A Chef's Journey of Passion & Purpose: Chef Sameera Ismail

0:00Revival in motion reflect upon the noble Quran, find your inspiration in the sunnah and get motivated with an array of impressive guests. In a wide variety of topics, experiences peritually submerged existence with Hafidharahana on her program Revival in Motion every Saturday afternoon from 1 to 2 pm with weekly podcast on the Radio Islam website Reflection Inspiration Motivation Only on Your Favorite Learning Station Radio Islam International Arabic Arabic Arabic Welcome to Living the Legacy on Radio Islam. I'm Rihanna Umer. For more than 15 years, our podcast has been a space where we talk about resilience and

1:02creativity and transformation and we allow ourselves to be shaped by the stories and the narratives we learn and we hear from others. Today we are stepping into another vibrant world and that's the world of culinary artistry. A profession that is often underestimated getting so profoundly influential. And I will guess today and bodies this truth of what it means to be in this field itself. I will guess today is Chef Samira Ismail and she's a professional chef with more than a decades worth of industry experience. She has worked in prestigious hotels, launched her own street food business and now serves as the first ever halal sous chef at the capital Zimbali, one of Durban's most exclusive luxury hotels. Beyond the kitchen she is a motivational speaker, content creator and activist. She is also a GBV survivor who uses her platform to inspire resilience and empower women. Chef Samira's journey is one of perseverance, of faith,

2:07and of purpose, proving that passion when coupled with discipline and courage can create a legacy that nourishes both body and soul. Chef Samira, Assalamu alaikum, Rakhmatullah, Hibarakaatu, it's an honor to welcome you to living the legacy. Hibarakaatu, Chef, if we could start at the origins of your passion, we know that every journey begins with a spark. What is it that first ignited your love for cooking and when did you realise that this passion could become a lifelong vocation for you? This is such a beautiful thing for me because it actually stemmed from my grandmother, so my nani, my mom's mom, and the manner in which she used flavours to pair up with meat and the different dishes, whether it was a curry or rice dish or just a simple, you know, just a simple

3:10creamy dish, the manner in which she did that, the love that she had, and as we say the Therika in which she's done that, for me that shaped a whole different world for me because I thought, wow, this is incredible. How do they mix flavours and they just know it's going to be perfect and it's going to be right and it's just, it's going to sort of flow and that when I that's when I decided I am going to look deeper into this, give myself that attention to say I want to do this and I persevered through it and I've come to Rila, I also took a lot of my lessons from my mom because she is, she's definitely got the trade from my grandmother, so I'm glad to have come from that lineage of great cooks and to have been able to have the opportunity and the honour to learn from them, so it definitely stems from my grandma and my mom and my aunties, so I've come to Rila for that. Fantastic, fantastic, so I'd like if we could just dispel

4:10some of these common misconceptions we have, many of us imagine being a chef is something being glamorous and there's a reality that tells us this is a science and art, a discipline all in one, maybe if you could help us dispel some of those common misconceptions that we will have about the chefs. Absolutely, so it's spot on with the man in which you just asked me that question and it's a brilliant question because more often than not you see it on TV and you see this beautiful plate with amazing colours and how quick and easy it is to just you know whoop up a steak or a pasta or grill this and stuff, so with that it's not just the beautiful plating, behind the scenes comes with a lot of pressure, so let's divulge into the reality of being a chef, it's physically demanding, so it's not an ordinary thing where I've come to work at 8 o'clock and I'm going to leave at 5,

5:13you come to work at 8 o'clock and maybe at 9 o'clock you need, you've just got an information that you have to work for an additional 3 or 4 hours after the 5 pm cut off time, so you might be working a double, so you're on your feet for hours, you're working weekends, public holidays and often when some people are on holiday or they're celebrating a milestone in your cousin's life or in whatever life, the marriage, the birthday parties, the dinners, the family get together, you are not part of that because you're working, so what people don't see though behind this is the discipline, the burnouts, the cuts, I like to call the little burns on my hands, my tattoos because it stays with me for life, that is the result of the perseverance, the confidence, the love and the passion that you will have within your heart to say and to lead you to becoming a chef, to say okay I've made that decision to become a chef, so the cleaning, the stock counts, the pressure

