The world of technology, particularly social media, may have sparked plenty of opportunities for young entrepreneurs to launch their business, but the competition is also immense.
In such an environment, where hundreds of businesses are offering similar services or products through Instagram or other channels, a creative idea and business strategy are a must to sustain one’s business.
There are many people trying their luck in the baking business these days and using Instagram to market their products.
Afshan Afzal, 27, is one of those young entrepreneurs associated with the baking business and is making their mark through creative ideas.
Afzal has combined art and food to create some of the prettiest cookies in Jeddah. “I was trying to find something where I would have my own freedom and creativity that I couldn’t find in a job. So I wanted my own business,” she told Arab News, embarking on the journey with the encouragement of her friends and family.
“They said that my baking was good and I should try my luck in this business. I wanted it to be sustainable. I did not want to pursue it as a hobby.”
To carve a niche for herself she used her love of art and her baking skills to launch her business. Afzal specializes in sugar cookies that look like intricate pictures. She is a self-taught artist who learned baking by trial and error.
“I started recently, so there are many challenges that I have not faced as yet. But, what I have had some difficulty with is time management.”
Afzal is the sole owner of the business and so is tasked with creating and executing the recipes, baking, design, product photography, and Instagram posts.
She said that Instagram was a challenge because of the huge variety of existing home businesses on the platform, making engagement and outreach more difficult.
Afzal said she took special care to make her products look beautiful, but also so they tasted just as good.
“I have seen a lot of beautiful things that don’t taste that great. So, I start from the best base product and tweak my recipes to make sure the final product is as close to perfection as it gets.”
She also made sure to keep her products affordable for whoever wished to place an order. “Every time a customer gives me a good review and if someone has a special day planned and I get to make them happy with my products is extremely rewarding.”
She offers soft cookies, customized sugar cookies, and milk cakes, and in the future would like to have an established line of products and something that stands out in a crowd of “very amazing bakers.”
Her products can be found on Instagram: @asterix.sugarfix
Startup of the Week: Baking creatively with a touch of art
https://arab.news/vnsvg
Startup of the Week: Baking creatively with a touch of art
Where We Are Going Today: Jon & Vinny’s
A slice of Los Angeles flair has landed on Prince Sultan Street in Jeddah with the arrival of Jon & Vinny’s, a lively eatery drawing crowds with its take on Italian comfort food.
The restaurant, located in La Paz Plaza, has a warm, energetic ambiance with a setting that is modern yet relaxed, with high ceilings, wooden accents and a clean design palette dominated by shades of green.
The showcase of their pizza boxes and a few quirky touches like neon signs add character to the space.
Reservations are a must unless you are up for a long wait. Fortunately, they hand out coloring pencils and quirky food-themed sheets to help kill time, which is especially handy if you are dining with kids.
The menu is straightforward but thoughtfully curated, starting with breakfast staples like a standout grilled ciabatta salad and tender braised Tuscan kale.
Among the most talked-about dishes are the hand-tossed pizzas, with dough fermented for two days before hitting the oven.
The Bronx Bomber, topped with fennel sausage, onions, garlic and herbs, is rich and rustic, while the Rosy keeps it simple with tomato and olive oil, elevated by an optional layer of parmigiano reggiano.
Salads also hold their own on the menu, especially the caprese, featuring buffalo mozzarella and tomato vinegar, and the gem lettuce salad, dressed in a zesty Calabrian chili vinaigrette and finished with parmigiano reggiano as well as breadcrumbs.
Pasta is made fresh in-house and ranges from a bold rigatoni slow-cooked in beef bolognese to a creamy, spicy fusilli with basil.
Meat dishes like the garlic buffalo wings and chicken cutlet with lemon-dressed greens are decent, but they do not outshine the pastas or pizza.
Dessert is not to be skipped. The hazelnut cafe bombolone was light yet indulgent, and the lemon ricotta cookie added a nice finish to the meal.
In terms of cost, I expected it to be pricey, but it was fairly reasonable. A full meal for four, with dishes from each section, came to about SR300–350 ($80-93).
For more, check Instagram @jonandvinnys.ksa.
Where We Are Going Today: FreshHouse in Riyadh, for the health nuts who value flavor
FreshHouse in Riyadh has all kinds of different meal options and is a great choice for those health nuts who value flavor, substance and speed.
The eatery offers an extensive menu to meet your needs at pretty much any time of the day, including bowls, on-the-go meals, salads, sandwiches, oats, yogurts for some light breakfast options, and even desserts.
You will love their Mediterranean Chicken Bowl menu.
This is packed with kabsa rice, Persian-style chicken, mixed greens, dill pickles, tomatoes, roasted corn, and surprisingly, dates — topped with a tahini sumac and basic lemon dressing.
The blend of flavors in the Mediterranean Bowl works perfectly, offering a tangy yet slightly creamy balance that does not feel too heavy but will fill you up just fine. The chicken is nice and tender and comes in the perfect amount.
Another showstopper on the menu is FreshHouse’s Pesto Pasta Chicken Bowl.
This comes with pomegranate, ricotta cheese, mixed greens, sundried tomatoes, black olives, zaatar, pecan, and is topped with cilantro and basic lemon dressing. There is a fine balance of tangy, creamy and sweet.
The pasta is seasoned perfectly, and what is especially great is that it is neither too heavy nor too bland, unlike many available healthy options.
For a lighter, more refreshing selection, FreshHouse also sells cups of mango parfait, honey muesli oats, berries and yogurt granola, and more.
