Picking Produce at Makar Farms

Great meals come from great ingredients, grown and cared for with an attention to detail and love that gives food an extra feeling that comes from the heart. Out on the Sakkara Road a couple of kilometers after Shabramout and in the shadow of the step pyramid of Zoser lies Makar Farms, a 100 acre establishment that uses a combination of traditional Egyptian methods as well as modern hydroponic technology to create a wide range of natural international produce.

Cherry tomatoes are carefully grown in a green house

Mounir Makar on his farm in Sakkara

Back in the 1930s, the Minister of Agriculture published a comprehensive guide to farming in Egypt. In it, he listed exactly what could and could not grow in the country based on the soil conditions, intense sun, hot temperatures, and water quality. Agricultural adventurer and heir of the Makar family farm Georges Makar saw this as a challenge and decided to start bringing in seeds from abroad to grow European fruits and vegetables under the heat of the Egyptian sun. Almost 20 years later, the project has been taken over by Georges's son Mounir and has continued to be a success, with Makar the sole provider of many rare and new products to Egypt including lemongrass, leeks, multiple varieties of tomatoes, mustard, and more.

It's a never-ending experiment, with Mounir promising every year to try out a new species and has proven to be a challenge, requiring adjustments in the quality of water and the building of large air-conditioned greenhouses to make sure the vegetables and fruits feel right at home. To learn the secrets of their prized possessions the white and red endive, however, Mounir needed a little bit of adventure.

Endives are grown only in extremely moist environments, specifically Holland. After weeks of communication with one of the country's largest growers, Mounir made the long journey into the countryside to meet and view the complex growing and refrigeration systems. Upon arrival, the owners were friendly enough, but when it came time for the tour, they informed him that the power had mysteriously been cut off. Now, if this encounter had occurred in Egypt he might not have been so suspicious, but this was a little too much. He was able to get a tour of the facility in the dark, and by judging the temperature and the sound of the water drips, Mounir soaked up enough information to create his own design for the massive refrigerator units that are used to grow their delicious endives.

Next time you're looking for that something special to eat or to add a European kick to your home-cooked meals, try some of the fresh produce used in dishes at La Bodega as well as five-star hotels around the country.

Check it out:

www.makarfarms.com

Christmas at La Bodega's Bistro

Now a yearly tradition at La Bodega, children of La Bodega's patrons were invited for an afternoon of Christmas cookie decorating at the Bistro's lounge. The children were absolutely delighted to be running around and taking over what is very much the adults' hang out spot.

Though some of the guests approached the project with absolute studiousness working quietly on tree shaped cookies expressing their creative sides with sprinkles, others enjoyed making massive dough balls unsuitable for baking.

After some time decorating cookies, Santa arrived bearing gifts for every good boy and girl.

One of the young guests exclaimed to one of the mothers "He's a fake!" and although we tried to reassure her that in fact, he was the real mccoy, we suppose it came across that our maitre d Mohamed feels more comfortable taking care of guests than playing dress up.

La Fete on La bodega’s walls : Laurent Garosi creates a French Festival with the stroke of his brush

Laurent Garosi, artist, painter and Cairo lover decided to use his palette to bring the walls at La Bodega’s Bistro to life. With a touch of humor and a stroke of the brush, Laurent renovates the extension at Cairo’s most sophisticated neighborhood restaurant. On the 10^th year anniversary of La Bodega, the aim was to completely remake this space that has continued to consistently upgrade itself. Blending art and dining, La Bodega depends on the most talented of artists to create their commissioned work and in this case it was up to Laurent to revision the ten year old landmark.

Laurent Garosi speaks to the La Bodega blog

Inspired by the many fun time at La Bodega, Laurent, a regular, now wearing the painter’s beret, wanted to create art that was light and humorous. He aimed to tell a funny story, more like a joke, that made people laugh but with in the most professionally artistic manner. A very serious classy French joke on the wall. “La Bodega’s owners knew that they wanted, a French theme to go with the Bistro” Laurent recalls. “After a few meetings with the owners and showing them samples of my work, we were all on the same page and I could envision the new walls”. Laurent had been living and working in Egypt, which he moved to after falling in love with its oriental charm. He was now a regular of La Bodega. This artist felt he was perfect for the job, after all he was French, a La Bodega lover and a painter. It didn’t get much better than that.

Excited Laurent says in a very French accent “there is no other place in Egypt that carefully integrates art and dining together. La Bodega creates a “quality of space” and I wanted to be part of creating this complete dining experience.” Laurant adds “La Bodega is just beautifully designed with the rest of the restaurant success elements like the food and service complementing. You can feel quality in every aspect of the space.”

Laurent was inspired in this authentic 1929 built apartment in Zamelak, home of La Bodega. “My philosophy was to create a fete”, a dynamic French festival in multi color, with emotions popping out of the walls. A combination of the Moulin Rouge and French girls dancing the Cancan, but with a funny twist and a touch of romance”. Laurent works mainly with oil, acrylic paint and varnish. He creates pieces of art on walls and ceilings, giving classic, modern and metallic effects to whatever he paints. At La bodega he has transformed 6 walls and a large authentic mirror. The result was this French “fete” that is now the renovated Lounge at La Bodega’s Bistro.

To know more about Laurent's work, please visit: http://www.laurentgarosi.com/