Mostafa Seif, Executive Sous Chef at Khufu’s and Khufu’s Bistro

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MET&T: Mostafa, where are you from in Egypt originally?

Mostafa Seif: I am originally from Ain Shams, a working-class local area in Egypt. My father is from Upper Egypt, from Qena. And my mother is from Gharbia, from a place called Sinbou in Zefta. My grandparents were from Al-Zaitoon, the area where my father was born.

MET&T: When did you first start to have an interest in being a chef, and how did that come about?

Mostafa: I became a chef when I was 22, but before that it was quite a long journey. It started when I worked with the family in Al-Zaitoon on a “liver cart,” I learned about vegetables, and worked from the age of 10 until 22. Between 20 and 22, I was in the army and I worked in the army kitchen. That was like the story before I officially became a chef. That journey is what got me to where I am now.

I started as a chef in one of the now-famous restaurants in Egypt, Mobistro, which was originally called Mo Cafe. That was the first kitchen I worked in. Later, I went on to study at the Culinary Arts Academy. That’s where I developed further, more than if I worked with chefs. It developed me mentally. It helped me understand how to answer any questions I had. For example, why do I make the sauce this way? I had a lot of questions like that, and the academy provided me with the answers.

After that, I began focusing on Egyptian cuisine in competitions. At that time, no one really dared to say they could change Egyptian food. Many well-known chefs were trying, but they couldn’t do it. It was a very bold challenge for any chef to claim they could change Egyptian food.

Egyptian food is something you learned and got used to. It’s the food you learned with deeply ingrained flavors from your mom, your grandmother, your aunts. So, it’s tough to mess with it. If you want to change something so fundamental or traditional, you need some support, you need enough information, and you need knowledge of how other regional cuisines have evolved. That way, you can start from where others left off, not from scratch.

A common problem was that many chefs started from the very beginning, which took a lot of time. But I started from where others had finished, and I began with Egyptian food.

MET&T: How did your participation in the Top Chef franchise come about?

Mostafa: First, they contacted me for season one, and I did the casting in Egypt. I filmed some videos and sent them in, but I got rejected. It was a big disappointment for me because the program felt like a chance to showcase all my abilities, and getting rejected was really upsetting.

Then came the second season. When I watched the first season, I was so impressed by the level of competition. It was really good. For the second season, they called me again and I made another video. This time it was accepted, and they asked me to travel to Lebanon for the casting.

When I went, I was surprised by the level. It was way higher than what I had seen before. I was delighted to be part of it, but at the same time, I was anxious. I kept going back and forth in my mind – Should I go or not? At that time, I’d never traveled outside Egypt. Then one of my friends told me, “Mostafa, you’ve got nothing to lose. Just go.”

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Watch the full video interview on The Egypt Travel Channel.

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MET&T: So, what was it like to compete against other talented chefs from across the region and to actually be awarded the winner of the season?

Mostafa: From the very first day I entered the competition, I felt like I had a goal to
represent Egyptian chefs and Egyptian cuisine as an Egyptian chef. That, for me, was the biggest challenge, even more than the competition itself. The competition felt like a rhythm of highs and lows. It wasn’t all on the same level.

Sometimes, they’d ask me to do things I’d never even heard of or to cook for events I’d never experienced before. For example, they once asked us to cook for a baby shower.
I didn’t even know what a “baby shower” was at the time! To me, it sounded like a newborn celebration. But the term didn’t fully make sense, and I didn’t really understand what we were supposed to do. So this challenge was tough for me.

Another time, they asked us to prepare a picnic. In Egypt, a picnic is like Sham El-Nessim [an Egyptian festival for the arrival of Spring], so it was completely different from what the challenge required because of a lack of experience. I hadn’t traveled much and wasn’t familiar with other cultures, and my language skills weren’t the best, which made things harder.

They even asked us to cook after jumping out of a plane! That was a whole new level of difficulty. It wasn’t like the challenges we’re used to inside the kitchen. We, as chefs, are familiar with challenges in the kitchen… maybe cooking in a garden, or in someone’s home for dinner, or in a tourist spot, or even in a local market.

In the end, though, this journey brought out something in me that I didn’t know was there. It truly benefited me. I gained five or six years’ worth of experience that you’d get
from working in different kitchens across the Arab world. Honestly, Top Chef isn’t just about winning – it’s about the journey. And for me, that journey was the real prize.

