Culinary Consultant

Riad’s gastronomic journey was initially masked by his highly technical specialty: drawing architectural blueprints for over a decade. However, believing that everyone is indeed a connoisseur when it comes to food, Riad had a reawakening of his true passion for food and cooking.

Interestingly, what he learned during his architecture years significantly influenced his innovative techniques inside the kitchen. He became a cooking architect, from plating to applying ‘landscaping’ strategies and dish presentation. He always saw beauty in designing buildings, and now he’s translating that to food technique building.

This drove him to co-found and co-partner Ferdinand, a gastropub where he is the Head Cook. Simultaneously,  he also ventured into Meats & Bread – a BBQ concept that unfortunately perished during the Beirut Port blast in August 2020 – where his true passion as a BBQ pitmaster saw him develop a unique technique to cook meat to tender perfection over hardcore open-fire and smoke and pair it with various cuts of bread which he baked himself.

His culinary philosophy is “The Food of Lieu,” meaning the “food of the place you find yourself in.” He has developed his own unique, innovative technique, building only on his professional architectural experience and everlasting passion for food while preserving and respecting ingredients.