Name: Moayad Abushokhedim
Nationality: Jordanian
Campus: RACA, Culinary Arts Diploma, 2015
Current job: Creative Culinary Concepts (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
If there’s one thing Moayad wants to tell Les Roches students and recent grads, it’s this: “You can always make the impossible possible.” Through perseverance and an unwavering commitment to excellence in food and beverage, Moayad has made his entrepreneurial dream a reality.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed of building up my own company.” Moayad is doing just that — in 2015, he moved to The Netherlands to start his own food and beverage business, Creative Culinary Concepts (CreCuCo). While at the beginning, Moayad was often putting in 18-hour workdays, he also managed to get the startup off the ground and running in a matter of weeks. Then again, Moayad is no stranger to hard work.
Moayad’s entry into the culinary world started with a scholarship from Les Roches to study at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA) in Amman, Jordan. For Moayad, coming from a middle-class Jordanian family, the scholarship was a great opportunity to follow his passion. It was at RACA where Moayed developed his sense of discipline, attention to detail and culinary expertise. “We were always corrected, and we learned from our mistakes,”
Moayed recalls,
[quote]“Even now, I still hear my teachers’ voices as I prepare dishes!”[/quote]
Putting his education into action, Moayad had his first professional experience at Barcelona’s Hotel Miramar, where he worked as a Trainee. Moayad realized that Europe was where he wanted to challenge himself and test new business ideas, so upon graduating from RACA, he began to research his options in different countries. As a Jordanian, obtaining the necessary visas and permits to move and launch a startup was no easy feat, but Moayad was determined.
With a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and English widely spoken, the Netherlands turned out to be the ideal country for Moayad. After writing up a business plan, Moayad worked with a consultant in the Netherlands and hosted an event for potential investors. Not only did Moayad find investors, but he also found people willing to cooperate and help build up his new company.
Since then, Moayad has been busy creating a new specialty food product from scratch — Blazing Sorbets, an innovative line of frozen cocktails. In preparation for the launch of his new product, Moayed went through the process of getting a patent, and he has overseen everything from marketing and tasting trials to the design of product packaging with 3D printers. In November 2016, Blazing Sorbets was launched in Barcelona, Spain, and plans are underway to expand to other European markets.
Through CreCuCo, Moayad also offers consulting services to other foodservice businesses in areas such as hospitality training and menu development. Meanwhile, another project in the pipeline for Moayad is a partnership with a Dutch newspaper to publish Jordanian recipes with a French twist. “Delivering my cuisine to the rest of the world is very important to me — it’s a way to give back to my country.”
Moayad feels strongly connected to both his home country and RACA: “RACA is my second home,” Moayad says, “I always make a point of visiting whenever I go back to Jordan.” Just as Moayad cares about paying homage to his culinary roots, he is also passionate about giving back to the Les Roches community — in fact, he wouldn’t mind becoming a teacher someday to encourage other students to follow their dreams.
For now, he has this to say to fellow Les Roches classmates:
[quote]“Whatever your situation, you can reach your goals. Don’t give up because of complicated laws and regulations or some other obstacle — just keep fighting to make it happen.”[/quote]