MET&T: How did you first meet Giovanni, and how did you get involved with Pier88 Group?

Mostafa: Mr. Giovanni, to me, isn’t just an owner or someone I work with. He’s like a father, an older brother. The first time he called me, I was taking on a new challenge. I had decided to leave Egypt and head to France to pursue a Michelin Star. The plan in my mind was to win it with Egyptian food, and that was the goal.

When I got to France, it was incredibly difficult for me. I failed big time, but I was used to falling and getting back up, so I kept pushing. That’s when Mr. Giovanni called and told me he wanted me to join their team at Pier 88.

Before leaving Egypt, joining Pier 88 had been a dream of mine. When Mr. Giovanni reached out, it meant so much to me. I dropped all my plans and told him, “I’m coming back to Egypt.” Then, I went to Almaza. I landed, I went home, I dropped my bags,
and the next day, I went straight to Almaza Bay. I met with Mr. Giovanni and told him, “If I feel comfortable here, I’ll stay. If not, I’ll return to France.” But I never went back to France to pick up my things. I stayed in Egypt. I realized this is where I belong. Egypt is my place and I must be back.

Mr. Giovanni gave me all the support I needed and told me, “We’re building a new team with fresh ideas and we want to reshape the company.” I wanted to be a part of that transformation. At the time, Mr. Giovanni had many ideas, and the concept for Khufu’s hadn’t been born yet. It was all about improving Pier 88 Group, Almaza Bay, Italiano, and Pier 88 Pyramids Hills. Meeting someone like Mr. Giovanni was one of the best things that ever happened to me in Egypt.

MET&T: What inspired many of the unique twists that you have on classic Egyptian dishes that are on the menu here at Khufu’s?

Mostafa: Mr. Giovanni didn’t just support me; he taught me a whole new perspective on flavor – how Europeans approach food. For me, I was learning how to cook for someone other than an Egyptian… someone who loves Egyptian food and has his own philosophy about eating: food must have a distinct, memorable flavor. I really appreciate this philosophy.

The most important thing to me isn’t presentation. It’s the last thing I think about. But what matters to him is that food has quality and flavor, and when he eats, the food must taste good. These were the lessons I learned from Mr. Giovanni. He taught me how to handle the European mentality when it comes to food and how to cater to it.

When the opportunity with Khufu’s came along, Mr. Giovanni and I tested several places serving Egyptian food. His feedback was that he won’t be able to eat that food. Since Mr. Giovanni really loves Italian food, I told him, “I’ll cook you Egyptian food that you’ll like more than Italian food, or at least it will rival the Italian food you grew up with.” For him, it was an opportunity; for me, it was more of a challenge than an opportunity.

So we began testing and developing our ideas. As you mentioned, it was about achieving a unique flavor… selecting the type of olive oil, the type of sea salt, the fresh ingredients I will use, and how the food could have acidity, umami, and a kind of battle of flavors in the mouth… something that stimulates the senses. I worked on applying these ideas, adjusting the presentation so that, even if it didn’t look Egyptian, it would taste unmistakably Egyptian.That was the challenge.

The first test with Mr. Giovanni was a huge shock. “This is the food that we must conquer the whole of Egypt with. This is the cuisine that we need to focus on,” he saidd. “Egypt has given me so much, and now it is time to focus on this cuisine. Egypt truly needed a cuisine like this.”

For him, it was a big deal, as he was one of the pioneers in creating a great cuisine for Egypt. We work together, and as I always say, “You’re the brains, and I’m the muscle.” Thanks to God, we’ve done great things, and I believe even better things are ahead of us.

MET&T: What has been the reaction of Egyptians to your unique twists on classic Egyptian food?

Mostafa: Ok, the way I saw it, Egyptians were largely divided. One major group really liked the idea, and they were saying, “We’ve been waiting for something like this for so long. Why did it come so late?” Egyptians living abroad were also saying, “We’ve been wanting something like this for a long time. Why isn’t Egyptian food evolving? Why isn’t anyone taking it outside of Egypt?” That was the major reaction.

And there were smaller groups who said, “No, you’re changing Egyptian food, This isn’t the Egyptian food we know.” Of course, there were good comments and bad comments. You need to be receptive to the bad comments, and you should also be receptive to the good comments and amplify them.

