Egypt's first salad bar is now open in Maadi, Cairo. Run entirely by women, Fresko offers organic food based on an environmentally friendly philosophy. And business is booming!
17/06/2008 :: Fresko is a new Norwegian salad bar in Cairo which opened in November 2007. The Embassy recently visited the restaurant and met with its owner, Elena Rivas-Fuentes.
- As you can tell, business is going really well, Rivas-Fuentes tells the Embassy as she is taking a break from the kitchen. And indeed, on the day of the Embassy's visit, Fresko is full of customers who come to taste fresh salads, sandwiches - and delicious Norwegian waffles.
- Our philosophy is that we aim to serve only organically produced food. Finding this can sometimes be a bit tricky in Egypt, but we're adding new organic items to our extensive menu all the time. Take our coffee for instance - purely organic, Rivas-Fuentes says with a broad smile. - Also, none of our yoghurts contain any artificial ingredients, they're all made with the organic conscious customer in mind.
The environmentally friendly profile of Fresko is visible also in other ways. - All of our plastic cups, plates and cutlery are recyclable, Rivas-Fuentes says. - If we can help create awareness of environmental issues, we have achieved a lot.
- Another important aspect of our philosophy is that choice is good, Rivas-Fuentes adds. - Our customers can compose their own salad, choose from a number of different homemade dressings, and this has all really been a huge success.
- What has also really taken off lately is our delivery service. We currently deliver food to many large corporations in Maadi, and take-way represents a large segment of our customer base, Rivas-Fuentes explains.
Rivas-Fuentes is also proud of the fact that Fresko is run entirely by women. - There is so much potential amongst Egyptian women, and we hope to be able to inspire other women here to start their own businesses.
For their own part, Rivas-Fuentes and her business partners are hoping to expand their salad bar concept in Egypt and open up branches also in other parts of Cairo. - We're looking at locations in both Zamalek, Mohandessin and Heliopolis at the moment - hopefully we'll be able to open at least one more salad bar before the end of this year.
Judging by the response of the customers the Embassy met at Fresko, finding more business in Cairo should not pose any major challenge. And as the Embassy can testify to - Fresko's salads are just....yummy!
FACTS::
What: Fresko Salad Bar
Where: 61, el Canal Street, No. 3, El-Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
When: Sundays-Fridays 10am-6pm
Contact: info@freskobar.com