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Chef Lucien Nakhoul is whipping up a treat for Iftar at Köşebaşi in Bahrain City Centre offering shoppers a scrumptious bite to break their fast during Ramadan before they head for the bargains in the summer sales.
The restaurant specialises in fine Anatolian Turkish cuisine and has been delighting the palates of the island’s eating out crowd for the past three years.
Chef Lucien, 35, has created an extensive set menu featuring a selection of authentic Turkish treats. Hailing from Lebanon, he boasts 15 years of professional experience in the hospitality industry.
He first learned the art of cooking as a teenager, helping to supplement his family’s income with a series of jobs in restaurants. After school, he enrolled into a specialist culinary school and gained two diplomas.
He joined a leading restaurant in Lebanon to put his skills to the test and to gain experience preparing Lebanese, French and Italian dishes. In 2006, he moved to Belarus when an opportunity came up at a continental restaurant and in 2008 was approached by the Azadea Group to join Köşebaşi as head chef.
Prior to opening the kitchen in November that year, he underwent training with a Turkish chef and today manages a kitchen team of 19.
Chef Lucien explained that this Ramadan, Köşebaşi aims to entice diners with some new tasty items during Iftar including zumbu spinach and ishri kofta, as well as exquisite vegetarian fare. Other dishes available in the set menu include eggplant dishes, vine leaves, hummus, dolma, içli köfte (boiled meatballs) and findiks (lamb), spinach and pidettes.
The restaurant will also offer two types of salads, including the signature toros salata, which combines tomatoes, rocket, parsley, green onion and mint and is mixed with Turkish spices and topped with a pomegranate sauce.
The main course will feature an assortment of grills that the restaurant is renowned for including the Köşebaşi kebab, saşlık kebab, chicken sheesh and lamb sheesh. Accompaniments include complimentary freshly-baked bread. Two types of dessert provide the perfect finish to a good meal as well as a choice of beverages including Arabic coffee or tea, jaliab, amer el din or ayran.
The set menu will be available from sunset to 2am. It costs BD11.5 per person and BD7 for children under 12 and is subject to a 10 per cent service charge.