6:19and the teamwork behind every dish is the reason why you will become a great chef one day, so cooking is the easy part, but I think remaining consistent under the pressure is what actually makes you that professional chef and the passionate one, so that's something to really take into consideration and to remember. Yeah, absolutely incredible and we know that experience is so for your own journey, hotels, your own street food venture, your senior role, have a senior role at this luxurious hotel, how did each stage of your career refine you both as a chef and in leadership positions? Excellent question, I love this, every chapter taught me something different, whether it was in this career or in my life in itself, hotels taught me discipline which is the greatest part of being a chef because their systems, they are standards, they are routines,

7:22they are patterns, they are schedules, they are protocols to follow and that is what defines you in a very different light, you yourself become a lot more professional, maybe growing up you didn't have that certain traits of common courtesy or professionalism and whatnot, but when you come to a hotel you see what's around you, you see the people, you meet people, you have conversations, so that is one thing that sort of like brings you into a different world which is great, when it moves on to running my own street food business that taught me courage, it taught me business skills and it also teaches you to wear the different hats, yes, shifts wear hats, but it's almost like you shaping so much into now another part of the world, of the culinary world which is so refreshing, loved it, when I went to Johannesburg that was the first time that I stepped into a leadership role of you know being a head chef at a Islamic centre, that was my dream

8:23job, to do a Dawa work but also have my profession, just sort of like interlinked with that and I kid you not, it was the most refreshing experience that I could have ever had in my life, a hamdrila and now my current role at the capital Zimbali continues to teach me excellence every single day, that even amidst the chaotic life there's something good to look forward to because you learn every day, you becoming better and that experience humbles me like you cannot believe, so yes every kitchen is like a classroom because there's a lesson but amidst all of that always remain confident because that confidence is going to allow you to slow down so you're not rushing any processes and that is what's going to make you a better chef every day. So you refer to this, your position that you had in Johannesburg as a head chef for the case centre, how different

9:23would that be to what you're doing now? How does that because you said you know chefs wear many different hats, how is that different in what which ways are they different and which ways are they similar? Wow that's going to get me deep into my personal feels and I love it, so when I was you know at the case centre it was number one it was away from home, so yes that's that's a nice thing to sort of look into if you're willing to grow and if you want to grow wholeheartedly, genuinely and confidently, you need to have that discipline, that perseverance, so that was the first thing. I made Mashaura, I had a meeting with my parents and every step, every decision that I take, their opinion has to be of utmost importance and so the first thing, the first thing was having a meeting with them and I made that decision of moving to Johannesburg. I am Drilla, I was on site, so I was still in that lovely Islamic background and environment and that was what made

10:28me a lot stronger to manage being so far away from home, so that's the first thing, the willingness to accept change, that's very important. The second thing is to have an open mind and to feel refreshed, every day is going to be a different day, some days are going to be hard, some days are going to be absolutely lovely and some days are just going to be super challenging, but remember, you learning through the whole process, so that was the first thing for me is sort of learning a different environment not being in a hotel, I'm on a farm, I'm with you know, orphans, I'm with people that have been abandoned, so you are not just being a chef, you are being a person to them, you are making them feel special, so it's when I was at that care center for me, it was more of a personal note, I want to make them feel like they matter and of value, so it was going the extra mile and even baking a cupcake or having you know, buying them a chocolate, it was a personal note, so you

11:31were not just a chef, you were someone that was special to them or trying to make them feel special, that was the first thing, and now when we move back into the hotel industry, it's fast pace, it's quick thinking, it's damage control, it's meeting so many different people, but at the care center, you with one group of people, at the hotel, you meeting people that are from different backgrounds, different aggression, understandings and different emotions at the same time, whether it's with your team or whether it's with people that are coming as guests, so that was a nice switch to make, but I feel like in order for me to have been stronger in the hotel industry now, it was great to have been in this care center because it sort of like dug at my emotions, and then I could come back and be a lot stronger as that you know, that very strict leader and chef that I had within me, and it sort of helped me understand it better and who I am

