By Haroon-Ishola Balogun, Saudi Arabia
Three catering service companies in Madinah contracted to prepare and serve Nigerian dishes to pilgrims have expressed readiness to provide sumptuous meals in due time.
The companies are Al-Andalus, Africana Restaurants Company Limited and Zowar Mukhtara.
It was gathered that Al-Andalus and Africana Restaurants Company are owned by Nigerians while Zowar Mukhtara was established by a Saudi Arabian investor, Sami Marzuoq but in partnership with some Nigerians.
Responding to questions during an inspection tour by newsmen to their respective companies in Madinah Sunday, head of Hygiene and Sanitation, Al Andalus Catering Services, Muhammad Bashar said: “We are serving Nigerians and Indonesian pilgrims each with different section of food and kitchens. For the Nigerian kitchen, we have nine Chefs who are Nigerians and familiar with popular dishes from different parts of the country.
“We are concerned about the health of pilgrims by serving good and healthy foods and at appropriate time too. We have been doing it for 10 years now without hitch, we have 75 staff including 9 chefs who are experts in popular Nigerian ditches,” Bashar said.
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Also, the General Manager, Africana Home Restaurant & Grills, Nasrudeen Bakare, who hails from Ogun State, took journalists round the various sections of the kitchen facilities of the company, assuring pilgrims of delivering varieties of sumptuous meals to the pilgrims in Madinah.
“This company is substantially owned by Nigerians and will be serving pilgrims from the South-west during their stay in Madinah.
In the same vein, Zowar Mukhtara established by Sami Marzuoq in partnership with Nigerian investors will be serving no fewer than 8000 pilgrims in Madinah.
Bakare stated that despite restrictions on bringing in local foodstuffs and other food materials to the kingdom, the company will still provide the famous ewedu soup along with semo and others.
At Zowa Mukhtara, journalists were also conducted round their kitchen facilities.
During the tour, the secretary of the company, Sarki Muhammed Abdullah said: We have been in the business of serving the pilgrims since 30 years ago even before the advent of NAHCON. We were formally into accommodation section of pilgrims service before we started the kitchen basically to provide local dishes to the pilgrims.
Abdullah siad: “with experience and professionalism, we are ever ready to give our best in order to give the pilgrims a better feeding experience during their stay in Madinah.
He assured pilgrims of prompt delivery to serve promptly popular Nigerian dishes.
Zowar Mukhtara will be serving 8000 Nigerian pilgrims while in Madina.
According to him, “we will provide ‘tuwo shinkafa, tuwo n’ semo’ with ‘mian tuoshe’, jollof rice and beans, marcaroni, spaghetti among others for dinners.
Highlight of the tour was confirmation of the quality and tastes of the food by Abdullah Kabir, Asst Director NAHCON.
