One Final Show of the Industry’s Collaborative Energy
Written by Reem Khamis
After a whirlwind of extraordinary experiences stretched over 10 days, we celebrated the end of Cairo Food Week and the city that embraced it with a cocktail party at sunset on the roof of the yet-to-open Mazeej Hotel in La Viennoise. A Gn’K rooftop, atop an Al Ismaelia Properties building, powered by Somabay — one final show of the industry’s collaborative energy.
We started the week steeped in ancient history, and we ended it surrounded by Cairo’s historic center. The evening also featured a book signing of Mai Eldib’s “Cairo Eternal,” a travel book “capturing the essence of this dynamic city, where tradition meets modernity with stunning photography and engaging storytelling.”
Eldib, a cultural strategist and specialist in visual art and culture from the Arab world, Iran and Turkey, flew in specially to share this moment with us.
Mai ElDib, Author Cairo Eternal
As the sun set and the music picked up, we were treated to a collection of craft cocktails developed by Eric Labat, a rising Egyptian mixologist who is a partner at Amici on Wheels. Labat is among the earliest champions of the movement to instill Egyptianess into the art of mixing drinks. The menu packed a mighty punch of local flavors infused and mixed into playful (and tasteful) cocktails, including ‘Egyptian Mule’, with homemade ginger-tamarind reduction, and ‘Apricot Martini’ with not one but three apricot-infused components: an apricot vodka, a tailor-made apricot vermouth and a peach apricot shrub. Other cocktails included ‘What the Fig’, ‘Basil-ique’ and ‘Cool Brewin’ — brewed mint tea mixed with beer syrup, vodka and fresh mint.
“Food is a vehicle for conversation, that’s the way life is. Speak with other people who feel as passionately and then apply all the different artistic narratives to it - that’s Cairo Food Week.”
- Chef Wesam Masoud
“All our childhood memories are intertwined with food. The preservation of our food culture and heritage is an integral part of our history. Can’t wait to learn more and see what CFW unravels in the future.”
- Mai ElDib
Mixologist Eric Labat, Bar & Operations Manager Amici on Wheels
