IMAD’S SYRIAN KITCHEN

LONDON • IMADSSYRIANKITCHEN.CO.UK

The story of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, which opened in London’s Soho in May, first begins six years and 2,000 miles away. Imad Alarnab was a successful chef in Damascus, with three restaurants and several cafes to his name. Then the war came — and in six short days, each one was destroyed. So it was that Alarnab found himself making the perilous passage across Europe before being granted asylum in the UK. He arrived with £12 — just enough for the bus fare to Doncaster, where his sister lived. After a stint working as a car salesman, he returned to his first love: cooking. He started supper clubs, falafel bars and pop-up restaurants until the time came that he