São Paulo – It was the love for a Brazilian woman that brought Syrian Mahmoud Ghaloul to Brazil in 2013. After 18 years working as a restaurant chef and manager in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, he decided to leave it all behind and move to São Paulo because of his current wife, who also lived in the emirate but wanted to come back to her homeland.
It wasn’t his first experience dealing with a different place: before he turned 18 years old, Ghaloul left Syria to escape the compulsory military service in his country and went to Dubai. He always worked with food: “My family has always been involved with gastronomy. When I arrived in Dubai, I soon began to work in a restaurant and ended up becoming an expert in this art, to which I’m really passionate about,” says the Syrian.
Upon arriving here, he found his way to a kitchen: he managed for six months a restaurant at the São Paulo International Airport in Guarulhos, but soon he realized that he wasn’t fit to be an employee. He decided to undertake a new business: he prepared Arab jams and started to sell them in handicraft and cuisine fairs throughout the city.
He soon had earned a loyal customer base, which made Ghaloul expand his businesses. In addition to the sweets in fairs, the chef prepares typical dishes from the Arab cuisine such as cabbage rolls, lamb rice, tabbouleh, kibbeh, baba ganoush, among others. “I take orders and also go to people’s houses. I cater to many events also, where I can prepare a more complete menu,” explains the Syrian.
Every Saturday, the chef sets up his tent in a fair at Vila Nova Conceição district. On Sundays, he serves his customers in Moema district. But his dishes are available every day, any time, in your home, or to order. The Syrian says that his next step is to open a store, which even has a name already: Sonho Árabe (Arab Dream).
Quick info
Sonho Árabe, of chef Mahmoud Ghaloul
Rua Antônio Abrantes, 13 – Brooklin, São Paulo/SP
Phone: (11) 96173-2323
Website: http://www.sonhoarabe.com/
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
