Hey everyone

So I know I have been a little scarce lately, however I have a really good excuse for not blogging… Well as you know, this past Sunday the 2nd of April, it was Jozi’s first ever Halaal Food Expo!!! Whoop, Whoop! Just saying it was no April fool’s joke it happened & it happened with a BANG!

 

All of the hype & excitement over social media got people of Jozi-land counting down the days. Say the words “Halaal Food” together & its a definite that everyone in town was going to be there. A place for us Muslim’s to finally go to indulge in & not care what ingredient has the big H sign (Halaal).

 

As Chef Thyme’s Food Blogger, I was planning to go to the event & just pile on those calories from all that new talent Jozi has to offer. Until, a comrade Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia approached me to do a cooking demonstration show at the event. I must admit, I was in my element! With the help from the Almighty, the love & support from my man Mohammed Patel, my Parents, Family & friends Alhamdulilah it was time for Chef Thyme to do our thing! Inspire people to learn our life’s motto “Anyone can cook!”

 

The man behind the brains of this project was Abdul Haq AKA the husband of Aunty Shagufta, along with his team & all the food exhibitors present, it was no surprise the Halaal Food Expo attracted a crowd of over 15 500 visitors at the expo! A new “ERA” was born!!!

The first of many halaal food expo’s to come! Thanks to all young effort put together for this great initiative & with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. Networking was phenomenal this weekend. I got to meet such extraordinary young, skilful & passionate cooks that I had no idea were out there! It was inspirational watching these enthusiast working with such effort towards their life goals, to start a business & do what they love.

 

At 9 am the doors were open to the public & all the food exhibitors were ready for action. The time slot was called “Breakfast for bloggers” of course I was there! I was not going to miss tasting new inventiveness. Moulana Ebrahim Bham was also present and read the opening Dua. People from the food stalls owners, to the visitors all just stood still & lifted their hands in prayer for a moment that was given to remember our Creator Allah SWT.

 

There were many artistic cooks serving their specialties at their stalls just to mention a few:

 

My first stop was to @ZaatarandZeal” a pop up store with a fancy name. I had the opportunity to meet Nabeela the founder of her company who specializes in artisan dips & deli items. A wife & mother, Nabeela juggles it all, an inspiring young woman, dedicated & motivated to keep her business on a roll! With the creativity & passion she possess alongside a sense of humour that just made me draw to her liking. But that was not all…Her delightful
eats she prepares are made with only the freshest ingredients from breads, to meat slices, to pesto’s & dips of flavorful varieties. All made by herself & than packaged in these cute little glass jars with her company logo sticker on the lid.

Nabeela offered me a breakfast sandwich & I was wowed! A loaf slice with hummus spread, pressed beef, mazavar issa, pesto, babaghanoush…So many elements that compliment each other by taste the minute I took my first bite. A breakfast so healthy & clean that afterwards, I just felt so good on the inside. Thanks Nabeela, awesome stuff & all the best to Zaatar & Zeal!

 

 

My weakness…Cheesecakes! No need to say more because it’s Sin free @Synnfree Cheesecakes by Sajeda Rasool. I had my eyes on her cheesecakes! Some really good-looking stuff she had constructed there & they could talk too…Every time I walked pass, they were calling my name “Eat me! Eat me!” Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to taste it 😦 During the afternoon Sajida managed to find me in the crowd & asked me, “If I had tasted her cheesecakes?”. Because at that time she was all sold out. She than offered to send for me a delivery of cheesecakes soon! Super sweet Sajeda & absolutely thoughtful, I can’t imagine her cheesecakes.

 

 

Have you ever seen guys pull it off without a woman’s hand in it…@Treestumpsofficial a team of young dudes! I was amazed of how incredible & on the ball they had things going. Firstly they built their own pizza clay oven by hand & placed it on a wooden trailer, which was really stylish & pimped up. Impressive as I am a fan of DIY projects. What was fantastic to see is how these guys make a perfect wood fire pizza, in a handmade clay oven & ooofff you already know you are in for a treat just by the smell itself. A few varieties of Pizza to choose from & really decently priced too.

