DOUHA

Douha Abdullah Al Otaishan, is no ordinary name and the fact is that she is one of the most popular and recognisable faces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .  Wherever she goes , she is requested for selfies and people just want to break a word or two with her. Douha, is the first female Executive Chef of Saudi Arabia, an achievement  beyond comparison , in a field which has been dominated by men across the world , let alone Saudi Arabia.

Preparation and Hardwork

As a girl Douha grew up in Al Qassim , 470 kms northwest of Riyadh , the capital of Saudi Arabia and learnt her first lessons in cooking from her grand mother whom she assisted in the kitchen . The inherent culinary talent in her, which was still at a nascent stage , began to evolve and by the time she got married , her skill fairly honed , Douha knew what she wanted to do. 

Blessed with an extremely supportive family , Douha started learning new techniques in cooking through video tapes and continued experimenting with the Saudi cuisine, thus developing her own culinary  style . She went a step further in pursuance of knowledge. She read about various cultures , travelled extensively to learn the famous Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisines. She even travelled to India to learn about Mughlai food and eventually apart from Saudi cuisine , she had more than a decent  idea of the International fare. 

A tough road ,  but a tougher Douha

Douha , knew that now she was prepared to go professional  . She started approaching hotels/ restaurants for employment as a Chef. It  was not going to be easy considering existing stereotypes and women working as chefs in hotels and restaurants  was something beyond the normal . Success was difficult to come by , however , Douha kept on persevering and ultimately in 2015 ,Four Seasons Hotel , Riyadh gave her an opportunity as a Trainee Chef . But once her apprenticeship came to an end after a year , she was back searching for another opportunity.

After a lot of effort, she got a call from Golden Tulip Andalusia Hotel in Riyadh for a cooking trial in 2017. She had to prepare a complete meal for 8 people. This was a chance which Douha had been waiting for and she seized this opportunity with both hands. She cleared the trial with distinction and such was the standard of her dishes that she was hired as the Executive Chef at the in-house restaurant Majlisna. This was the beginning of something breathtaking.

Douha’s meteoric rise.

Douha , on  the strength of her skill  , became very popular , with people revisiting the restaurant to have a taste of her signature dishes the Happy Kabsa and Margoog, and the word began to spread . In the last three years Douha has witnessed massive success and acknowledgement of her talent . Most notably she was one of the three Chefs ( the other two being men ) , who were invited to cook for more than 500 delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos . 

Douha , now hosts a popular cookery show Matbakh Dhoha ( Cooking with Douha ) and is also an owner of a Restaurant in Riyadh . To top it all, she has been selected as one of the 5 celebrated Chefs who would be managing a rotating line up of Culinary Pods at the soon to be held Dubai Expo 2020 .

A few lessons learnt

If you are good you are good, and sooner or later , someone in the world will recognise your talent and give you an opportunity to showcase it. So keep persevering  till someone finds you…… the way Douha did.