TRAVEL Talks A FAMILY AFFAIR

Meanwhile in Jordan, our favourite content creator, Lucas Raven (@followtheraven), gets candid with Amman’s favourite Executive Chef, Saa’d Al Fawadleh over tea at the award-winning Four Seasons Hotel Amman.

What inspires you everyday?

Cooking is my passion and the love of my life. What inspires me is that I get to combine my passion and career all in one. I am the first Jordanian Executive Chef to hold this position at Four Seasons Hotel Amman. It’s a great achievement that contributes to my daily inspiration. Why join Four Seasons Amman?

I am loyal to the Four Seasons brand. I started my first Four Seasons assignment as the Sous Chef at Four Seasons Resort Lanai in Hawaii and then I moved around to various Four Seasons properties around the world, until I landed in my hometown, Amman!

What’s your signature dish?

My signature dish is the traditional Jordanian dish called Mansaf that is made with lamb, rice and cooked yoghurt. If you want to feel like a Bedouin, we recommend you eat it with your hands. Where did you begin your culinary journey?

I would say my culinary journey started at the age of 8. I used to watch my father cook because he was a chef in the army and I wanted to be exactly like him. If your menu was a story book, what kind of story would it be telling?

It would be telling the story of the world with a location pin on Jordan! With close to 20 years of culinary experience, I’m fascinated by many cuisines including French, American, Italian, Mediterranean, Asian and Indian; and let’s not forget the most important of all, authentic Jordanian cuisine. What’s your favourite dish on the menu?

My favourite dish of all time is a steak with mushroom and spinach ragu. However, my favourite dish at Four Seasons Hotel Amman would have to be Chef Arthur’s Endive Salad at La Capitale. It comes with baby endives, Roquefort cheese, walnuts, green apple, mustard dressing. Has cooking always been your passion?

Always. Since as long as I can remember I have always loved cooking and wanted to be the best chef that I could be. That was my ultimate goal. Your advice to the aspiring chefs out there.

My first piece of advice is... To achieve your goals you have to start somewhere, even if you think it’s a small starting point. It will get you places. I started my career as an intern at a hotel in Amman and now I am proud to be the Executive Chef of Four Seasons Hotel Amman. My second piece of advice is to take ownership of your actions. Everyone makes mistakes, understand how to correct them as you move forward.

About Chef Saad

SAA’D AL FAWADLEH WAS BORN AND RAISED IN AMMAN, JORDAN. HE FELL IN LOVE WITH COOKING AT THE AGE OF EIGHT, INSPIRED BY HIS FATHER WHO WAS A CHEF IN THE JORDANIAN ARMY.

HE LOOKED UP TO HIS FATHER, SO, AT A YOUNG AGE HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED TO DO IN LIFE. HE KICKED OFF HIS CULINARY CAREER IN AMMAN WHERE HIS VERY FIRST JOB WAS AS AN INTERN AT A HOTEL. HE SAYS HE HAD TO START SOMEWHERE IF HE WANTED TO BE AN EXECUTIVE CHEF ONE DAY!

HE THEN MOVED AROUND THE MIDDLE EAST FOR FOUR YEARS TO EXPAND HIS EXPERIENCE IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY, UNTIL HE SETTLED IN THE UNITED STATES, AND BUILT A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY AND THEY WERE BLESSED WITH TWO CHILDREN. SAA’D WASN’T ALWAYS IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY. WHEN HE FIRST MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES, HE LIVED IN NEW YORK TO HELP HIS FRIEND OPEN A FOOD TRUCK BUT THAT JUST WASN’T ENOUGH TO SATISFY SAA’D’S NEED FOR A CHALLENGE. HE MOVED TO HAWAII AND JOINED FOUR SEASONS RESORT LANAI AS A SOUS CHEF, AND ATTENDED TASK FORCE AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL LOS ANGELES AT BEVERLY HILLS AND FOUR SEASONS HOTEL HUALALAI DURING THAT SAME PERIOD. THE REST IS HISTORY – SAA’D HAD FOUND HIS CALLING WITH FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS.

www.fourseasons.com/amman/