My dad passed away almost 4 years before I started Dervish Kitchen and yet not a day passes when I don’t wonder what he would think of my business baby.
On this Father’s Day, I’d like to imagine that he came down from heaven to take a look at how I’ve managed in his absence and, AS ALWAYS, tell me what I’m doing wrong and what I got right!
Here’s what I think he’d approve of:
💖 Self-employed and loving it!
(Me after signing the contract for the new shop at Pasaż Handlowy Hale Mirowskie)
That’s always been my dad’s wish for me. He relished both the risk and freedom of being his own master and he pushed me into entrepreneurship long before I was ready.
To see me at the helm of my own business and rejecting lucrative employment offers would’ve made his heart sing.
(Bonus points for repeating the same advice to my son now)
😳 You started what kind of business?!!!!!
Dad had multiple food businesses during his 20 years in Poland. From establishing the first Halwa and Halloumi cheese factories in this country through being a co-owner of a pizzeria to having several food export-import companies.
If I’d asked for his advice, he would’ve discouraged me from going into gastronomy as it’s labour intensive, high risk, low yield and the stress wouldn’t be worth it.
Admittedly, we both knew I loved to cook, but neither of us imagined me cooking for a living. This is a plot twist that would have my father’s ghost scratching its head 🤣.
💖 It’s Syrian food
Dad loved his adopted country, Poland, but he remained a proud Syrian until the day he died. The fact that I’m making PROPER Syrian food would’ve made him very proud and I’m certain he would’ve been one of my most loyal clients (yes, he would buy my food not even asking for a discount).
📣 It’s Syrian food and it shouts it from the rooftops!
I was told by many well-intentioned Syrians that identifying my food with our country would be the kiss of death for my business. One of them said: “Syria is now synonymous with war, suffering and refugees. Don’t use that name anywhere in your branding!”
Well, as you all know, I have gone against that advice and plastered the word “Syria” in bold everywhere.
The fact that I didn’t hide behind a safe label like: Mediterranean, Middle-eastern, Levantine, vegetarian, etc, would’ve appealed to my father not only out of patriotism but also because he was a rebel who hated being told what he could and couldn’t do.
🤔 Where did I hear that slogan before?
My dad shaped every aspect of my relationship with food: how I eat, how I cook and how I serve it.
One of the defining moments for me was when he caught me angry while cooking and he told me in a calm but very serious tone:
„If you can’t cook with love, then it’s better you don’t cook at all!”
30 years later, when trying to come up with a slogan for Dervish Kitchen, the words echoed in my head: From my Syria, with love.
👍 Quality is King
My father always told me about a saying he heard from a veteran British engineer he met early in his career: A job worth doing, is a job worth doing well.
It’s a cliche, I know, but gastronomy is a business where margins are slim and it’s tempting to cut corners in the hope of saving a few złoties here and there. To have quality as your North Star instead of prioritising profit may sound naive, but it has served me well in Dervish Kitchen and the fact that I’m in my 6th year of business is proof of that.
Does that mean that customers are not kings in Dervish Kitchen? I prefer to think of them as family and as such, I dote on them rather than serve them.
🎉 Your clients are your secret weapon
(A text from a client who takes my hummus with him wherever he travels)
In his autobiography, Dad used the dedication to thank his clients and suppliers for helping him save his life’s work. My customers have done the same for me time and time again. I consider many of them to be dear friends and I just love our interactions be they virtual or IRL. They are the real capital of Dervish Kitchen.
🦸🏻 One-woman Orchestra
Dad would totally agree with this approach. Not only is it a massive cost saver, it also proves that his little girl has grown into a micromanaging control freak just like him!
✅ Work/Life balanced
Some people remember my dad as a gifted engineer, others knew him as a sharp businessman. For others, he was a very life-loving person who seemed to have it all.
His advice was to give it my all whether it’s work or pleasure.
The fact that my business is only open 2 days a week and I can close shop for up to 2 months every year is a sign that I don’t have my nose glued to the grindstone.
Is there anything he would disprove of? You bet!
😡 You have an accountant ?!
Dad nearly got deported from Poland due to an accountant’s negligence. Ever since, he’s held a grudge against accountants and did the bookkeeping for his LLC himself for 20 years. When he was alive, I wasn’t allowed to hire an accountant for my company and had to do it myself even when I couldn’t speak a word of Polish!
I’ve seen firsthand that his suspicions were not unfounded but in my line of business I needed a pro to keep the books in order. So I used my dad’s mantra “Trust but Verify”: I let my accountant do his job but I keep an eye on my financials and the latest developments in tax laws just in case.
😱 It’s not f***ing big enough!
Steve Jobs screaming “Not. F***ing. Blue. Enough!!!” could be my dad yelling at me for not growing my business fast/hard/big enough!
I don’t think I could sell him on the benefits of keeping the business small, so I’d just let him get it out of his system and carry on being micro.
⛔️ This business is a dead end!
True. There’s no way my son could keep Dervish Kitchen going without me even if I left him the recipes. When I die, the business and its profits will die with me. It’s sad, but knowing this is my life’s work and my legacy and that it won’t translate into an inheritance, spares Adam from the unrealistic expectations that plagued my relationship with my father.
Final verdict?
I think Dad would be pleased overall but we’d have to agree to disagree on what he wants to see changed in Dervish Kitchen. Luckily, the quarrel will remain a fictional one as there’s no chance of us butting heads anymore 💔
I miss you Dad and hope I’m making you proud.
Happy Father’s Day in heaven 💟
With all my love,
Landa