12:33and what my purpose is, so when I got back to the hotel industry, it was a lot easier for me to kind of transition because I was like, okay, now I understand what my vision really was and where I need to be to reach my goals. It was a powerful reflection, thank you, Jazakalachhe for sharing that, and then chef, I wouldn't pick up on that what you mentioned. Let's talk beyond you know, culinary skills, so outside of that,osphere, we're talking about leadership, creativity, emotional intelligence, resilience, what are these type, in terms of these type of skills and qualities, which ones have you found to be most essential in your journey as a muslim chef? Sorry, just repeat the beginning of that question. Sure, sure. So when we're looking at skills outside of a culinary world, you know, beyond the technical skills, so the leadership you've mentioned

13:34earlier, creativity and mother, that emotional intelligence, which of these skills do you found to be most essential in your journey as a muslim chef and as a muslim female chef, the house? Well, you know, now that I'm at the hotel that I'm at, the Zimbabwee hotel, so I am now here as the first ever halal sous chef. So being a chef in the industry is one thing, but being a muslim chef in the industry is another thing and what I've noticed most that I need and not only as a chef, but as a person, I think we all do is communication. It is so important to communicate the right things, so someone doesn't get the wrong end of the stick. Without a doubt, communication has to always be the focal point of any conversation, any decision, and any sort of leadership skills that you can bring in within your team, because it's either someone will get offended or someone will

14:38grow from whatever you communicate to them. So it's a team environment at the end of the day, but beyond the team environment, we need to also know what's important to sort of communicate to our guests and how to make them feel comfortable. So apart from having the actual physical skills, we need to have that mental skill and sort of the emotion one as well to say, I consider you and I will communicate accordingly as to how your needs can actually be met. So for me, communication is exceptionally vital and judging from experiences in the hotel industry and in this current job, I can see how important it is with our Muslim guests at the same time with regards to the halal and the haram situation. So that for me is very, very, very important. Let's talk a little bit about social media and how that's transformed with the culinary landscape, how important is it today, do you think, for chefs to build the presence beyond the kitchen?

15:43And how has that, you know, and this concept of content creation online, digital, how has that shaped your own career? You know, social media is almost like a digital CV. I've picked that up from being a content creator for the last couple of years, I think about four years. And I do find it exceptionally refreshing to have met so many wonderful people from different backgrounds, the feedback that you get from merely just posting a dish, whether it's soggy or whether it's making a sandwich or whether it's doing lamb shanks, the feedback that I always get is refreshing. However, having said that, knowing that you're going to be getting feedback or even let's start from the beginning, knowing that you're going to post that, you have to sort of have the understanding to say, if I get criticized for this, how well am I going to be okay with taking it all heartedly, confidently and respectfully? So it's all, you know, wonderful and glorious to be on social media

16:47and to post content. But at the same time, we have to respect our audience and have to also say, okay, fine, I'm making a decision to be on social media, but I also need to be open to receiving any criticism. So yes, people don't only want to see you as being a chef, they want to also know a little bit more about who is this content creator, a little bit about her life or his life. So that's very important. And it has opened a lot of doors for me. Like I said, meeting a lot of people, people that want to use you for a product, genuinely get to your opinion of it, they will go to your social media page. And again, I say, that's a digital TV. But always remember that as much as you post, that's great. There's a lot of the algorithm that needs to be considered. But within all of this, you have to be very authentic. Do not be someone that you not because at the end of the day, when you are being referred to as an example of A, B, and C, you need to be true to who you are. So

17:47that someone knows that that's really what actually happens after A, B, and C happens. So that's very important. Authenticity is very, very, very important. Don't build a brand about around who you want to be, rather than who you actually and genuinely are. It plays a very vital role in your success as a person. And basically about goals, dreams, and what you want to achieve. A chef, you know, one of the things that stood out for me was one of your tajjudu'as come true was like one dream of combining your culinary career with the our work. The time as Hedge Chef at the KS Entertainment in Johannesburg. And I wonder if you could tell us a bit more about, because we often talk to professionals about their careers, but not enough about spiritual resilience or their faith connection. Right? And I think for a lot of people listening who are

