Ramadan in UAE: 4 chefs talk about how food saved them, transformed their lives

Food has the power to do more than just satisfy hunger; it can be transformative; here's why. Four UAE-based female chefs served up an array of their best dishes at an Iftar gathering while sharing heartwarming stories of how they found their passion in cooking. From returning to school after giving birth to finding solace in it during dark times, food transformed these women's lives in more ways than one.

Here is how an evening hosted by Talabat that brought together beautiful inspiration, delicious food and stories of women following their dreams unfolded:

Starting to blog to keep a recipe index for her friends, Zahra Abdalla quickly found herself enjoying the process. However, when she went through several difficulties in life, food became her therapy. “Food really helped me,” she said. “It became my happy place during difficult times. I saw this a lot during Covid too when cooking became the solace to a lot of people during some very dark times. Several of them reached out to me asking for advice and recipes during the lockdown.”

Since then, Zahra has launched several cookbooks, hosted TV shows, won awards and launched her line of frozen food. The mother of three also visited prisons in Dubai, where she talked about food memories and collected 30 recipes from prisoners that were then published as a book. Her dish of Fesenjoon with Persian rice and pomegranate salad was a reflection of her half-Iranian heritage.

An architect by profession, Chef Renee Kachmar was the favourite aunt Roro at whose house everyone wanted to hang out because of the food she cooked. Finally, at the insistence of her friends and family, she launched her restaurant. According to her daughter, she follows her architectural precision even in her plating. She served up a dish of Fish Siyadeyah at the Iftar.

Enrolling in her bachelor’s degree after the birth of her fourth child, Rima Eid was on course to becoming an interior designer when an incident changed her life. “My daughter had an international day at her school, and I made Musakhan rolls,” she said. They were such a huge hit that she got inundated with calls and orders. The rest was history as she launched Msakhanwbas. Her single serving of Musakhan Fatteh at the Iftar was an instant hit.

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