NAME: ARWA ALTURKAIT

CONCEPT: CRUMBS

TITLE: MANAGING PARTNER

Faves

Chef: No Clue! Those I admire or follow are more cooks than chefs.

Cooking show: I rarely watch cooking shows…maybe Throwdown! With Bobby Flay.

Cookbook: Too many to list here! When it comes to baking though, anything by Marcy Goldman is a treasure!

What experience most defined your decision and desire to get into the food industry? It wasn’t one thing but so many small things over time. My passion for baking and love of cooking, the pleasure it gives friends and family, their encouragement and support to start a business – with time opening a food business just seemed the right thing to do.

Where is your favorite place to shop for food and ingredients in Kuwait?

The Sultan Center is definitely the place I shop at most. For harder to find ingredients I sometimes go to Dean & Deluca or Saveco.

What food most reminds you of your mother’s house, and why?

Muhamar and Marag Simach (sweet rice with fish curry). The rice was always this dark brown color after being sweetened with molasses. This is probably the only Kuwaiti food I like to eat.

When you want to go somewhere else to eat, where do you go and why?

I rarely go out to eat, I would always rather eat at home. There are certain dishes I crave from a couple of places though. Like the Butternut Squash Salad at AlMakan, and the Kale Quinoa Salad at The Cheesecake Factory.

Who in the world would you most like to cook for?

Does it have to be someone famous? All I can think of is that I wish my Dad was still with us, I would love to be able to cook for him.

If you were to leave Kuwait and could take only one kitchen gadget with you, what would it be?

It used to be my Kitchen Aid mixer, but lately, for most of my home baking I just need a wooden spoon or whisk. I guess it would have to be my Vitamix blender, I use it a lot to make smoothies and almond milk.