18:53looking to pivot with a career or are thinking about venturing into a career like yours, this is important for us to touch on. Your own journey has included overcoming tremendous, you know, challenges. You've used your power platform and you still use it to empower others. So I'm wondering how has resilience informed your approach both in your life, in your career? How important are elements and routines like tajjudu' for example? Anything else you'd like to share and feel comfortable sharing about that spiritual growth, strengths that you get? Hmm. This question really made me a little bit emotional. I'm not going to lie, because it might just be a question that has been asked, but I can hear the emotion behind it and the interest level behind it and how important the answer could be. I appreciate that. So when it comes to

19:59resilience, it's a very important thing for me, because having come from an experience of being a GBV victim, my mom said to me, Samira, you're no longer a victim because you're out of that situation, you are now a survivor. And when I sat and I thought about it, I thought, wow, what a profound thing to say to me, because that alone tells me what strength actually means. So I don't mean to say to now a person, okay, be okay with receiving physical abuse. No, no, no, be okay with an experience and a challenge that you are faced with. Don't think that that's it. I'm done. Allah has honoured Allah, gave it to me. Now I'm done. No, no, no, Allah has honoured Allah, loves us the most. This is why he challenges us. He tests us and we are his favorite soldiers. This is why he tests us. And Alhamdulillah, having that mindset, I shaped it in such a different way. I redefined my life, my faith, my deen, my everything you could possibly think of and I directed it straight towards Islam

21:02on a much deeper level. And that for me redefined everything. It changed the narrative completely. And every single day, every time I would always make to Allah, for how Allah please grant me this opportunity of doing the hour work and having my career. And it stemmed from there. And it's sort of just gotten deeper and deeper. And two years after I had come back and I'd left my marital home that abuse and the atmosphere and the horrible environment that I was in, I was then had haunted for this job. So yes, it might have took two years. But within that two years, I became a better Muslim. I became a better human. I became a better, a better daughter. But also a better woman to say that it's okay. It's okay. I'm not the first. I'm not the last. But what I now do with my experience is what is truly going to define me and define all odds. And you know, I've become so strong with having such

22:07a strong mindset that I'm ready to honestly face anything and everything. I think, you know, if anybody has to like even approach my mom, she would tell you this, this young lady is ready for anything. And that for me is my strength. That's my wealth. So don't ever think that no, every door that you make, oh, it's not coming through. It's too small. Allah is the best of planners. He is khafoor or Rahim, he is a Rahman, he is al-wadood. He will give you the most love in your heart. Alhamdulillah that you will love your religion even more. But the one advice I can always, always, always reiterate is please do not allow anybody to change how much you love your creator, you love, I want to be so Allah wa sallam. They will be shaytan along the way. And that is going to be your challenge. Make sure that no matter what you always turn to Allah, you are sending your salawat upon Allah, because that is what is going to prepare you for your Ahira. When I was headhunted

23:13for this job, I just have to say this. One of the board members said to me, he did not know that I was making dua for this job. He did not know anything. I didn't even mention it. But after he spoke to me, we had masura, we made masura with this entire situation and this dream job of mine. I kept sitting then I thought, Ya Allah, you have answered my prayers. Alhamdulillah, my dua is answered. And when he was done with the meeting, he looked at me and he said, Samira, you went on your musalai and you made dua and Allah has granted the la brotus to your door. Yet he did not know any of my dua. I did not mention it. So there will be the small miracles, the small appreciation moments, but always turn to Allah, you will never, never, never be disappointed. Allah's panatara is the best as I said, he's a rahman. So that is where it defines my moment. Mashallah, I want to pick up on one thing here, Chef, you mentioned salawat or dua on the Prophet's eye. So how important is your relationship, your connection with Rasulullah, salallahu alayhi

24:18comes to building your inner resilience, when it comes to maintaining your identity in the culinary world and just gaining your strength and your courage, how important is that relationship with Rasulullah, so I assume that connection was him. So it's actually two things and then I'm going to sort of total it up at the end. So the number one thing is Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, times a million. It will never be enough Alhamdulillah's because three years ago, I was honored and I was privileged to have gone on the beautiful journey of Hajj with my parents. Again, another dream of mine, another dua of mine. Ever since I was a little girl and understood what Muzelefa is and what Arifah is. So that was my dua alhamdulillah in 2023. I was afforded the opportunity and the honour of doing Hajj and performing Hajj with them. But the one defining moment for me, one of many, but this was top of the list, is now we've been told, we have landed in Medina

