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Chef Serves up Food and Peace
By Briggette Sayegh | January 30th, 2013 | 
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- Published in: Voices of NY
Nabil Rahman
BREAKING BREAD: Restaurateur Ali El Sayed, the honorary "Mayor of Astoria," views fine food as a form of diplomacy.
Ali El Sayed is an artist.
His canvas is a plate and his brush ranges from an eggplant to a beef shank.
El Sayed has owned and operated Kabab Café on Steinway Street in Queens for over 25 years. He believes that food, not diplomacy, is the key to attaining world peace. Despite mounting conflict in the Middle East, El Sayed, a self-proclaimed pacifist, remains hopeful about peace prospects.
“People are not going to solve their problems sitting in a court or at the U.N.” the Egyptian-born chef said. “I think they’ll solve their problems sitting in a restaurant and talking over food.”
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