In June, I traveled to Egypt to learn how to make aysh balady - Egyptian pita bread. Aysh balady is made from a very high hydration dough, think 85% to 110% hydration, so it requires a specific technique for handling the dough which takes patience and practice.
To learn, I spent a week at Zooba, an Egyptian restaurant that makes classically Egyptian street food. Each day, I met the team at around noon and we mixed, shaped, and baked pita bread in rounds.
But at Zooba, beyond learning how to make aysh balady, I was surprised by just how transformative it was to pause, step outside my routine and reflect. With that space, I found myself returning to the values that guide Zeena Bakery—cultural storytelling, ingredient integrity, and heritage-inspired baking—and saw them come to life in new ways throughout the trip.
Team Culture
I learned that giving team members the space to create and develop their skill yields more than a great product, it also cultivates a great team culture. One baker told me that he started as a dish washer, and he used to walk over to the bakery section to watch the bakers work. The baker began to train him and even washed dishes, so he could continue practicing.
Another baker proudly shared how his peer baker, who had previous baking experience, taught him how to make fateer – an Egyptian layered pastry that requires a specific technique to achieve super thin layers of dough.
The team radiated pride, not just in their craft, but in each other.
The Power of “Chef”
Thanks to the HBO show The Bear, many of us are familiar with the now pop-culture phrase, yes, chef. Before this trip, I did not think of myself as a baker and definitely not a chef. When people asked me what it’s like being in a shared kitchen, I’d try to explain: it feels like a 7.5 hour race that starts at 8 am and if we’re lucky, ends when our shift ends at 3:30pm. That intensity reminded me of The Bear, but unlike the controlled chaos of a professional kitchen, my early baking days felt more like freefall: chaotic and unstructured.
But being around the Zooba team helped me understand that calling someone 'chef' wasn’t just formality – it conveyed respect and seemed to fuel a shared pride in the work. I noticed that when the screen would light up with a new order, the bakers promptly prepared the food. The ownership and responsibility to the customer was infectious and inspiring.
Design and Storytelling
Zooba’s design is bold yet light hearted. It tells the story of their business – an Egyptian restaurant proudly serving Egyptian food in a fast-casual setting.
My favorite poster has an image of five Egyptian men (no helmets, mind you) all riding on one motorcycle, which was a common sight on the highway – though technically I only saw a maximum of three men at once.
Seeing their design inspired me to take Zeena Bakery’s design more seriously. I was moved by how much character and narrative the colors, lighting, prints, and stories their imagery told.
There’s not much room for error when serving Egyptian home and street food to Egyptians in Egypt. But the head chef and owner, Chef Moustafa approaches his work with a fearless sense of commitment to delivering seriously good food in a light-hearted and easy-going context.
Fearlessness
Chef Moustafa is someone that I would describe as unafraid. Of course I cannot know for sure, but his approach to experimentation and his energy makes me perceive that he is comfortable with trying new recipes and ways of working without much worry or “what ifs.”
I, on the other hand, often feel great discomfort when doing new things. I prefer to visualize exactly what I am about to do, but it’s hard to visualize something I’ve never done before.
Fortunately, Sabrina, one member of our small kitchen team of three, balances my nervous energy. She’s enthusiastic about trying new items and does not seem to be weighed down by the “what ifs” that I find myself reeling through when it's time to make those items.
I have been itching to expand our offerings and having Sabrina join has made it more possible. She’s an extremely talented baker and chef with a keen ability to bring out the best flavors in any product. She also brings a fresh perspective and encourages us to define our own path rather than fitting into either the traditional Arabic foods category or the more fusion-forward trends in restaurants and bakeries.
That same sentiment – that we can and should define our own path – was reinforced in Egypt. I saw how Chef Moustafa and his team elevated traditional recipes or invented new ones using familiar Egyptian ingredients. I left Egypt realizing that we’re not bound by any single direction. We have the freedom to define our direction and iterate along the way.
Gratitude
My trip to Egypt marks the one-year anniversary of joining a shared kitchen. During this time, we’ve begun selling at markets, expanding to new communities in Brooklyn and Westchester, and growing our menu and team.
As we continue to reflect on who we are and how we serve our community, the lessons I learned from the team at Zooba will influence our next steps.
To the team at Zooba, thank you for welcoming me. In being with you, I learned something more valuable than any recipe or technique: that joy and excellence can go hand in hand—and that Zeena Bakery can forge a path that is proudly, unapologetically its own.