25:23and now we are told we are going to send, we are going to now make Salam, and when I was just walking and we are walking towards the green dome because we are now going to be gathered in this group and we're going to send our salawat and we're going to make the rāa and we just we are now here. At that point I still did not feel worthy of being there and at that point having felt that I also realized that it was Allah's Hanumat ala that wanted me to be here but it was only being Muhammad Salāh wa-Laywassalam that asked for us to be here which now leads me to the second thing of the dua and the last sermon on the day of Arifah and the plans of Arifah that Aoun ab-Ibn Muhammad Salāh wa-Laywassalam made for us, he's Umma which leads me to the final part of even though the hospitality industry is not a Muslim-dominated industry. I was still after my t-Hajjud-Dua of wanting to mix Dua work with my professional career having been at that

26:27K-Sent-A but now coming into an industry where yes there's Haram-Mite is Haram that goes on with you know Al-Kahlan what not at the hotel industries, sorry at the hotel in this industry, I was still asked to be a Muslim chef, a halal chef, a sous chef in this industry to continue doing what I love to do most and that is allow more people to love Islam and for me that means so much to me in the career, in my personal life and in all my experiences so that continuously plays in my mind, I'm here because Allah's Haudala wants me here, I'm here because Aoun ab-Ibn Muhammad Allah al-Aliwassalam asked for his Umma to be protected and so much more, I need to make sure that all of this stands for something and I can prepare myself for my Ahrira and this is what the individual that said that to me that I made a Dua and he is here, he's the one of the other

27:30things he always always told me is Samirah whatever you do, what every it is that you do in life, make sure that you are preparing for your Ahrira, so a simple if you're not spiritually inclined, if you're not Islamically strong, it's okay, Allah's Haudala loves us all but he also says that no matter what happens, always say al-hamdulillah for the good and for the bad but always make Bismillahirrahmanirrahim before you start anything and your Baraka will flow, I mean that's very important for me, it doesn't matter that we are in a haram environment, being in this industry, your Bismillahirrahmanirrahim will allow the Baraka to flow because your intentions are pure, it's of Islamic foundation, always remember that, I mean, Chef, let's move our conversation now to the educational aspect, so for listeners who are aspiring to enter this field of yours, what are the educational roots that exist and how would you recommend or advise them to begin preparing themselves,

28:36so we're talking about learners who may be in grade 10 upwards, what would you advise me to them in terms of preparation and the educational roots, the options that are available for them please. Okay, so number one, you have two sort of decipher, where the cooking is your passion, your hobby, or it's just something that you sort of want to try out and experiment, that's the first thing, if cooking and being a chef is about passion, then you'll never work a day in your life, so the first things first is understand how spices and recipes work, that a recipe is just the foundation for you to build on, that's the first thing, understand what type of love you have for cooking, it mustn't just be okay, I want to be a chef because it looks cool to chop up onions with your ice clothes and the knife is pretty sharp, no, no, no, it goes a lot beyond that, once you've deciphered that, the second thing is to perhaps go into a hotel and ask them,

29:41if you can or a catering company or a restaurant or a takeaway, to just maybe have a week or a month experience within school, you know, like work experience or industry experience, it's good to have that prior, I mean, I would have loved that at an early stage, but it still wouldn't have changed my option, I would have still become a chef, but that does help a lot, especially if you're a family oriented person, you need to understand what balance means when it comes to how much of responsibility you have as a chef, that's the second thing, as you going through school and now you have to choose your subjects, choose things that would relate to being a chef, math is important, you're going to have to do costing, you're going to have to do recipe formations, so understand that numbers mean a sufficient amount, it's not a huge amount, but if you want to strive to become a head chef, then that is going to be a very important factor for you, systems can shut down and then you're going to have to do stuff manually. So even though the systems are in place, you need to always

