THE BELLO
The Elevation Burger Local Chef Collaboration produces tasty results once more! By bazaar staff
A clever collaboration between Elevation Burger and Khaled Al Baker has produced The Bello, a burger as delicious as the Local Chef Collaboration initiative is noble. Elevation Burger is dedicated to providing better and sustainable food choices to empower the local community, and has a proven history of producing the tastiest of results while supporting local farmers, suppliers and local chefs alike. Quality ingredients matter and the LCC initiative is a platform for local chefs to express their unique style and elevate their skills while enhancing the company’s mission to consistently give customers an outstanding, quality Elevation Burger experience. TABCo. Food is committed to delivering quality at all times, and that is why they operate Elevation Burger; there’s a duality of purpose in their missions. Extending this to really make an impact through Local Chef Collaboration was the idea of the CEO of TABCo. Food Abdulaziz Al Turaiji who is admirably focused on continuing this initiative and says, "We at TABCo. Food are glad to launch our second Local Chef Collaboration with Chef Khaled Al Baker. The LCC is something that we will continue as part of Elevation Burger's overall initiative to use better ingredients, support our community and empower local talents. We are looking forward to expanding this program and supporting the culinary scene in Kuwait." The first LCC landed in April 2018 and was so successful that Elevation Burger to this day references it with a fresh, and made in-house chimichurri sauce. This meant that the second Local Chef Collaboration had a big reputation to follow, so who better to approach than Khaled Al Baker who really knows how to get the best out of 100% USDA certified organic beef. No stranger to working with the best prime cuts, Khaled has a meaty resume behind him reworking dining concepts and finetuning menus. But what would make the local chef, famed for his magically modern Middle Eastern inspired menus, want to collaborate with Elevation Burger? We hurried over to Elevation Burger’s Al Bida’a location on the launch night of The Bello to investigate further the thinking behind this juicy new creation, and also to try to wheedle out of the team exactly how much longer we have to enjoy the limitedtime-only burger. With a huge welcoming smile Khaled approaches and we quickly steal a chat with the personable chef. “My favorite ingredient is mushroom so I started with the mushrooms and then started to build slowly what goes well together. I then added onions,” explains the chef, “I needed a sauce so I tried different sauce combinations and then found the right cheese. Finally, I added arugula…because I hate lettuce!” Unwrapping the burger, you can smell the mouth-watering grill work that has gone into building The Bello. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Let’s start with the bun. It’s the 100
classic potato bun that we have all come to know and love with Elevation Burger, because no matter how much you build your burger, this bun is guaranteed to stay in one piece, ensuring you can take one huge bite with a layer of deliciousness in each mouthful. The bun is slathered with an in-house aioli sauce, made fresh daily and marinated for a minimum of eleven hours before use. There is but a hint of garlic in the mixture with olive oil and parsley, touches of black pepper and the taste of parmesan coming through; the perfect condiment to complement the components of the burger to come. On top of the locally sourced arugula, rests a patty of high-quality 100% USDA certified organic beef cooked to perfection on the grill and delivering a taste and texture that we have come to expect only from Elevation Burger. The grill has also been used to seal in the flavors of the thickly sliced Portobello mushroom, giving a succulent bite after cooking. Classic, grilled onions sit atop the hot mushrooms, and a significant slice of white cheddar melts over the deliciously meaty patty. Another dash of aioli, and you are all set for a taste sensation. One bazaarite insists on no bun when indulging in a burger, so how did The Bello fare without this carbalicious element? A super tasty thumbs up! The exact type of cheddar was even more discernible in a lettuce wrap;
turns out The Bello is good news for the turophile and fungophile alike. Chef Khaled also admits to bazaar that, on tests, the lettuce wrap has been given great feedback. It is surprisingly just as popular as when eaten with the bun, but the staff will always respectfully suggest that you try The Bello the way Chef Khaled designed it. The chef disclosed, “I wanted to work with Elevation Burger because they are well known for using quality ingredients.” As always, under the guidance of the visionary TABCo. Foods CEO Aziz Al Turaiji, trusted Elevation Burger has globally hunted down all the best ingredients for you, from the Norwegian Portobello mushrooms to the locally sourced arugula leaves. The only thing you have to do is choose The Bello to indulge in a succulent and savory mushroom burger, and be confident that you and your family are experiencing the best quality there is. Elevation Burger has locations throughout Kuwait, find out where by visiting www.tabcofood.com. Follow the Elevation Burger Kuwait accounts on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @elevationkw. The Bello is a Limited Time Only offering, so catch it while you can! For more of his culinary adventures you can follow @chefkb on Instagram. For more on CEO Aziz Al Turaiji read the feature article published in the March 2019 issue of bazaar