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From Milan to Arena, from Synergy Soca Star to the founding of Trinidad & Tobago Restaurant Week — Shira Mohammed’s story is one of grit, creativity, and culture. In this episode, we trace her unlikely journey from a love child in Italy to becoming the driving force behind one of the country’s biggest culinary festivals. Shira opens up about the hustle behind Restaurant Week, the parallels with Carnival, the challenges of sponsorship, and her vision to brand Trinidad & Tobago as the culinary capital of the Caribbean. Along the way, we also revisit Synergy Soca Star, Fireball’s breakthrough, the rise of influencers in food culture, and her deep personal journey balancing heritage, culture shock, and passion

0:00 Intro & Restaurant Week origins

7:40 Dates & growth over 13 years

13:40 Why September: slow season strategy

20:00 Branding T&T as culinary capital

26:00 Street food, COVID pivot & takeaway model

33:00 Influencers, bloggers & restaurant marketing

39:30 Growing up in Italy & moving to Trinidad

51:00 Arena village culture shock

1:01:00 Lakshmi Girls & finding identity

1:11:00 Early jobs & discovering marketing

1:18:00 Synergy Soca Star & Fireball breakthrough

1:28:00 Corporate events → Restaurant Week vision

1:39:00 The future of Restaurant Week