30:43have a backup plan. So yes, math is important, consumer studies is important, home economics is important, try and understand the background of chefs, of cooking, of the culinary industry, where did it stem from, do I resonate with it, what are the questions that I should be asking an actual chef, what are the hours like, it's not going to be sufficient, you need something deeper than that, when you're running out of time and you have got a table of 20 that just walked in, but you low on stock, what is going to be your decision, when you have 20 lamb shanks and numbers have just increased to 25, what is the damage control for that five extra people, you have running out of vegan foods, but you have vegetarian foods, how can you solve that problem, what is the damage control, understand the damage control is exceptionally essential in the culinary industry, absolutely important, and from there you will know whether you want to go into this as a career or you just want to use this as a self-taught kind of chef, hobby, passion vibes.

31:46The next part of this is going to culinary school, make sure that you choose a culinary school that is got a balance of what you want, so you've got two items to choose from, sorry two options, one is just the chef school that is in different parts of South Africa, the one that I went to, it's okay I could mention it, so it's Capsicum Culinary Studio that is focused on chef, the whole, basically that whole industry, and if you want to go into sort of getting an all rounder kind of vibe in the hospitality industry, then you would go with IHS, which is International Hotel School, that will teach you different parts of the hotel, front office, guest relations, room service, housekeeping, culinary, the chefs, the bar area, how to make coffees and hot chocolate, and that kind of sort of intent behind it, so that is very important, but within all of this,

32:46make sure you get yourself enough industry experience that is very important, and just allow the passion to come through. From the time that you are done, you're waiting for your results, you graduated, try and get a job in the meantime, get as much experience that you can, because the quicker you start being a chef, the faster it is for you to grow and actually reach your position of becoming an executive chef or a head chef in an industry, in a hotel, in a restaurant, in a five star Michelin star restaurant, it's really up to you how you want to basically achieve your goals, but make sure that you have goals and you know what you want to achieve, very important. Mashallah, excellent. I'd like if we, as we draw closer to the end of this interview chef, is to ask you this, and that is you have achieved many milestones, Mashallah. Huzoor, Yanda in the introduction, Yanya Zalhamdulillah.

33:47Which, which accomplishment resonates most deeply with you and, and why is that so? They has to be two here. The first is the professional and the personal part of it is the fact that I survived being part of GBV, I survived that. That was the very deep milestone for me, because it sort of redefined me onto making the most amount of Torah for my dream position of mixing Torah work and my professional career. So that was one of the greatest milestones for me because Allah's Haudenosa'Allah heard my cries, He heard my Torah and it made me become a lot stronger in Islam. So the fact that I was hit hunted for this position at the care center on a farm completely different to how urban actually is. So that opened my mind up to a lot of things and

34:49made me understand a lot more and allowed me to become a lot more mature in my decisions. Don't think irrationally, think properly, sit down, put pen to paper, pros and cons and work it out and make sure that you are happy but the people around you aren't miserable. That is very important because they're in everything. So for me that was the milestone in my life as being hunted for that position as a head chef knowing that my tajjidda'ah and my dream all linked in and defined me. So alhamdulillah that was my that was my milestone. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah thank you for sharing that chef. Lastly if a young person 17 or 18 year old Muslim girl is standing before you and she says, Chef, I want to be where you are one day. What would be the very first piece of advice you would give to her?

35:51Always make sure that you become confident in everything that you do so that you are always resilient. What is the best way for our listeners to get in touch with you in terms of your social media counts? Where are you most active and where would you prefer our listeners reach out and engage you in social media? No problem. You can DM me, direct message me on both my social media accounts. Instagram it's sortaid. It's a UT double ed underscore by chef Samira that Samira with a double ed no age and it's sort of like a black and pink logo so it's quite easy to find and on my taka accounts. It's quite straightforward. It's semi underscore 786 i so that is like now an array of different stuff that I post there so you can get your recipes. You can reach out to me for

