In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Chef Khaled Albaker, co-founder of Ventri Group, for a candid conversation on what it takes to build restaurant brands that last. Khaled shares how he left a career in finance, moved to Miami to study Culinary Arts, and learned the discipline of world-class kitchens where execution comes down to relentless attention to detail.

He breaks down why credibility matters before raising capital, why he spent years learning every layer of restaurant operations, and how Ventri Group approaches multi-brand growth across dine-in concepts and cloud kitchens. 

The episode also dives into his strong views on hospitality: why dining out is about experience while delivery is about convenience, why QR menus can reduce discovery to a transaction, and why leadership must stay visible on the floor.

Khaled reflects on adapting through COVID, the rise of homegrown brands in Kuwait, and the non-negotiables he believes every aspiring restaurateur must understand, especially cash flow.

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Chef Khaled Albaker- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Hattan Bakor to unpack what it really takes to scale a food brand in Saudi Arabia without losing consistency. Hattan shares how entering the business with “fresh eyes” helped him spot operational gaps quickly and why he insisted on a learning window before making changes. 

They discuss the harsh reality behind restaurant economics, how margins look big from the outside but feel thin once you’re operating day to day. Hattan also reflects on how COVID forced the team into trial-and-error, ultimately pushing them to become more efficient than they were before. 

A key theme is franchising done right: building SOPs, manuals, and standards first, then creating repeatable launch playbooks after early mistakes. Hattan ties it all back to customer experience because at scale, experience isn’t a tagline; it’s an operational discipline.

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Hattan Bakor- LinkedIn 

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 In this podcast episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with chef, author, and longevity educator Silvena Rowe for a candid conversation that goes beyond food trends and into the philosophy behind modern dining. Silvena reflects on her global culinary journey, the realities of scaling a values-led restaurant brand like Dose by Silvena, and why ingredient integrity sits at the core of her work today.  

The discussion explores what she calls “biohacking food”, viewing ingredients as functional inputs that support energy, resilience, and long-term health. She also shares her perspective on cost control in restaurants, reducing food waste without compromising quality, and navigating the pressures and biases of professional kitchens.  

From teaching longevity nutrition to experimenting with regenerative medicine and disciplined lifestyle practices, Silvena offers a holistic lens on performance, both in hospitality and in life. This episode brings together insights on nutrition, business operations, and personal longevity, revealing how respect for ingredients and data-led decisions can shape a more sustainable future for chefs and restaurant operators alike.

#longevity #Biohacking #nutrition 

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Silvena Rowe- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Samer Nasrallah, F&B Country Manager for Patchi Café in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, to unpack what it really takes to build a career in hospitality from the ground up. 

Samer shares how he unexpectedly entered F&B, the chaos of running in-house delivery and catering in Egypt before the era of aggregators, and the habits that helped him rise fast, including relentless organization and attention to detail.

The conversation moves through his experiences across markets, from large-scale event catering in Doha to leadership lessons earned under pressure. Samer breaks down his approach to quality-first operations, team protection, and workplace diplomacy, and reflects on launching Ladurée during COVID, where central kitchen setup and cold chain readiness became the real work behind the brand. He also talks about starting and exiting his Soho food truck venture, and what is different about building a café experience within a chocolate-led brand at Patchi.

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Samer Nasrallah- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Sudhin Siva, Chief Asset Management Officer at Shamal Holding, to unpack how Shamal manages a diversified hospitality portfolio and scales F&B brands like Five Guys (UAE franchise), Sushi Samba, Duck & Waffle, Espresso Lab, and Zero Gravity. Sudhin reflects on his start at Jumeirah in quality management, planning, and strategy, and shares the principles he still applies: lead through collaboration, protect the fundamentals, and build a culture that empowers teams to create real guest moments. 

He explains the tension between brand equity and unit-level performance when owners and management companies partner, why reinvestment matters, and how to optimize an asset without over-extracting it. The conversation also covers piloting innovation with global brands in airport formats and delivery, scaling without diluting what made a concept special, and his personal shift from perfectionism to delegation and listening.

