Lebanese mother-daughter team opens Em Sherif Sea Cafe in Abu Dhabi

Mother-daughter duo Mireille and Yasmina Hayek are pretty cool for the two women about to open their new restaurant.

Sure, they’re banging on their phones every now and then, but they’re definitely not distracted as they prepare to launch their 16th location, Em Sherif Sea Cafe at Rosewood Abu Dhabi, Al Maryah Island.

The cafe is currently in trial operation and joins a growing number of Em Sherif stores in nine locations around the world, including restaurants, delis and cafes.

Scroll through the gallery for pictures of Em Sherif Sea Cafe in Abu Dhabi

taste of lebanon

Known by countless fans around the world Em Sharif — or Sharif’s mother — Mireille, 51, is known for her culinary skills and business acumen, just as she has created a home away from home for those craving traditional Lebanese food.

“I make real food,” she said. “I work as if I were at home, not at the business premises. I treat my restaurant as my house, overseeing everything from start to finish, and people love it because they feel at home.”

Mireille’s daughter Yasmina, an alumnus of the famous Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France and Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Italy, is the perfect foil for her mother. “I’m a very competitive person, so I want to always be the best and I’ll always go further. Every opening is a lesson,” Yasmina said. “I’m proud and I want to inspire others.”

Turn passion into perseverance

“I was there 11 years ago Beirut,” Mireille said. “My passion is cooking at home for family and friends, and everyone tells me: ‘You have to have a restaurant, just for fun and passion.’ ‘”

The first branch of Em Sherif opened in Ashrafieh in Monot in 2011, an instant hit, but also an anomaly in Beirut’s dining scene. This is a restaurant that offers a fine dining experience but still feels like home. The menu is filled with traditional Lebanese dishes, but with an exquisite rendition of the millennium-old cuisine.

“Honestly, persevere,” Mireille said of her secret to success. “I work every day like day one, so for me, it’s never done. Every day is a challenge I love. I want the business to be healthy and successful.”

After abandoning plans to become a doctor, Yasmina accepted her fate into the family business, bringing with her the skills she had accumulated for the likes of McLaren and Carolina Herrera, as the former owner of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Geranium in Copenhagen Chef and commis at Le Grand and Hexagone in Paris.

“We grew up with food at the center of our family,” Yasmina said. “Mom is a great cook so we were surrounded by great food. It was just presence. We treated staff and customers like family and made everyone feel valued. Service was personal and caring .”

family first

The Em Sherif brand has spread across the Middle East, with branches in the UAE, Oman, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan, as well as Monaco and London. Despite this commendable expansion, Em Sherif is still first and foremost a family business.

Led by Mireille, the team also includes Yasmina, Mireille’s brother Dany Chaccour as CEO, and her son Nabil as business development manager for Em Sherif Lebanon.

“Our relationship has changed a lot,” Yasmina said of the work bond she shares with her mother. “After graduating from culinary school, I went to Lebanon with another vision – to swim against the current, but it didn’t work out. I realized my mom knew the market and I had to adapt myself to it and bring the best of both worlds to the same place .”

Yasmina, 26, became integral to the brand’s international expansion after discovering the truth behind the age-old adage “Mom knows best”, while Mireille only half-jokingly said: “Honestly, I don’t want to expand, but it happens. Yes. It’s my baby.”

“I’m a very lucky mom,” she said. “It’s fun to cook with Yasmina around. Even the stress of work is less stressful. Of course, we disagree, but if I’m convinced by Yasmina, it’s always constructive.”

“Playing” in Monaco

The brand opened in April at the Monte Carlo Paris hotel in Monaco; it has been in the making for more than four years. Em Sherif – Meanwhile, The Deli opened at Harrods in London in January.

“We were supposed to open in Monaco before Covid, but apparently that was put on hold,” Yasmina said. “When we finally got started, the staff came to Beirut for two weeks of training, and then I went to Monaco. We had a month to go there and buy all the ingredients.”

Noting the challenge comes from adapting recipes to less spicy European tastes, she admits to enjoying “getting out of the box and changing things… being able to play more than anywhere else”.

“The restaurant celebrates a culture that you can taste, see, hear and feel in a refined way,” said Ivan Artolli, Managing Director of Hotel Paris Monte-Carlo, noting that “visitors from the GCC and the Levant are our third largest visitor. client”.

He said the menu features the famous Em Sherif dishes, which are prepared with French ingredients and focus on seafood. “Signature dishes are made exclusively for Monaco and vary according to the menu,” he said. “Living in the Principality inspired Chef Yasmina, who brings that creativity to her dishes.”

“My favorite dish to cook is everything”

Speaking of the family business’ latest launch in Abu Dhabi, Mireille said: “Em Sherif Sea Cafe is my love letter to the Mediterranean side of Lebanon, with fresh and bright flavours and a warm interior filled with natural light and a beautiful marine inspired design .”

The opening of Sea Cafe in Abu Dhabi follows the model’s launch in Bahrain and is planned for Riyadh later this year.

“We try to innovate while staying true to ourselves and staying authentic,” says Yasmina. “At Em Sherif, there are no limits, no boundaries. We are always going a step further, more creative, and come up with new ideas while preserving tradition and authenticity.”

While their newest Abu Dhabi outlet promises dishes like raw red snapper, Provencal prawns and samak ras asfour in Mediterranean and Portuguese-inspired decor, for Mireille the simplest dishes can still inspire the biggest creations force.

“My favorite dish to cook is everything,” she said. “I love old-fashioned cuisine and anything is cooked well. I love my manoush, it’s a very simple dish, but I keep trying. The recipe has to be perfect and contain a little bit of your soul.”

Updated: October 28, 2022 at 12:48 pm