Back to the Future: Ingredients

This panel celebrates the region’s rich culinary heritage and how chefs and producers are reviving ancient flavours that are sustainable and rooted in tradition.

About the Speakers

Tala Bashmi

Tala Bashmi is a Bahraini chef celebrated for redefining Khaleeji cuisine by marrying regional flavours with contemporary and global techniques. Driven by a childhood passion for cooking, she earned a master’s degree from the Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland and refined her skills at Hotel Les Trois Rois and Restaurant Prisma.

In 2020 she took the helm of Fusions by Tala—a fine-dining restaurant in a five-star Bahraini hotel—steering it to third place in 2023, ninth in 2024 and sixth in 2025 in the MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants before departing in late 2024.

A 2019 Top Chef Middle East finalist, she won the inaugural Middle East & North Africa Best Female Chef Award from MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2022, the Rising Star Award at The Best Chef Awards in 2023, Three Knives at The Best Chef Awards in 2024 and the Estrella Damm N.A. Chefs’ Choice Award from MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2025. In 2024 she was appointed Gastronomy Ambassador by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, championing Bahrain’s culinary heritage worldwide.

Ahmed Abdul Hakim

Ahmed Abdul Hakim is an Emirati entrepreneur who specializes in innovation and progressional change. He holds a master’s degree from Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in innovation and change management and is an alumnus of the Influential Leaders Program from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development).

As his passion relies on F&B and multi-cultural cuisines, he founded 3fils with the team as one of The Lab Holding ventures. 3Fils develops dynamic and out-of-the-ordinary concepts and creations that stand out from traditional pan-Asian cuisines and among several restaurants as well. A testament to that is the award achieved in the year 2022 as “The Best Restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa” as appointed by “The 50 World Best”: committee. Over the past years, Ahmed has grown the company portfolio into 6 restaurants and created a family of more than 80 employees. With a combined set of skills, leadership, love, and dedication, Ahmed is part of a strong team that consistently delivers high-quality products.

Ahmed is now growing the company’s portfolio in various areas, such as IT development, distribution, and healthcare.

Abdul Hakim is part of the region’s startup ecosystem, where he has supported new startup ideas by being an angel investor for a few startup companies, such as Resto Guro, which specialize in providing technical solutions for restaurants, and Verity, which is a family banking and financial literacy app for kids.

Sahar Parham Al Awadhi

Chef Sahar is the chef and founder behind Abra Restaurant, a fresh take on New Emirati cuisine opening at the Etihad Museum in 2025.

After studying Communications & Design Management at the American University of Sharjah and working in Marketing & PR at Zayed University, she followed her true passion — food.

She kicked off her culinary journey at La Serre Bistro & Boulangerie in 2014. Her talent stood out early, earning her a trip to Paris to master bread-making with her head chef’s mentor.

In 2016, she made history as the first Emirati chef at Burj Al Arab, eventually becoming Head Pastry Chef and leading a 34-chef team in a 24/7 pastry kitchen. A big advocate for sustainability, Sahar believes in telling stories through food.

She was named Best Pastry Chef in MENA at the 2022 World’s 50 Best Awards in Abu Dhabi, and later helped open Ladurée Gordes in France. In 2025, she also consulted on the launch of Gerbou, another standout restaurant.

Throughout her career, she’s collaborated with top chefs like Pierre Gagnaire, Niko Romito, Frederic Bau, Natsuko Shoji, Himanshu Saini, and Carmen Rueda, creating unforgettable dining experiences.

About the Moderator

Nadir Nahdi

Nadir Nahdi is a British content creator, film maker, and founder of the BENI storytelling platform

Nadir represents the voice of the third-culture generation, blending heritage and modernity through powerful, cinematic storytelling. London-born with Yemeni, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Kenyan heritage, Nadir turns his diverse background into powerful stories on identity, belonging, and culture.

Known for “vlogumentaries” and diaspora storytelling, Nadir’s content spans food, fashion, and culture, earning him 700K+ followers and 10M+ views. Nicknamed the “Brown Bourdain”, he uses food to explore heritage, history, and pride, blending social commentary with storytelling. He was named one of London’s most influential voices by the Evening Standard, praised for his mix of education, creativity, and activism.