As a chef, I love to educate myself about food, and I love to share this knowledge with the guests or customers who come to me. I share the culture I’ve learned, giving them my perspective on food. The idea of a “perspective” in food is something common in Europe, where you go to eat and experience a chef’s perspective along with the food. Here in Egypt, I can’t just present a perspective. I need to present a perspective along with good food. It’s not enough to just offer a perspective and ruin the taste of the food.

So, I have a basic rule when it comes to Egyptian food, and really with any food… the traditional flavor should never change. You can play around with techniques. As a chef, I play with techniques, the way food is presented, and I try to enhance the flavor. If something is too heavy, I make it lighter. If something has too much starch, I reduce it. If the texture is off and people might not like it, I change it.

There are some dishes I didn’t like because of the traditional way they’re made. So, I tried to make them in a way that I’d enjoy eating them, because if I enjoy it, I can confidently sell it. For example, with “kishk,” I removed the yogurt because I don’t like the sour taste of yogurt in hot food. When we talk about tagine muammar, the traditional version is so rich that if you eat it, you might not be able to stand up again because of how heavy it is. So, I made the rice portion smaller and increased the amount of meat. I made the meat visible, not hidden. These are some of the things I started working on.

So, for me, after a year of working at Khufu’s, I felt the results. It became the best restaurant in Egypt, and number five in the Middle East and MENA region. Now, after the second year, we’re aiming for even better things, hopefully. It’s not necessarily about getting better rankings in competitions, but the most important thing is that our customer base is happy.

We’re now also working on a new concept. For me, Khufu’s was “version one” of Egyptian cuisine, and Khufu Bistro is “version two.”

MET&T: What’s your favorite Egyptian food?

Mostafa: For me, I prefer homemade food the most, and after that, street food. But lately, street food isn’t as good as it used to be. In the past, the ingredients were cheap, and things were affordable, so people knew how to make a profit and still give you good value for your money. And the food tasted good. But now, the quality of the oil used is not the best, and the food isn’t the same anymore… there are just too many spices.

There are still some places that have managed to maintain their quality, and there are places I really love. For instance, I’d never go to Heliopolis without having Abu Hamama’s konafa with basbousa and, I mean for me, if I’m in Al-Zaiton, I have to eat from there. Also, if I’m in Ain Shams, I can’t miss Hajj Said El-Sharkawy’s liver meal, specifically the breaded liver they make.

There are certain places where the food is something you can’t forget. I love street food a lot, a lot. That’s what I really enjoy – simple food. Homemade food is simple. Street food is simple, and I feel like that’s the food that represents me.

For example, when it comes to traditional Egyptian desserts, I love them. If you brought me a piece of basbousa and a piece of eclair, I’d definitely go for the basbousa, even though it’s sweet and I’m on a sugar break. I just love basbousa. I love konafa.

There are things in Egypt, like ta’amiya, the smell of ta’amiya, the smell of beans, the smell of liver being grilled. There are things in Egypt that are really, really delicious, and we have to preserve them. So, for me, simple Egyptian food is the best food in the world.

MET&T: Mostafa, what do you want the rest of the world outside of Egypt to know about Egypt and about Egyptian food?

Mostafa: For me, I really want Egypt to be recognized worldwide for having a very strong cuisine. Because, honestly, our cuisine is incredibly strong. I’ve created many menus, and the hardest menu I had to create was for Egyptian food. To me, Egyptian cuisine is on par with any famous cuisine in the world.

However, we’ve been a bit late in promoting Egyptian food. So, whenever I attend any event in any country, I truly love presenting Egyptian food in its own way, in a way that befits a country with a civilization that’s over ten thousand years old, or, at least in my opinion, it’s more than ten thousand years, not seven thousand.

I really wish all the chefs in Egypt would work on the same concept and the same vision that I’m working on. We need to focus more on our cuisine so that it can reach beyond Egypt. It’s unthinkable that such a strong cuisine is not represented globally. Egyptian food should be in major cities around the world. It should be in places like London or Paris or Dubai or Canada or Denmark. I want Egyptian food to be present in all countries for all nationalities. It’s truly a cuisine that can be served in various ways – vegan, vegetarian, healthy – and it can be adapted in all forms to suit different cultures.

MET&T: Thank you very much, sir.

Mostafa: Honestly, thank you very much. I really enjoyed the interview, and I hope that you enjoyed it too and that everyone will like it because it is the first time I am answering new questions and talking about them in such detail. And you let me speak in Egyptian Arabic, so it was much better for me.