Los Angeles Times

Working around food while fasting for Ramadan? For some, it's not so bad

Ali Tehfi, left, and his mother, Zeinab Tehfi, break the day’ s Ramadan fast at his restaurant, World Famous Grill, in Bell.

BELL, Calif. — The scent of shawarma and rice floated through the Mediterranean fusion restaurant during the lunchtime rush as servers brought heaping plates of meat, hummus and pickled vegetables to hungry diners.

Ali Tehfi watched as his crew, many of them fasting for Ramadan like him, bagged orders, filled soda cups and alternated between cooking up burgers, quesadillas and kabobs. They worked amid the cacophony of clanging utensils, unfazed by the constant presence of food despite their empty stomachs.

"There's times where literally all the food is in front of me and we're making things or have orders, and it doesn't bother me," said Tehfi, who opened World Famous Grill in Bell, California, 15 years ago. "The whole purpose of fasting is to fast from everything — not just food — but from everything that's bad."

During , the ninth month as part of a broader call to refrain from sinning and to bolster their patience, enhance their understanding of sacrifice and

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