02 Jul Work in progress

A quick blog from TK founder Hanan Kattan: I’ve spent a lot of time in the past several years in London’s Soho. It’s the hub of the film and media world, a place where new and exciting ideas flourish, not just in film offices, but on every street corner.

And so I was thrilled when I managed to secure a location right in the heart of Soho for my new restaurant concept, Tabun Kitchen. If you’re wondering about the connection to film, there really isn’t one – except that I’ve always seen food as a creative industry as much as storytelling is. What Tabun Kitchen does connect to is my love for food, my years of entrepreneurship and a desire to bring the freshly cooked flavours of my childhood to a wider audience.

We are all familiar with Middle Eastern cooking in this country. The delicious tastes and emphasis on fresh ingredients have made it a favourite. But, looking around, I couldn’t find a restaurant serving consistent, delicious food at affordable prices. Somewhere where I could go in and get a freshly baked wrap or a salad bursting with flavour for a quick lunch, or where dinner might be home-cooking of the kind I enjoyed growing up. So – after a long period of preparation, I decided to open Tabun Kitchen.

The word ‘Tabun’ refers to the traditional bread oven common in Palestine, and that we had in my grandfather’s garden growing up. The warm Tabun bread would be wrapped around ‘musakhan’ – chicken baked with caramelised onions, sumac and pine nuts. The original wrap! The wraps at Tabun Kitchen will be a little lighter – thin enough to puff up and cook in front of you in the bread oven, and made with organic flour.

As we gear up to open in the next 2 to 3 weeks, I’ll keep posting updates on our social media, so please stay tuned and stay in touch – I love getting ideas!