{"id":91302,"date":"2025-08-24T01:53:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T01:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/91302\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T01:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T01:53:14","slug":"how-conservation-efforts-in-saudi-arabia-aim-to-rescue-dugongs-from-extinction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/91302\/","title":{"rendered":"How conservation efforts in Saudi Arabia aim to rescue dugongs from extinction"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\tRIYADH: Italian food aficionados in Saudi Arabia might want to consider changing their travel plans to include Qatif, the small coastal city which is about to get a major culinary upgrade as its first fine-dining restaurant prepares to open its doors.<\/p>\n


\n\tSaudi chef Ali Al-Jishi, a 23-year-old graduate of the Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland, will launch Osteria Dal Nonno after studying under the acclaimed Italian chef Francesco Gasbarro in training reminiscent of scenes from TV series \u201cThe Bear.\u201d The restaurant is expected to open in around three months at C-Front in Qatif.<\/p>\n


\n\tAlthough he harbored ambitions to study at culinary school for a long time, Al-Jishi\u2019s parents took some convincing that it could lead to a successful career, he said. After eventually winning them over, he travelled to Switzerland as part of the Kingdom\u2019s first batch of Cultural Scholarship students in 2019.<\/p>\n


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\n\t\tAlJishi hosted five cooking classes for kids and one for adults, where participants learned to make dishes from scratch. (Supplied) <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI thought it was going to be easy,\u201d said Al-Jishi. \u201cLike, \u2018We\u2019re just going to cook and eat some food.\u2019 But no, it\u2019s not like that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tThe training encompassed every little detail of what it takes to run a restaurant \u2014 from the nutritional value of every ingredient to accounting.<\/p>\n


\n\tAl-Jishi did his first internship in Geneva under Gasbarro, who has two Michelin-starred restaurants, and a Bib Gourmand for Osteria Della Bottega.<\/p>\n


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\n\t\t\tHIGHLIGHTS \n\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\u2022 The training encompassed every little detail of what it takes to run a restaurant \u2014 from the nutritional value of every ingredient to accounting.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\u2022 Although he harbored ambitions to study at culinary school for a long time, Ali Al-Jishi\u2019s parents took some convincing that it could lead to a successful career. <\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\u2022 After eventually winning them over, he travelled to Switzerland as part of the Kingdom\u2019s first batch of Cultural Scholarship students in 2019.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThe first three months were very hard, he didn\u2019t allow me to cook in the kitchen,\u201d Al-Jishi said, explaining that he was on mise-en-place duty, meaning his job was to prepare the ingredients and ensure that all the necessary equipment was ready to use.<\/p>\n


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\n\t\tOsteria Dal Nonno, will be the first fine dining restaurant in Qatif and promises to deliver in both experience and quality of the food. (Supplied) <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI started downstairs in a small room under the kitchen. It was very dark,\u201d said Al-Jishi. \u201cHe was giving me 20 kilos of cherry tomatoes to cut into cubes every day. He had me picking the leaves off of parsley stems. And if I went up to him with a tray full of leaves and he saw one small stem, he would tell me to throw them all away and do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tGasbarro tried to scare him off a culinary career, telling him that \u201cno one\u201d makes it to the end of the six-month internship and that most quit or fail after two or three months. He also expressed doubts about how a young Saudi would fare in a high-end Italian kitchen.<\/p>\n


\n\tAfter three months of grueling training that could have come straight out of \u201cThe Bear,\u201d Al-Jishi finally moved to the kitchen, and eventually successfully finished the six-month internship.<\/p>\n


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\n\t\tAlJishi opened a pop-up stand for Osteria Dal Nonno in Qatif last December as a small test run. (Supplied) <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cHe was very strict, but it was actually a good thing. I learned more in the internship than I did at university,\u201d said Al-Jishi. \u201cI entered the restaurant on my first day as someone and I left as someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tAl-Jishi knew that he wanted to return to Saudi Arabia and open a fine-dining restaurant in his hometown. And he knew he wanted it to be a place where people can enjoy authentic Italian cuisine and a high-end dining experience. The name of the restaurant, he said, is a nod to his school days.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cEveryone saw how obsessed I am with Italian food and Italian people, so they asked me: \u2018Do you have anyone in your family that\u2019s Italian?\u2019 To which I replied \u2018Yes, my grandfather is Italian\u2019 as a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n


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\n\t\tAlJishi hosted five cooking classes for kids and one for adults, where participants learned to make dishes from scratch. (Supplied) <\/p>\n


\n\tAnd thus Osteria Dal Nonno (Grandpa\u2019s Restaurant) was born.<\/p>\n


\n\tEverything on the menu will be made from scratch \u2014 including 12 different kinds of pasta \u2014 and every dish has been meticulously curated. Al-Jishi gave Arab News a sneak peak of what to expect.<\/p>\n


\n\tOne feature dish is gnudi \u2014 a ricotta dumpling served with burnt onion, a butter sauce, and mushroom cream.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe chef also highlighted manzo \u2014 Italian dry-aged steak grilled on charcoal served on a bed of arugula salad and topped with parmesan and balsamic vinegar \u2014 and slow-cooked beef cheeks served with dark chocolate and smoked mozzarella on homemade focaccia.<\/p>\n


\n\tDessert will include a classic tiramisu, cr\u00e8me brulee, and \u201cspecial\u201d gelatos, including Al-Jishi\u2019s favorite \u2014 Italian basil.<\/p>\n


\n\tBreakfast dishes are inspired by Greek, French and local Qatifi fare. For example, the beloved Qatifi breakfast dish siwiya is getting an Italian remix and being made with angel hair pasta.<\/p>\n


\n\tAl-Jishi has also focused on hiring mainly Saudi talent \u2014 especially Qatifis. He wants to be able to contribute to the growth of the city, and said that the restaurant is about giving the people of Qatif a place where they can celebrate marriages, graduations or just a good night out locally.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI want people to see how Qatifi chefs can do big things,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n


\n\tIn December, Al-Jishi opened a pop-up in C-Front in Qatif for three weeks to test out some of his food with the crowds and get a buzz going. It was a little difficult for the first few days because a lot of people were unfamiliar with real Italian dishes and kept asking for \u201cpink sauce\u201d or \u201cchicken pasta,\u201d he said. But once they tried his authentic offerings and word got out, Al-Jishi was making more than 300 servings of pasta a day with his friends.<\/p>\n


\n\tEchoing his own internship experience, Al-Jishi wants Osteria Dal Nonno to be a place where other students and culinary graduates can spend time learning. He\u2019s already had calls with ZADK Saudi Culinary Academy in Alkhobar to discuss future internships.<\/p>\n


\n\tAl-Jishi is also opening the takeout-and-delivery-only Crumbs & Curry (serving katsu curry), which he said could potentially evolve into a casual dine-in spot.<\/p>\n


\n\tAs if that wasn\u2019t enough, Al-Jishi also hosted several culinary courses in 2024, five for children and one for adults. \u201cI want people to see how cooking can change the way you feel inside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n


\n\tIn that regard, Al-Jishi hopes to one day open his own academy where people can learn to make pastries, baked goods, pasta and even Arabic food.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cWe should not forget about Arabic food because Arabic food is not easy,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t say that I\u2019m good at it, even now. For me, it\u2019s harder than Italian food.\u201d<\/p>\n


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