“I’ve always loved food and cooking,” says Waleed El Sabbagh whose relationship with the kitchen never ventured past a hobby before he migrated to Australia.
It was a hobby he enjoyed away from his day job as a marine engineer.
When he arrived from Egypt in 2015, he did not expect to face obstacles finding a job in his field.
His lack of local experience and the scarcity of opportunities in the field made it hard for him to find a job to the point that he considered returning home.
“The Australian army was the only option I had if I wanted to stick to my field, but I was a new migrant and not ready to apply,” he tells SBS Arabic24.
In a last resort, he turned to a social enterprise to seek advice.
Waleed El Sabbagh Source: SBS Arabic24
He was advised to focus on his passion and that’s how he came up with the idea to open a market stall in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville to sell Egypt’s renowned dish, Koshari.
He named the stall, Koshari Korner, because back in Egypt, the dish is considered street food that can be found on many corners.
Koshari, which originated in the 19th century, is a simple dish made up of lentils, pasta, rice, chickpeas, fried onions and tomato sauce.
This dish is widely popular among workers in Egypt. Source: Facebook
Waleed was expecting Australians of Arab descent to form the majority of his clientele. However, he was overwhelmed with the positive feedback from non-Arab Australians who’d found a new option for healthy vegetarian comfort food.
“Australians love exploring new cuisines, and they expect value and quality in return to what they pay. They’re honest and if they don’t like your menu, they’ll never come back.”
At the beginning, Waleed noticed some Australians did not even know that Egyptian cuisine existed.
Source: Facebook
“Many of my clients thought it was similar to Lebanese food and some would use more general terms like 'Middle Eastern' food,” he says.
He took the opportunity to educate his clients about his national cuisine and what it represented.
He then gradually started adding more authentic dishes as per the requests he received from clients who were eager to try a diverse selection of dishes that were mainly vegetarian.
“We might not have a huge variety in our [Egyptian] cuisine, but you cannot try our dishes elsewhere in the world.”