A pretty good option is their mango overnight oats which tastes really good. However, the oats could be a little less soft and the mango flavor even more prominent.
Their acai bowl is quite underwhelming. Nothing special and lacking flavor in the acai itself.
Try FreshHouse the next time you are looking for a quick protein fix or snack. Their build-your-own option is also handy if you are that kind of person.
Kokoro: authentic Japanese curry in the Saudi capital
If you are looking for an authentic taste of Japanese curry in Riyadh, look no further than Kokoro.
Nestled in Al-Yasmeen district, this cozy restaurant has made its way from Alkhobar and quickly captured the hearts of curry enthusiasts.
On entering Kokoro, you are transported into a minimalist Japanese setting that feels like stepping into a traditional home. The ambiance is warm and inviting, enhanced by the friendly staff who make you feel at home.
Kokoro specializes in Japanese curry, offering a delightful departure from the more common Indian curry. The menu features a variety of options, including chicken, shrimp, and beef curry. You will love the Kokoro Special, designed for two at a reasonable price of SR51 (about $14).
The curry here is distinctively good, offering a distinctive flavor profile. The spice levels range from 0 to 5.
You might start with some appetizers. The gyoza dumplings are a standout. They are perfectly cooked and flavorful, while the sweet potatoes are decent but don’t quite impress. For the main course, you might indulge in the chicken Katsu curry, which is crispy and juicy, and never disappoints.
The service is impressively fast.
Kokoro can get quite busy, so downloading the Requeue app to manage your wait time is recommended. While the line can be long, the food is undoubtedly worth it. You also must try both the shrimp and chicken Katsu; each dish is flavorful and well-spiced.
The vibrant flavors and cozy atmosphere here make it a memorable dining experience. If you are in Riyadh and craving Japanese curry, Kokoro is a must-visit.
Where We Are Going Today: ‘Hokkaido’ Japanese restaurant in Jeddah
Jeddah’s food scene continues to evolve, and Hokkaido on Rawdah street stands out as the city’s first all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant.
Guests choose from three main dining experiences: a hot pot course, a barbecue course, or a mixed course that offers the best of both worlds.
Take your pick from an extensive menu featuring meats and seafood, including black angus beef, crab, squid, mussels, octopus, and a sashimi platter.
The barbecue experience is a standout. Grilling your own meats on a tabletop grill adds a fun, interactive element, and the freshness of the ingredients shines through.
The hot pot is just as customizable. Create your ideal flavor profile by choosing from four broth options, mixing and matching — sukiyaki, spicy, tomato, and miso.
The buffet includes a wide variety of options, including a spread of tempura, fried noodles, fried rice, assorted sushi, fresh fruit, desserts, and ice cream. You’ll also find a selection of noodle types like ramen, glass noodles, and udon.
While the food quality justifies it to some extent, the pricing leans toward the higher end, especially for larger groups.
If you’re visiting, I’d recommend opting for the barbecue option for more flavor control and a bit of table-side excitement.
Food grown with fewer chemicals? A Brazilian scientist wins $500,000 for showing the way
- Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria’s research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse
DES MOINES, Iowa: A Brazilian scientist who pushed back against chemical fertilizers and researched biologically based approaches to more robust food production has been honored with this year’s World Food Prize, the organization announced Tuesday.
Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria’s research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse, an accomplishment that has now won her $500,000 from the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation. Hungria has been researching biological seed and soil treatments for 40 years, and has worked with Brazilian farmers to implement her findings.
“I still cannot believe it. Everybody said, my whole life, it’s improbable, you are going the wrong way, just go to things like chemicals and so on. And then, I received the most important prize in the world of agriculture,” Hungria said in an interview. “Sometimes I still think I’ll wake up and see that it’s not true.”
Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to dramatically increase crop yields and reduce the threat of starvation in many countries, founded the World Food Prize. Since the first prize was handed out in 1987, 55 people have been honored.
Hungria said she grew up wanting to alleviate hunger. Early in her career, she decided to focus on a process called biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil bacteria could be used to promote plant growth. At that time, farmers in Brazil and around the world were reluctant to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilizers, which dramatically increase crop production but lead to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutes waterways.
Hungria studied how bacteria can interact with plant roots to naturally produce nitrogen. She then demonstrated her work on test plots and began working directly with farmers to convince them that they wouldn’t have to sacrifice high crop yields if they switched to a biological process.
The work is credited for increasing yields of several crops, including wheat, corn and beans, but it has been especially affective on soybeans. Brazil has since become the world’s largest soybean producer, surpassing the United States and Argentina.
Although Hungria’s research could be applied on farms in other countries, soybean production in the US is different than it is in Brazil; American farmers typically rotate crops on their land between growing corn and soybeans. Enough nitrate fertilizer applied to corn still remains in the soil when soybeans are planted that little or no fertilizer needs to be applied, Hungria said.
Brazilian agricultural companies have faced fierce criticism for clearing forested land to create farmland, largely to grow soybeans.
Much of that criticism is justified, Hungria said, but she added that her biological approach builds up the soil and makes further encroachment into forested areas less necessary.
“If you manage the crop well, the crop will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Soil health improves if you do the right things,” she said.
Hungria will be awarded her prize at an annual October gathering in Des Moines of agricultural researchers and officials from around the world.
Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, credited Hungria for her “extraordinary scientific achievements” that have transformed agriculture in South America.
“Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertilizer inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad,” Ejeta said in a statement.
