We are a movement: Dubai raw food expert Ghalia and chef Nabih talk veganism

WHAT EXACTLY DOES it take to have a personal connection in today's world? We are closer to one another than we've ever been in human history. Technology has smoothed away the wrinkles from many aspects of our lives, but it has also distanced us from each other.
But in this chaotic world little corners still exist where one can go to unwind, put one's phones aside and make real connections. One such quaint little corner in Dubai is Little Erth by Nabz & G, tucked away in the middle of JLT.
They might be missing an 'a' in the name (which bothers our OCD a little) but that might be the only thing this cozy eatery is missing. When asked where the little 'a' ran off to, co-founder Ghalia Alul tells us, "We just wanted a unique spelling. Sometimes when you have a unique spelling, it stands out and pops. We just wanted something that creates that kind of question. It's our own kind of earth."
Having won the best Vegan Restaurant - Zomato User's Choice Awards 2018, co-founder Nabih Al Momaiz is quick to say, "We are not a restaurant, we are a movement." As he speaks passionately about how he and Ghalia want to show people that healthy food is not tasteless, bland or boring, Nabih adds, "We want to keep on challenging that perception and that's why we are constantly coming up with new recipes. Everything we do here is created from scratch. We create, we invent and we innovate."
"One of the things that we are very passionate about is sharing. We love to share. And so Ghalia is creating a blog post so that she can share information with people. We do workshops all the time and we invite people to come for free, we bring in different speakers, we talk about mindfulness, of eating healthy, living healthy, so many different things. It's not only your health, it's also about the environment, it's also keeping carbon foot print at a minimum, not consuming plastic, giving water for free. It's a lot of small things, but they all add up. My well-being equals your well-being equals everyone's well being. Everything is connected."
Little Erth's inception
This sacred haven of tranquility and peace came about when Nabih and Ghalia met at the PR agency they were both previously working in and found a shared passion for food and people. Over many conversations, serendipitous meetings and experimenting with food, they began conceptualizing the opening of their own venture.
Little did they know that was the beginning of their journey. From creating an Instagram page and hosting a few episodes of an online TV show, they moved on to feeding staff in their kitchen and then hosting pop-up dinners.
Little Erth was birthed to create the space needed for people to connect. "We wanted this little space as a haven. People come to it and they feel like they belong here. And when they come, it becomes their little home. So it's not only about food, it's about having a space that connects people in a mutual mindset. It's about food, spirituality, loving, positivity, it's about being the best person you can be in this little space. It's weird but once you come in it makes sense," says Nabih.
Ghalia seconds that by saying, "People come in and they always end up sharing tables and introducing each other. It's like a neighborhood."
When they started this concept, Ghalia being a vegan and Nabih mostly a vegetarian, they wanted to focus on leading a healthy lifestyle and how they could translate that through delicious food. "When we created the menu we wanted to create a healthy concept. It wasn't supposed to be labelled as anything. But because of the nature of the food that we were creating we noticed that most of it was coming out as vegan. 90% of our menu is vegan friendly and a lot of people ask us 'Okay, well, you're 90% vegan, why don't you make it 100% vegan?' The idea is to incentivize that small number or people that are still a big number of people who are non-vegan. As soon as you tell them vegan, they cringe. And the idea is to get them to come and try the food. And they try these salmon dishes and slowly they start exploring plant-based food. A lot of people have become regulars, carnivores have become regulars. Because we do have that little open space for them to try the food and by trying salmon they start exploring. And they think this is yummy, I can try this and this and this."
Their mission
Health conscious Nabih and Ghalia are out to change lives. "Our 'why' is very important. Our purpose is not to make money. Money comes as a secondary aspect that will sustain us for life. We want that. But it's not our main goal. Our main goal is to really change people's lives. It sounds so cliché but that's what we want," Ghalia passionately explains.
So how do we go about making this big change? "My biggest advice is to educate yourself. Before you make any step to becoming healthy or transitioning, just ask yourself 'Why am I doing this?' And go online and just do your research," Ghalia declares.
"Because it's about the ripple effect. You educate yourself about what food will give you energy and what food will make you feel good, what are the foods that will sustain your sugar levels and what will not make you hungry. After which you go and buy these foods and you make them. And this is why education is very important. When you educate yourself you're convinced. So you make this decision of 'I'm going to go healthy and then why am I going healthy'. When you make that decision and shift to a healthier diet you feel good. And you dig deeper in to that knowledge. And you learn more and you're convinced more. So it's all about the ripple effect."
Healthy Ramadan
Well into Ramadan, how are we to stay on top of our health game when all we want are easy satisfying meals?
"This is why we made it affordable. Part of us giving back to the community is by making us accessible, inexpensive and delicious.
"I think Ramadan is the perfect time to explore and challenge yourself to lead a healthy lifestyle. Ramadan should be all about health and detoxing. Detoxing from everything: from bad deeds and bad habits. So I think people should educate themselves about transitioning, take it as an opportunity to transition to a healthier lifestyle," says Ghalia.
Most of the Ramadan foods we enjoy, especially the traditional Middle Eastern food is usually some sort of meat dish. Ghalia addresses this when she says, "Our biggest challenge was to veganise the food people are used to. Traditional Middle Eastern dishes like Okra and Stuffed Capsicums are all usually stuffed with minced meat and rice. But people who come from that culture don't even miss the meat because we are using the exact same spices and herbs and everything. It's just missing the meat, but they don't miss it, they don't feel its absence."
Basically that's how good their food is and Ghalia and Nabih proudly assert that Little Erth is the only eatery in Dubai that offers hearty vegan Middle Eastern food.
neha@khaleejtimes.com