijazi, Najdi and Southern dishes. While the women's commitment to excellence of reviving tradition through food is the driving force, it is the partners' willingness to embrace innovation — techniques, information and ideas — that has helped establish their business. The 22 women of different occupations joined forces to set up the business enterprise, allocating themselves between administering, marketing, public relations, and accounting. When asked about their experience since its establishment 4 months ago, founder Dr. Huwaida Jamalellail said, “Having all ladies do their share in the partnership has created genuine loyalty and trust among the group. What I love about this business is working as a team.” She added, “The most important component is the passion we have for cooking. We have been learning different recipes from each other.” Abrar Bakhsh, in charge of marketing, said, “It's been a great group of friends working together and the ladies cook delicious food. Our customers say they can tell the food is made with love.” FOOD Jamalellail explained the popular Hijazi dishes are mutabbag, ‘aish abu lahm, farmoza, manto, kabab miro, and others. For dinner, the taateema is an assortment of cheese, olives, pickles, jams, fool beans, taamiya, among other things. She further added that one of the main spices used in the Hijaz region is the duggah, a blend of spices made with lemon salt and black salt, giving it its unique taste. BUSINESS As a catering business, Akel Awal also serve banquets to all sorts of occasions, ranging from a small group dinner to a large feast. So far their customers are mostly Saudis. Jamalellail said, “The West imposed their hamburgers and pizza and a lot of junk food on us. The younger generation is not familiar with their traditional food anymore. Our goal is to bring back Saudi cooking back into people's lives because it's wholesome, healthy, and of good quality.” She said, “We've got the ideas, the food, and the business plan. What we lack is further sponsorship. We're moving forward but we want a boost to leap forward towards our dream,” she added. Akel Awal is currently running a restaurant at the historic Jeddah Festival during the month of Ramadan. With the nostalgic vibes at the Balad district, people can enjoy the taste of the old days in a cozy setting.
