Chef Fariyal Abdullahi, an acclaimed culinary talent of Ethiopian ancestry, has been selected to create exclusive inflight meals for United Airlines’ international business-class passengers. For Fariyal, the partnership offers a platform to share her unique culinary perspective shaped by her heritage and training with millions of international travelers at 35,000 feet.
Fariyal Abdullahi was born in Addis Ababa and states that her mother was the greatest cook and her inspiration. The youngest of six, Fariyal had a lot to live up to. Her older siblings went on to become doctors and surgeons, and she was expected to follow in their path. But growing up in Ethiopia, spoiled by her mother’s exceptional home cooking, Abdullahi fell in love with big family dinners, weekly trips to the market, and time spent in the kitchen. She moved to the United States for college, earning a bachelor’s degree before her passion for cooking tool over. At 25, Abdullahi decided to enroll in culinary school.
Today, Fariyal is the Executive Chef of the renowned New York restaurant Hav & Mar (owned by fellow Ethiopian origin chef Marcus Samuelsson) and she is one of 11 world-renowned chefs from four continents chosen to curate regionally inspired dishes for United’s Polaris business class. Her cooking is described as a convergence of her travels and Ethiopian ancestry, brought to life with an infusion of European technique and flavors.
Fariyal has had quite an illustrious international career thus far and she is still not yet 41! Abdullahi uses her platform to spotlight other chefs and women of color through collaboration events and she launched the non-profit, ‘Take Care of Home’ that builds schools and gives access to water for families in rural Ethiopia. This year, they have begun construction of their seventh school.
Sources: https://www.cheffariyal.com/
https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements