Interesting fact, chef AJ owns a kebab concept, but he mainly enjoys vegetables. As a Canadian, born and raised in Toronto, he worked within his family’s Lao and Thai restaurants since the age of twelve years old. Leaving engineering in uni behind, he followed the family trade and jumped right into the F&B industry. His experience across the globe spans from his early days doing stages at a few UK starred establishments, working within David Chang’s Momofuku empire, leading the kitchen teams across all venues at the Waldorf Astoria NYC, facilitating the kitchen operations for the opening of a Robatayaki in Kuwait, leading projects for a local UAE FMCG company, and participating in passionate discussions involving water scarcity and food sustainability at the UAE Pavilion during Expo 2020. These days, chef AJ spends his time growing his restaurant, Al Naqa Lao and Thai Kebab House, and preparing to launch his Al Naqa Date Cola.

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