womanthismonth.com | JUNE 2026 INTERVIEW 90 Kitchen Heritage From preserving Bahraini culinary heritage to tackling food waste through innovation, chef, entrepreneur and co-founder of Wajba and Lulu’s Deli Lulwa Sowaileh has spent years helping shape Bahrain’s evolving food scene. She reflects on her journey and ponders the future of food in Bahrain. What first drew you towards food as a serious career path? Watching my mother cook recipes passed down from my grandmother taught me the importance of preserving our heritage and understanding why we eat the way we do. Over time that curiosity grew into a passion for professional cooking and discovering different cuisines and techniques. You began working as a chef in 2009. How do you look back on those early years now? At the time, it was uncommon for Bahraini women to work in professional kitchens, so there was a lot of scepticism and criticism. It was difficult but it also gave me determination and helped shape the work ethic I carry today. Having worked with international chefs, how have those experiences shaped the way you approach Bahraini food and hospitality today? Working in different countries exposed me to a wide range of techniques, which later helped me develop my own way of incorporating them into Bahraini food. It also made me appreciate how local food can be presented with the same level of care and refinement as any international cuisine while still keeping its identity and warmth. You represented Bahrain at Expo 2020 through the Bahrain Pavilion. What did that experience teach you? During Expo 2020, Bassam Al Alawi and I focused on showcasing authentic Bahraini cuisine in its true form without heavily changing or infusing the flavours. Seeing how positively people responded proved that authenticity itself has value and that people are genuinely interested in experiencing real Bahraini food and hospitality. You co-founded Wajba, a platform focused on helping F&B businesses sell surplus meals and reduce food waste. What made you feel this was a problem worth addressing in Bahrain? When I was consulting, I noticed that a lot of perfectly good food was being thrown away despite still being suitable for consumption. Restaurants lose a significant amount of money through food waste so I began pilot testing the idea of offering surplus food at discounted prices after certain hours of the day. The concept inspired me to co-create Wajba. In terms of sustainability, where do you think restaurants and food businesses in Bahrain still have room to grow? I think there is room to improve in waste management, sourcing locally and creating more sustainable systems within kitchens. Sometimes sustainability is viewed as a trend, but I believe it should become part of daily operations and long-term thinking within the industry. As a Bahraini chef and entrepreneur, what excites you most about the next stage of Bahrain’s food scene? I think the future of food is becoming less about fine dining and more about community. It is exciting to see a growing emphasis on food that reminds people of home.
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