Students and staff at five schools served by Independents by Sodexo discovered something quite different on the menu when a chef from the Middle East paid a visit.
Dishes such as beef koftas, chicken biryani, vegetable salona and Yemeni rice awaited inquisitive students, along with fattoush, tabouleh and green avocado salads, topped off with a dessert called um ali.
Beirut-born Bilal Eido, pictured left with George Spanos sous chef from Caterham School, is an experienced chef who works in the United Arab Emirates, brought the dishes to school on his first-ever visit the UK in March.
It was all part of Sodexo’s annual global chef programme which is designed to give students a taste of another culture while exposing the company’s chefs to new techniques and flavours.
Bilal said his passion for cooking began at an early age and it has been his career for the past 20 years at exclusive restaurants, hotels and catering companies throughout Syria, Doha (Qatar) and Lebanon.
Posted by Independents
