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Sameh Wadi: Chef
The story of how Palestinian-American chef and restaurateur Sameh Wadi ended up in Minneapolis is standard fare in the chronicles of American immigration — a cousin went first, and so his family followed. Wadi, 31, was born in Kuwait to Palestinian refugees, and after living briefly in Jordan and then Canada, he arrived in the Twin Cities at the age of 13 and hasn’t left. He often ponders the question: “Couldn’t my cousin have picked somewhere warmer?”
That same cousin and Wadi’s late father, Ali Wadi, opened Holy Land, a grocery store, bakery, and restaurant that is now a well-loved Minneapolis institution, and Wadi followed in their footsteps when he opened his Mediterranean restaurant (heavy on the North African and Levantine influences), Saffron, at age 23. “With Saffron, I put all my eggs in one pita pocket,” says Wadi. “I opened a fine-dining Middle Eastern restaurant in a failing economy in Minnesota, and that might sound like an unfortunate series of decisions. But I’m really glad I did it.”
Today, the restaurant has taken off, and become a more casual iteration of its original self. Wadi’s flavors are exciting to Minneapolis’s growing foodie population, and as he gets older, the chef says he’s more confident in his cooking and tends not to hide behind different sauces and purees, but rather offers humble dishes that often reflect his Palestinian roots. A favorite in this category are his grandmother’s slow-cooked green beans, served with a wedge of lemon.
Wadi has also seen success in other corners of the culinary world — in 2010, he became the youngest chef, the first Middle Eastern-born chef, and the first chef from Minneapolis to ever appear on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” where he battled famed Japanese Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. He’s also been a James Beard semifinalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year, and his first cookbook, “The New Mediterranean Table,” comes out on April 14th.
“My aim with this book is to get people more comfortable and confident in cooking Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food — I’m trying to get them involved in our cuisine,” Wadi explains. “The recipes are geared more toward the home cook, and while they’re inspired by traditional flavors, many of them have a modern twist.”
As is the case with so many Palestinians, Wadi’s love affair with food is no random occurrence — in fact, he can trace its roots back to another cookbook he had a hand in creating with his family.
“I’ve been infatuated with food since I was a child. My mom and dad wrote a cookbook that they called ‘The Encyclopedia of Palestinian Cuisine’ — it never got published, but I still have the raw manuscript,” he says. “My parents and uncle tested recipes and took photographs and did calligraphy. They never thought of it as a way to make money, but rather as an honorable thing to do. It’s preserving the culture via food, and telling people about a history that’s in danger of being forgotten.
The manuscript not only included recipes, but also described species of fish, herbs, and vegetables that were indigenous to Palestine, and what outside influences have been formative in shaping Palestinian cuisine. Wadi soaked it all in, and while his family had high hopes that he’d pursue a career in electrical engineering, he knew he was fated for another path. After stints in photography, and a job at the family grocery store, Wadi found his calling in culinary school. “It was the first time in my life something made sense to me,” he says. “I knew this was something I could do.”
He worked under other chefs for three years after school, opened Saffron, and today Wadi and his brother Saed, a Saffron co-owner, continue to expand their local empire. They started a food truck called World Street Kitchen that did so well they opened a brick and mortar location by the same name. They’ve also launched a full service catering company, called W&W Catering and Events, that services large-scale events like weddings, galas, and holiday parties. Finally, there’s Spice Trail, Wadi’s line of hand-ground, hand-packaged spices.
“I’m busy, but working with food satisfies my curiosity and there’s a real sense of excitement to it,” says Wadi. “And like I said, it’s more than just food, it’s a culture we’re trying to preserve. They’re intertwined.”
Source: imeu.org