(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian Chef Mohamed al-Khalidi, has won, at an international festival held in France recently, the award of Best Refugee Chefs in the World.
The World Restaurant Award has created this award to welcome refugees, and to speed the integration of the refugee chefs.
The winners were selected by a judging panel of 100 members, including journalist, influential figures, and culinary professionals from 37 countries around the world.
Al-Khalidi, 39, told Zaman al-Wasl that the competition was centered on the food system approach. He was awarded the first prize as he succeeded in transforming the Syrian restaurant into a modern international kitchen, which, in a way, represents Syria by going back to the traditional techniques of our inveterate cuisine.
“This year’s focus has been on the best restaurant with the least waste, that depends on certain regulations in eating systems and that has the best vision for the world of catering,” said the young chef, who, within few years of his refuge in France, has gained international fame. This is what the restaurant he manages with his French partners has achieved in Paris.
Amongst the events were the nomination of the chefs who had influenced the host culture, and he was awarded best immigrant chef in the world.
Al-Khalidi called on the refugees not to lose hope and to plant the seeds everywhere and wait for the harvest.
This award is not for myself, it is for Syria and for the Arabs in general, he said.
Over the past years, al-Khalidi has been able to transfer Syrian and Arab cuisine to international forums and to the world’s most important capital for fashion, food and services.
He expressed his hope that this achievement would be a message for young people to start building and planting for the time of harvest.
Al-Khalidi studied Tourism and Hotel Management in Damascus.
He owned a famous restaurant in the capital before the war drove him to find a refuge in France where a new journey of success has started and has brought him to the ranks of famous chefs in Europe and the world.
Driven by the desire to be a professional Syrian food ambassador, he has cooked alongside renowned international chefs.
In fact, He has worked with leading chefs in France and the world, including Michel Troisgros, who holds three Michelin stars and whose restaurant is considered one of the top three restaurants in the world. Bernard Reeb whose French restaurant is listed number 35 amongst the best restaurants in the world, Stephen Jacqueau, dean of professional chefs and Olivier Golognet, a three-star Michelin chef.
This prompted the Paris municipality to place his picture in front of the Louvre museum as an example of the refugees’ capacity to adapt, to integrate and to give unlimitedly.
By Faris al-Rifai
Zaman Al Wasl
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