Days of Palestine

Wednesday, May 31

Gaza Chefs Strive to Introduce Italian Food to Palestinian Tables

MO.SH| DOP -

Nader Abu Shaaban opened a restaurant in Gaza City, to serve Italian meals in an unconventional way and in a new form and system in the Gazan street, with the help of his family members.
The chefs at the Cousins ​​restaurant work in front of hesitant customers, to see how the food they will eat in the place is prepared.

In an interview, Abu Shaaban said that he was able to open the Italian restaurant in the Gaza Strip, after several visits to Italy, to learn the basics of cooking, and apply it on his own project.

And he touched on the great turnout at the restaurant, due to the customers’ acceptance of Italian food, which Abu Shaaban considered to be very popular with the public taste in the Gazan street.
Abu Shaban relied on serving burgers, pizza and pasta as main meals in the restaurant, except for other non-traditional items such as Italian quesadilla (dough stuffed with chicken or meat) of various types.

He pointed out that there is a section specialized in providing cold and hot drinks of all kinds, in new ways in Gaza City, on the Italian way.
Abu Shaaban is keen to maintain a specific atmosphere in his private restaurant, through yellow lighting, different designs, and carefully chosen music, to attract customers and ensure that they enjoy the Italian dining experience.

He believes that there are not many differences between Italian and Palestinian cuisine and the culture is similar, which makes customers want to visit the restaurant frequently.
According to Abu Shaaban, “Due to the difficult economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, we were keen to provide meals at modest prices, to be within the reach of everyone.”

He pointed out that the number of employees in the restaurant exceeds 20 people, and he aspires to expand the place to include larger numbers of workers, in light of the widespread unemployment in the Gaza Strip.

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