La Dolce Taghmeesa
La Dolce Taghmeesa
Written by Menna Elbadry
The Mediterranean does not divide; it connects. For centuries, its ancient currents have carried more than just cargo; they have transported flavors, techniques, and a fundamental belief in the power of a shared meal. During the recent Cairo Food Week, this shared culinary soul found a modern voice in a powerful duet between two of pastry’s most exciting young talents: Cairo’s own Farah El Charkawy and Italy’s Tamara Rigo.
The stage for their dialogue was Fôu, the minimalist sanctuary of sugar and butter El Charkawy created in a quiet corner of New Cairo’s vibrant District 5. Having trained under pastry titans like Alain Ducasse and Christophe Michalak, she returned to redefine the city’s pastry scene with playful pairings and bold creativity. Her guest, Rigo, is a formidable talent forged in the three-Michelin-starred kitchens of Norbert Niederkofler and Massimo Bottura, with experience leading pastry at the Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria in Beverly Hills. The event promised a true synthesis over a simple showcase of individual talents, with a menu born from a whirlwind three-day collaboration where both chefs partnered 50-50 on every dish.
Breaking from convention, the evening began not with a pastry, but with a gesture of shared tradition. Chef Rigo introduced the scarpetta, an Italian custom of using bread to gather the last of the sauce. With a smile, Chef El Charkawy noted the Egyptian equivalent, taghmeesa. The resulting “Egyptian Scarpetta” arrived: a freshly baked, glistening bun served with dollops of seaweed, fig, and spearmint jam. An unusual olfactory interlude followed, with waiters presenting bowls of “A Citrus for Almost Every Letter of the Alphabet”—a dazzling array from Amalfi lemon to Buddha’s hand, flown in for the night for a moment of pure, fragrant reset.
The tasting unfolded in a series of exquisite studies. A millefeuille was served, its classic form reimagined as a nest of brittle, noodle-like threads layered with an impossibly light rose cream and fresh berries. To counter, a savory tartlet journeyed from “Emilia to Cairo,” its crisp buckwheat shell holding a saline filling of Roumi and Parmigiano. A moment of pure decadence followed with a “Babà al Cioccolato,” its experience heightened by custom leather plates and oud-infused cutlery accompanying a rich, velvety chocolate mousse laced with spice and vanilla, and sharpened by a sprinkle of sea salt.
Next, a brilliantly placed refresher appeared under the poetic name, “So Here We Are, Sitting Under an Olive Tree”: a small salad of tiny, diced cucumber topped with a tangy cream and the distinct, briny bite of Aggezi shami olives.
The highlight, a dish that perfectly encapsulated the evening’s spirit, arrived as “Time for Gelato!”. Where Italian riso al latte is served hot and Egyptian roz b laban is beloved cold, the chefs found an ingenious solution, churning the pudding à la minute into a fresh gelato. It was served with a choice of golden honey, nuts, or a peppery drizzle of olive oil; a stunning tribute that was simultaneously familiar and utterly new.
The grand finale, “The Hidden Bite,” took guests into a darkened room for a pure sensory tasting where, offered bites blindly, they were challenged to identify hidden notes from a range of unpredictable flavors, among them notes of coffee, pralines, and the unmistakable comfort of shay ahmar.
The collaboration was a testament not just to creative harmony, but to a global shift. With international interest in the region's flavors growing, the once-dominant northern cuisines have had their moment. 'The future is around you guys, so keep pushing,' Chef Rigo tells Cairo Food Week. The evening at Fôu was more than a display of Cairo's vibrant pastry scene; it was an audacious bid for a seat at the highest table of global patisserie.
