“WHEN WE EAT, AT VALU CAFE”
Written by Reem Khamis Photos by Aziz
Hosting is an intimate personal experience. Every table set is a manifestation of your persona and the image you hope to cast to the outside world. To set a table and build a menu is a heartfelt endeavor reflecting your tastes, your intentions towards your hosts, whose selection is a delicate balancing act to ensure a steady flow of conversation, an overflow of warmth and strong connection.
All thoughts we took to heart and mind as we approached the task to curate not one, but three uniquely diverse tables for our hosts at the “WHEN WE EAT at Valu Cafe” experience this past Tuesday, 17th December.
Our hosts were Plug & Play Country Director for Egypt Karima El Hakim, Author of Cairo Eternal Mai Eldib, and Voy!Voy!Voy! Director Omar Hilal. Three strangers to one another, who ended the day as the fastest of friends. The inspiration we drew from them, led to the curation of three distinct brunch experiences all taking place simultaneously at the cafe.
While all guests lingered around a decadent grazing table to start, and enjoyed the same sides and salad custom-developed by the cafe’s operators Ralph’s German Bakery, each table experienced the panuozzo in a slightly different light through signature recipes developed with our hosts.
Karima’s table, like the hostess herself, was a breath of fresh air scented with flowers and decorated with toy penguins. Coming from the serious and fast-paced fintech industry, the penguins, a subtle nod to her instagram handle, showed off her lighter side.
Touches of clay pottery, chrysanthemums and colorful floral tableware from local designer Kin Suki completed the setting. Her panuozzo, aptly titled ‘Commes des Italiens’, touched on her interpretation of the quintessential Italian snack: Buffalo mozzarella, confit cherry tomatoes, smoked chicken, basil, arugula and pesto.
Mai’s motto is “more is more, less is a bore”. Her table was a maximalist extravaganza of multi-colored hydrangeas courtesy of flowerbar, artichokes, delicate glass mushrooms by maison 825 and, once more, beautiful tableware by Kin Suki.
Her panuozzo ‘za’atar eskandarani’ drew from her Alexandrian roots: Seasalt’s white anchovies drenched in a fresh tomato sauce with confit garlic, red chili, olive oil and (in her words) lots of za’atar [thyme].
On the complete opposite end of the design spectrum, Omar's table was sleek, elegant and minimalist. White table cloth, white plates, white orchids in white vases, and the faintest hints of green spread throughout. Contrarily, his panuozzo was anything but minimalist. ‘The Jaipur’ is an ode to his love for Indian cuisine.
Omar Hilal on his inspiration for hosting:
The most avid cook of the trio, Omar loves to cook a hearty curry, which we translated into his signature recipe: Tandoori chicken, indian pickled onions, quick-pickled cucumbers (2 hours max, he insisted), coriander, raita and mango chutney.
To ensure the intimacy of the experience, the guest list was curated by the hosts themselves. Each inviting eight of their own friends, family and colleagues to join their table. Conversations ranged from art and film to tech, business and more, with guests and hosts eventually foregoing their “assigned seating” to mingle with everyone present.
Once the tables were cleared and the guests were off to conquer the remainder of their day, our hosts gathered for a roundtable discussion to reflect on the experience. Building on the joint platform launched by Flavor Republic Ventures and Valu during Cairo Food Week 2024, our hosts partook in a “Conversation That Adds Valu”.
They discussed everything from their initial reactions at being approached to host, to the very personal inspirations behind their curations all the way to the conversations and experiences that bring value to their tables.
Finally, one last question remained, “when we eat, we…”. For all three hosts, the most prominent thought was that ‘When we eat, we connect”.
We slow down, set down our devices, disconnect from the digital world to reconnect with the real one. When we eat, we bond, we share and we appreciate the company and intimate moments that can only happen around a table when we eat.
A special thanks is due to the incredible local artisans and producers who contributed to the curation of each table. Maison 825, Mosha Home and Rentals, Kin Suki, Flowerbar and Seasalt.