 

Pure butter pastry @Farm_style_pastry

Pastry made from scratch. A company based in Lenasia but the thing that I am glad to have tasted was their Chaat. The picture does not do justice to it because what goes on in your mouth is a burst of flavours that just blew me away! In the foil container is how they served it, with the bottom layer being fried pirr, topped with chickpeas, a drizzle of tamarind sauce, with a dash of spice for that kick & garnished with sweet pomegranates to cool the palate. Simply innovative!

 

 

Piece-a-cake @pieceacakeconfectionary by Haseena Motala, currently a student pastry chef & already an established baking company. She hosted the first demo for the day at 10:30am to teach an audience how to ice a cake along with the correct techniques of tempering chocolate in the microwave. Very few people can that right! However she showcased her skills, tips & tricks of how to do it all & it is as easy as a piece-a-cake! Well done Haseena.

 

 

The name of this company says it all & it’s exactly the truth when you taste their ice-cream…it’s a definite I love you at the end
@Icecream.iloveyou. People were piling up at this store no matter what time of day it was. I felt like a little kid in a candy store watching those guys do their thing pouring the custard on large frozen plates, slicing up the flavours inside, mixing it together & than scrapping it of the plate forming these ice-cream rolls. A fresh, soft, soothing taste of perfection is what I describe it as. My next order will be a bucket load! Totally cool! Absolutely inventive & creative.

 

 

The Ahsan store in Fordsburg @ahsanapparel famously known for their fancy mens & boys thobes along with accessories that go with it. Currently the owner Mohammed & his wife Zaahira Patel are set to bring in the home ware section with products from the smeg line. They have started a mocktail bar serving a variety of unusual, enlivening & refreshing drinks. Or you could purchase their syrups in a set of 12 different variety of flavours. I had some shots & asked to top it up as I won’t be driving,lol. Great Job to Mr & Mrs Zaa 😉

 

 

The second show for the day was by…Chef Thyme’s very own Chef Tasneem Saith, that’s me!

 At 13:15pm the crowd was filling up, I must say I had a fantastic audience, so game & interested to see “What the chef is cooking!”. In a nutshell, I made pasta from scratch with a dough made from only flour & eggs. Calling up my enthusiastic audience I had two volunteers to help me hold the dough as I pressed it through the pasta machine to roll out super thin. Using the attachment cutter I cut tagliatelle pasta & then left to it to dry on a pole. With a batch I had already made earlier that morning there was no need to wait & I was already onto the next step-boiling the pasta. The great thing about fresh pasta is, it literally boils for 3 minutes until “Al dente” an Italian term meaning ‘Firm by the Bite’ & that’s when we know your pasta is cooked. After which I tossed them in a pan of a spicy garlic & tomato sauce, placed in a mould to plate, topped with sauté mushrooms, a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese & served with a fresh basil pesto.

The audience applauded me, in less than a hour pasta was made from scratch. Most of the crowd came forward, grabbed forks to savour my dish & gave huge compliments. Alhamdulilah! I will however post a separate page on how to make your own pasta from scratch, so watch this space!

 

Last but not least the final show for the day was by a health doctor from Durban Dr Bakers. Dr gave medical advice on weight loss & how to redesign your body from face to feet. Also demonstrating how to make a healthy butter chicken dish.

 

Over all for the first halaal food expo in Johannesburg, I have to give my hat off to the team & to all the food exhibitors they managed to pull it off even with that unexpected crowd! Our youth has great aptitude & charisma in the faculty of food. We will be seeing all these food industries a lot more often nowdays & all the best for the future!

 

Okay so guess what? I have to share this thrilling news right now!  I just got informed that the word is out…The Halaal Food Expo Team is now jet setting of to conquer Cape Town & Durban by storm.

Coming soon near you! Looking forward to it!

Chef Tasneem Saith