A couple of days ago I had the honor of attending Baky Hospitality’s first press conference. The conference was held to announce the addition of a special team member to the F&B giants namely; Chef Reif Othman.

As soon as I walked into Kazoku – Baky’s flagship restaurant – where the conference was held, I was quite impressed by the very professional setup. Baky Hospitality do not outsource their PR and everything was done by their dream marketing team. The lovely ladies that make up that team were very friendly, helpful and inspiring.

First we got a chance to chat with the legendary founder; Mr. Ayman Baky, over some of Baky’s own Italian wine brand; Alesana. Baky was incredibly humble and fun to talk to… Which answered the question in my head about why the hashtag slogan #BeHumble was chosen to represent the event.

After that we listened to Chef Reif’s story of how he joined the company and got great insights to his plans for all 5 brands as the new Culinary Advisor of Sachi, Kazoku, Lexie’s, Shinko and Sachi by the Sea.

Finally came the moment that all the invitees had been waiting for… The food!

First we were presented with a very fine platter of the best nigiri sushi along with some maki rolls created by Chef Reif. He had mentioned that he did not need to change much about the menu of Kazoku because it was already quite strong, instead he simply made some very fine tweaks and adjustments to elevate and diversify the flavors of the existing items. The Salmon Tataki was dressed in tangy, ponzu-like sauce with subtle herb notes that really awakened our palates.

The sushi was followed by an Asian interpretation of the classic Waldorf Salad. The salad consisted of shredded kale, Wakame seaweed, green apple slices and candied walnuts all bound in a savory dressing that made me want to lick the bowl clean!

A light, tender Octopus Tempura with Aonori and a sour Dashi dip, a perfectly cooked Yakiniku with a Ponzu mayo, a Glazed Teriyaki Salmon fillet accompanied by a mushroom rice hot pot with Miso butter that would put your homemade risotto to shame, were all served and devoured in seconds by food bloggers and media representatives alike.

At the end I got to have a little one-on-one with Chef Reif and we discussed a number of topics regarding the Egyptian market and its susceptibility to absorb the Japanese fusion creations that are yet to come from Baky Hospitality.

It was a really great experience and I am personally very impressed with the organization of the event and I am very eager to see more from this remarkable entrepreneurial entity that has a true mission to educate the Egyptian eater.