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Bahraini baker Mahmood Janahi is aiming to inspire the kingdom’s food aficionados with his mix of special Ramadan-style recipes.
The celebrated chef will be staging a cooking demonstration at Words BookstoreCafé in Budaiya on Saturday where he promises to share some of his tasty secrets.
In preparation for the holy month, the 31-year-old human resource manager at DHL, who spends most of his spare time baking from the comfort of his home in Arad, will be showcasing a selection of Ramadan teas and juices, Bahraini kebabs, salads and quiches, as well as traditional desserts such as the sweet buttered dates dish Rangeena, along with other quick and easy homemade delights.
Mahmood said: “I always plan something special for Ramadan. I tend to focus on making traditional desserts but with a modern twist. I love to cook and bake and enjoy sharing my passion with others.
“My aim is to help people use simple ingredients that can be easily purchased from any supermarket and make them into something glamorous.”
His love for divine desserts stems from his grandmother who would often give him a box of cake mix to keep him occupied. He said: “I started baking when I was eight. I would spend most of my weekends with my cousins at my grandmother’s house.
“I was very naughty and the only way my grandmother could control me was when she brought out a box of cake mix and would ask my cousins and I to read the ingredients and bake a cake. Eventually, I would always look forward to going to her house to bake.”
It was the beginning of a life-long passion for Mahmood. Even while he was pursuing his Bachelors and Master’s Degree in human resources in Australia, he would still saunter into supermarkets and buy all sorts of different ingredients to experiment with at home.
Aside from baking, he would spend his spare time watching TV food shows and reading up on and researching a variety of ingredients.
“I remember baking desserts and bringing them to the office and a lot of my colleagues kept asking me for a menu of baked goods,” Mahmood said. “I decided to do a one page menu for my friends and colleagues at work and I remember sending this via email to a few of them.
“Within two hours I started receiving phone calls from others wanting to place an order.”
In 2008, he launched The Cakery enterprise from home and it’s now called Mahmood Janahi Cakes. It boasts an extensive menu of delicious desserts including traditional cakes made with dates, saffron, rose and orange blossom as well as fat-free brownie muffins.
Mahmood has developed a strong following and his signature desserts often feature in restaurants. Customers at Blaze Burgers in Adliya, for example, can’t seem to get enough of his decadently sweet Crownie creation, which is a cookie cup with a fudge brownie centre.
The Grub Shack in Hamala features the Grubbie, a molten cookie cake, which comes in red velvet, classic chocolate chip and chocolate peanut butter flavours. He is also known for his Arabian saffron caramel nut bars called Liandi Bars and rose cake to name but a few.
Mahmood will be showcasing his culinary skills at 1pm. There is a BD12 registration fee. It follows a successful cooking event staged at the café in Palm Square.
Call 17690790 for details.
