Award-Winning Bahraini Chef Tala Bashmi On Family, Flavours and The Power of Food

Bazaar Arabia explores how she challenges stereotypes by using innovative techniques to reinterpret traditional Middle Eastern dishes, all the while staying true to her heritage

An emerging star in the Middle Eastern culinary scene, Tala Bashmi, an MBC Top Chef finalist and winner of MENA’s Best Female Chef award 2022, is changing perceptions and globally popularising the taste of modern Middle Eastern cuisine.

Hailing from Bahrain, her foray into the culinary field was inspired by her childhood memories. From a very young age she was fond of food, having accompanied her father to fish and farmer’s markets, and with access to fresh produce from her mother’s vegetable garden.

Tala explains, “My father was a great cook, who taught me a lot about local ingredients and introduced me to the oldest cookbook in the Arab world.” She was fascinated by his stories about the history and culture of Middle Eastern cuisine. Her paternal grandmother’s kitchen was always bustling with Bahraini dishes. “In fact, I still use my grandmother’s recipes, and have added one of my favourites to the menu at my restaurant,” she reveals.

“The essence of the recipe is entirely hers, while the presentation is completely designed by me. This is what gives me comfort even today – the memories of my childhood translated into food and recipes.”

After a seven-year stint as a footballer for the Bahrain National Team and subsequently pursuing fine arts and illustration at university, Tala made a career shift and finally entered the world of food through setting up her home business ‘Baked by T’ – which became an instant hit in Bahrain.

It did not take long for a number of social-media awards to come her way. To legitimise her journey as a chef, she joined The Gulf Hotel Bahrain as a trainee and worked her way up the ranks before deciding to take a break to pursue a Masters of International Business in Culinary Management at the Culinary Arts Academy of Cesar Ritz in Switzerland.

During her time there, she worked at Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois and the Michelin-starred restaurant Prisma, where she gained invaluable exposure in the hospitality business. Eventually, she moved back to the Middle East to open her inaugural restaurant, Fusions by Tala.

One of Tala’s strongest traits, which set her apart from her contemporaries, is her ability to adapt the regional food to global flavours through not only her fusion recipes, but also by her playful visual presentations.

The result is a gastronomic delight that fulfils her “goal to create a culinary experience for guests that offers an unparalleled journey full of familiar and new flavours, meant to educate and develop new tastes,” claims Tala, signalling that Middle Eastern cuisine is ready for a renaissance rooted in tradition.

She strongly argues that there is a place for innovation in the more conservative palates of the Middle East, elaborating that some of the very earliest experimental cooking emerged from the kitchens of the Ottoman Empires, due to the wealth of ingredients pouring in because of the empire’s expansion of trade routes.

Similar to the present-day’s fearless experimentation led by world-renowned chefs, such as Grant Achatz, Anthony Bourdain and Heston Blumenthal; whom Tala looks to for inspiration. Her culinary philosophy is rooted in the Middle Eastern tradition that “food first and foremost, should be comforting and nourishing. That it should have the power to incite joy, the ability to trigger a memory, and to bring people together no matter their background. Over a meal we can share our stories, experiences, and thoughts,” Tala expresses. In becoming MENA’s first female chef to win the coveted award, Tala welcomes the great responsibility of being an inspiration to young girls and women in pursuing a career in the culinary world. “Food is powerful and as chefs, we have the responsibility and ability to reshape how people eat. It is a beautiful privilege,” she says.

The thriving chef believes that in the current age, there should be no differentiation based on gender, and that every individual can make a difference. “It is essential to follow one’s passion because it helps through the tough times. Working in the culinary department is very hard work and requires a lot of sacrifices – having the inner drive makes working much more enjoyable and really pays off in the long run. Last but not least, one needs to be open and adaptable to be able to grow in this field.”

From Harpers Bazaar Arabia Interiors, the Summer Issue 2022.