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Sudhin Siva- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Joseph Chartouni, CEO of Al Sayer Franchising in Kuwait (Caribou Coffee and Five Guys), to unpack what actually drives restaurant brands at scale. Joseph shares how resilience shaped him early, growing up between Lebanon and Kuwait during the civil war, and how those experiences influenced his leadership style.

The conversation challenges the common view of marketing as “messaging.” For Joseph, marketing starts with product, innovation, and understanding what customers are becoming, but it’s only real when it’s fulfilled through operations, store experience, SOPs, training, quality assurance, and food safety. He explains “marketing as a life benefit”.

Joseph also reflects on values learned from his father, lessons from bringing restaurant concepts to life, the shift from marketing to operations at Americana, and why leadership, focus, and partnerships drove key results. He closes with a practical reminder: strong culture is built in small details, and strategy only works when backed by P&L discipline and relentless execution.

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Joseph Chartouni- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Mubarak Jaffar, Co-Founder & CEO of KLC Virtual Restaurants, to break down how he built One Eatery into a scaled, delivery-first operation across the GCC. Mubarak shares why he moved from traditional dine-in and franchise operations to a model designed for pure kitchen efficiency, and what it takes to make unit economics work in a 24-hour setup. They unpack the “virtual food hall” approach, in which multiple brands operate from a single kitchen per zone to avoid demand fragmentation, and how menu and packaging standardization helped the business stay lean while expanding into new markets. 

Mubarak also reveals how he thinks about building and deploying brands based on demand, naming brands for search, and capturing cuisines without over-relying on a single brand’s lifecycle. The conversation closes with his founder mindset on control, resilience, and the value of having the right co-founder as you scale through uncertainty.

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Mubarak Jaffar- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Kamran Khan joins Ashish Tulsian for a candid conversation on what it really takes to build and scale a restaurant brand. Kamran breaks down the operator reality: restaurants are a daily problem-solving business where execution, not intent, decides outcomes. He shares lessons from the frontlines on why the second and third outlets are the true test of scalability, and why brands win when they deliver consistency customers can predict.

The discussion goes deep into the economics of running restaurants in thin margins, the “cash in today, cash out today” cycle, and how small leaks across supply chain, rent, and operations can quietly destroy profitability. Kamran also explores franchising versus independent growth, highlighting the power of SOPs and local market intelligence.

From post-COVID shifts to leadership habits rooted in empathy and ground-level understanding, this episode is a practical playbook for founders, operators, and multi-unit teams focused on building brands that last.

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Ashish Tulsian- LinkedIn 

Kamran Khan- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Khaled Naga, CEO of Al-Thiqa Group Division, joins Ashish Tulsian for a grounded conversation on what it really takes to scale restaurant brands in Kuwait and the wider GCC. Khaled shares Al-Thiqa’s journey of operating 57+ locations across Kuwait, expanding into markets like London and Qatar, and explains the operational shift from running global franchises to building homegrown brands from scratch.

They unpack how external forces shape unit economics, from sudden labor and regulatory changes to post-COVID demand swings and intense price competition. Khaled also highlights how Gen Z is changing both customer behavior and hiring, and why operators need teams that can adapt quickly as trends and platforms evolve.

The discussion shifts to practical leadership lessons, including building a culture where teams bring solutions, earning trust through consistency, and staying focused on execution while navigating constant volatility.

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Ashish Tulsian- LinkedIn 

Khaled Naga- LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Ashish Tulsian speaks with Nasser Al Messabi, CEO of Low Calories, a fast-growing healthy restaurant brand from the UAE. Nasser shares how he went from 18 years in the UAE Police to launching a health-food concept at a time when almost no one was doing it, the failures and land deals that taught him hard lessons, and why he ultimately resigned seven years before a secure government pension to go “all in” on his brand. He also discusses scaling to multiple countries through franchising, navigating trends like Ozempic and Mounjaro, and why treating employees like family sits at the core of his success. 

Nasser opens up about how police life shaped his discipline and decision-making and what he had to unlearn to become a flexible, people-first entrepreneur. He talks candidly about money, responsibility, and why he believes God tests founders by what they do with success.

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Ashish Tulsian- LinkedIn 

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