36:52advice. Whatever it is that you need and that you require which would make a better understanding for you in whatever predicament that you might be in. I'm always happy to help. Please do take into consideration that my replies can be a little bit delayed. I promise I'm not doing it on purpose. Life does get busy but I will get to you and if I do not get to your message in three days please send me a reminder message and say chef I need an answer please. Okay and you know if we look at going ahead in the near future where would you like chef to see Muslims and Muslim women in the culinary world say five years from now what do you hope to see on the scene? Wow I like this question because I always I always get asked what way do I see myself in five years so the fact that we linking a whole bunch of us beautiful Muslim woman Alhamdulillah

37:56or hearts are very strong for this I'm so happy for this question is like a lachet. I would like to see a lot more Muslim woman in the industry but I would like to see a lot more resilient woman in this industry to say I matter and I want to do this for myself I want to be passionate I want to show my passion even if it's making a beautiful Pavlova or the award-winning sandwiches because trust me chefs need sandwiches sometimes we don't always want to have a steak with mushrooms and risotto and whatnot we want to have a nice simple sandwich I want to see a lot more Muslim people but coming with passion coming with confidence and do not get intimidated by the men in this industry because trust me if there's a problem they're coming to you for the recipe trust me so a lot of the non-Muslim chefs actually come to my kitchen and say Sam chef with the halal lamb shanks so we're changing the narrative a little bit

39:01which is great Alhamdulillah so yes come in confidently passionate and resilient because you will never fail Alhamdulillah Chef your favorite sonna food or sonna ingredient when you're whipping up your delicacies your favorite sonna ingredient what would that be definitely olive oil and dates I love adding dates to even salads or even when you're making a very fresh chicken creamy chicken if you pop some dates in there I tried it once as an experiment this is my secret that I'm giving out because I haven't actually fully made the dish yet I just experimented and I just the dates were not very soft they were still a little bit hardish and I just popped it into like this mayonnaisey kind of sweet spicy chicken and just kind of it was at the end I just put the dates in beautiful absolutely beautiful and olive oil I don't only just use it in cooking if my hands are feeling a little bit dry I'll just pump some in my hand and I will rub it and my skin feels

40:07a little bit better because you know being around the fire a lot it can really make your your skin feel a little bit dry so I do that from time to time but yes dates are always going to be that winner for me in every aspect it gives me FIFA it gives me some sort of this open mind that I'm a lot calmer oh it's beautiful Alhamdulillah Chef it has been such a joy to learn from you to chat to you today your your story reminds us that this profession is not just about food but so much about service and creativity and resilience and really it was incredible speaking to you thank you so much JazakAllah Khayr for inspiring us for lifting us up and for just being a very real example of how person can live a legacy a legacy that nourishes the body nourishes the heart the mind the soul even in the midst of experiencing tremendous upheaval challenges and difficulties so

41:11JazakAllah Khayr for sharing with us and those lovely tips for the end too as well but for everything it's just been wonderful to have you with us on the program today and we make your A'ad that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala continues to help you every step of the way for all your your Hajjad all your needs all your aspirations all your tajjad A'ad and we look forward to chatting to you in the future and we make your A'adad everything goes well for you inshaAllah I mean you're what a beautiful the A'ad JazakAllah Khayr and I wish ten times more for you and our and for all those that are struggling to pick a career or to make a decision about their life or going through the most Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will never disappoint JazakAllah Khayr for having me it's been an honor it's been a privilege and I do hope that we can get to chat again and inspire a lot more people but again your words has resonated with my heart in such a deep manner it's made

42:15me emotional and that's when you know you have succeeded in so many different ways and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has has afforded us this opportunity of experiencing such so alhamdulillah JazakAllah Khayr a million times over for this opportunity may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala reward you and grant you Barakhan Khayr in all that you do Amin Ya Rab. Salamu alaykum. So Alhamdulillah. Alaykum. As-salamu al-Rahmanzullahi wa baraket. I'll guest today Chef Samira Ismail, professional chef, culinary creator, GBV survivor and activist, motivational speaker and content creator. We spoke today about the culinary world but so much more this podcast will be up on Radio Slams archives and you can always check back, listen to it and shake with others. That brings us to the end of this podcast phone. Yusah, Mu'taz, Musa or Engineer, Ziyab Melanzi, you are listeners and Chef Samira Ismail for joining us on this edition. Until the next one. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa baraket.