Mustering up feasts for Karachiites

Chef Zakir talks about his latest restaurant Cafe Czak and why the city is a stepping stone for the culinary industry

KARACHI:

The recipe for a successful restaurant mainly comprises three ingredients: a tablespoon of soulful food, and teaspoons full of good service and ambience. And as the culinary industry in Pakistan emerges to the fore, chefs are translating their expertise into cafes, with the attempt to tick these three boxes.

Chef Zakir Qureshi is one such culinary expert, who has spiced things up with his recently launched Cafe CZak, a restaurant that attempts to give customers a taste of his soulful cooking.

Opened in Clifton this October, the restaurant offers à la carte dinners, featuring food from Mexican to Asian cuisines. “It was my dream to provide quality food to the people of Karachi and by the Grace of God, my dream has been fulfilled,” Zakir tells The Express Tribune. Hoping to achieve greater heights through his venture, he shares that the restaurant will soon be open for lunch with a diverse buffet menu.



Zakir previously co-owned Shan-e-Mughlia in Gulistan-e-Johar, but opted out of it. Citing the customers’ unruliness as the reason for his departure from the project, he says, “The clients were rowdy. My partnership also ended because I felt that the quality of food was being compromised.” He adds, “I couldn’t work [in such a setting]. So, I parted ways from the venture almost four years ago.”



He comments on Karachi as a lucrative market for restaurants and whether its growing numbers could impede their demand, stating, “Karachi is a megacity and it hasn’t hit the saturation point [in terms of the influx of restaurants] as yet.” Adding, “From Chinese to Turkish to Lebanese to even Burmese, there are multiple cuisines being offered in Karachi alone. And with the increasing popularity of shopping malls, more such restaurants are opening here,” he adds.

Zakir says that Pakistan, especially Karachi, is full of foodies who don’t mind splurging on meals. “A person in the city can spend Rs1,000 on a burger from an international food chain or burger joint,” he comments. But he notes that despite the fact that people have a penchant for international cuisines, desi food remains unparalleled. “Pakistanis are a chat patti qoum. Nothing can ever beat their love for desi food.”

Drawing the inevitable comparison between Karachiites and Lahoris in terms of their choices of food and restaurants, he states that owing to the fast-paced life in Karachi, meals are often consumed hastily. Contrarily, he believes that many Lahoris, who are usually back home by six in the evening, have ample time to explore food options and take time out for eateries.



But if Karachi has been able to accommodate so many restaurants and cuisines, Zakir feels so should Lahore and Islamabad. He holds that the culinary industry needs to expand its focus on cities, such as Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Multan, and offer its residents greater foodtastic options.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2014.

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