How does an advertising executive make the transition to becoming a successful restaurateur? We decided to pop into Parti Perfect for pastries and scrumptious pastries to meet 38 year old owner Lana Nasser, and ask her that question. We found the answer right away: with great panache!
“I got a BS. in Mass Communication from Boston University in 1996 and I spent six years of copy writing experience at two prominent UAE Advertising agencies. I left it all behind to become a food writer. In 2002, I joined the Institute of Culinary Education; NYC’s largest and most highly acclaimed center for culinary education both for career training and recreational cooking.
FROM BOSTON TO ABU DHABI
“In 2004, it was my work at Chef Mark Haley’s ‘Above and Beyond’ Catering Company in Boston, where endless hours of rolling, filling and making recipes for thousands of hors d’oeuvres firmly rooted my desire to have a catering kitchen of my own some day. So when I moved back to Abu Dhabi from Boston in 2008, I started catering right out of the very kitchen I grew up in with all its sounds and wonderful smells. In 2010, I developed Lana’s PartiPerfect Catering Kitchen and it is in this kitchen, I also hope to instill in my kids, their friends, and hopefully lots of other kids in Abu Dhabi the importance of respect towards good food and healthy eating habits.
“You could say I did the majority of my growing up in my mother’s kitchen. There was always a dinner party or a special occasion she was preparing for. I would wake up to the clanking sounds of pots and pans, the delectable and comforting smells of freshly baked kaak and maamoul or roasted turkey dinners during the holidays. ‘You can help me by staying out of the kitchen’ was the usual request, but over the years I earned the position of resident chopper, peeler, and herb-picker and then graduated to table décor and assembler of 6serving platters. These childhood memories must have left a profound impact on me, because eventually, I ended up right where I started, in the kitchen. If there is one thing I took away with me from the philosophy at ICE, and use it still as my secret weapon, is that you create good food from solid cooking techniques and not from recipes.
FINETUNING IN NYC
“I was able to perfect the art of sautéing, blanching, poaching and trimming by volunteering or as we know it ‘trailing’ 10 to 12 hours at various upscale restaurants, such as ‘Annisa’ in NYC, under Chef Anita Lo (2001 Winner of Food & Wine’s ‘Best New Chef in America’ Award). In the process, I fell in love with cooking, handling fine ingredients, planning menus and understanding the meaning of professional service. I was inspired by Chef Anita, who encouraged me to allow my culture, background and passion to seep into my style and approach towards food.
“The first challenge I had would have to be starting a business with children. My two little boys at the time were barely two and three years and being a very hands-on mom, I had to be very skilled at multi-tasking. The second challenge was learning how to set policies and standards so that negative experiences will not be repeated again. The best way to do that was to be the cook, driver, host, menu planner, client manager, accountant and HR. Most of the time all it took is a little trial and error and faith. The last challenge was staying on task in a tough industry, where tastes and needs are so various and keeping everyone happy is very difficult, but I believe if you treat your customer right, the door will always be open to more business.
MENU MORSELS
“On my menu today, you will find Middle Eastern dishes with a twist such as, Eggplant Fate Tortilla Tartlet, Mini Kibbe Tartlets, Hindbeh on Pomme Paillasson or Mini Grape Leaf Skewers wrapped in Lamb Tenderloin. It’s also my curiosity for new flavors and ingredients that keeps our menu fresh and edgy. And even if it’s a new recipe that we haven’t perfected yet, we will keep working on it until it becomes one of our most popular items on the menu. Our two most popular and perfect examples are our Red Velvet Cake and Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce.
“We are known to take our main dishes and create smaller versions of them so clients can try a variety of cuisines all in one go. I enjoy experimenting with our Middle Eastern cuisine and introducing new flavors and methods to some of the more traditional dishes. Chefs are like artists, they are as good as their last creation so it’s important for them to keep innovating and keeping the trends fresh and exciting; food is like any product that needs to be continuously revamped.
“I hope in the next five years to have a few branches in the Middle East and later to become a household name; I really want our brand to explode on the food scene.”
By Ajir Shujahi
