Chef Sam of KaBowl

by Iyath Adam

For our interview article this time, we had a chat with Chef Ahmed Samaan Abdulla, better known as Chef Sam. His recently opened space, KaBowl – pronounced ‘kaa-bowl’, meaning ‘eating bowl’ – offering Subway-style, on-the-go rice bowls, has taken the culinary scene in Male’ by storm!

Read on to find out more about Chef Sam’s experiences in the culinary world, how KaBowl came into existence and some of the exciting behind-the-scenes about it.

Lonumedhu: We always kick off with this question. How did you get into the culinary industry?

Chef Sam: When I was younger, I was in Cub Scouts and even then, I liked cooking when we went on camps. After I finished school, from certificate level to diploma, I studied Tourism Management in Clique College. After that I joined The Maldives National University (MNU) for my degree. There was a separate degree course for culinary arts, but I decided to go for Hotel and Resort Management because that course offered more components relevant to the tourism industry, other than just the culinary arts.

While I was studying, I participated in a cooking competition – it was called ‘ProChef’ on DhiTV, held in partnership with MNU – but I didn’t really know cooking that well at the time. But I had a lecturer, Chef Fathun Umar, who helped and motivated me. With her encouragement, I competed in the Hotel Asia International Culinary Challenge, and with very minimal prep, got a bronze medal. I also competed later and got a bronze medal with third place in the student category.

Once I finished my studies in MNU, I knew that I wanted to go forward in the culinary field. So, in 2014, I went to Malaysia to study culinary arts and food management at Taylor's University. I learnt a lot of things there and did my internships abroad too. The first one was at Four Points by Sheraton in Malaysia. For my second internship, I went to Hôtel De La Cité La Barbacane in France where I worked at a One Michelin-starred restaurant for six months. That was actually one of the best experiences I had, where I learnt a lot.

Lonumedhu: What has your experience been in the culinary industry?

Chef Sam: After coming back to the Maldives. I first worked at Vakkaru Maldives. I like working in the hot kitchen more, but I got the opportunity to work in the pastry kitchen in a temporary position at a resort. When I was going to transition to hot cooking, the pastry chef there asked me to wait and learn more – which is how I learnt more about pastry-making and desserts.

Then, I joined the opening of LUX* North, in the hot kitchen. After some time, I resigned from there, and then when COVID-19 pandemic came, I started my own Instagram page called @flakyherbs. We don’t operate now, but at the time, I started offering ready-to-go salad jars, which was a big hit and the very first of its kind in Male’. Then after the pandemic, I joined The Coffee Shrub as the chef de cuisine, to support their menu expansion. I made some interesting dishes from there, which I think are still on the menu. I worked there for one and a half years. Now, I’m invested in our new venture at KaBowl and overseeing its operations. 

I’ve also been a member of the Chefs Guild of Maldives (CGM) since it began. I’m now a member of the executive board. All major food competitions held in the Maldives collaborate with CGM, so I’m taking part in some of that too.

Lonumedhu: So, tell us all about KaBowl.

Chef Sam: KaBowl is based on a concept I developed years ago, during my studies in Malaysia. It’s a joint venture along with my aunt and uncle and other business partners. It is very much a family involved business, together we have created the business to what it is today. But I am proud to say all the recipes, and flavours are crafted by me.

The concept is that there will be something for everyone. For example, if you don’t like carrots, then there is something else for you which you can choose. Since there are so many options to choose from, you can play around with combinations and see what goes well together for your palate. Even from the very beginning, I wanted to offer both a la carte and build your own bowls, so that people can customise dishes to their liking.

We start off with a base like rice, mashed potatoes, or roasted pumpkins etc. and then we have chicken, seafood, and beef as proteins. And then we have veggies, condiments, and sauces. All our sauces and toppings are made in-house, except for fried onions which we bring from abroad. Recently, we started offering premium add-ons, things like hummus, feta cheese and salad leaves as both a base and veggie. The desserts are outsourced for now, but the cookies from Quatre Sens are made by my cousin, who also works at KaBowl.

Lonumedhu: For you, what has been the difference between working at a traditional a la carte kitchen versus a make-ahead, on-the-go food place like KaBowl?

Chef Sam: When starting the food production, you have to think of ingredients, plus storage and how all that will fit into the kitchen equipment. In a traditional kitchen, because it's a la carte, you have to serve food within 25 minutes – of course it might take a bit longer if the kitchen is busy.

Here at KaBowl – because it’s more of a to-go style – once ordered, we will reheat the base and the proteins first, then add in the other ingredients. It’s very important for us to maintain the quantity of each cooked or prepped ingredient so that we don’t make too much and just enough to last for the day. And we have been doing very well so far. But at an a la carte kitchen, we’ll do the prep and then cook as we get orders.

When you are engineering a menu, you also have to figure out what ingredients you can get from Male’. Supply is not really consistent here. And you have to think of food cost as well versus consumption. That’s why there are some ingredients available for build-your-own-bowl, which are not included in the a la carte menu.

Lonumedhu: I don’t think we can talk about KaBowl without talking about your trending reels, haha. Tell us about it.

Chef Sam: We really enjoy building our social media. We’ve got a great crew behind it, along with Kudie, my cousins, and the KaBowl team. We are also so lucky to have friends and family who are willing to star in our reels. We couldn’t do it without them.

We all do research on trending reels and then shoot it. And we might get a different idea while shooting, so then we’ll just adjust here and there. The team really enjoys doing it and I think many people like it too.

Lonumedhu: So, what’s your favourite KaBowl?

Chef Sam: From the very beginning, I’ve really liked the Tokyo Street Bowl, which I think a lot of people like too. But then, I also like making my own bowl and trying out different combinations.

Lonumedhu: What new things can we expect from KaBowl in the future?

Chef Sam: We’re planning to introduce new things slowly. We started in January, so I think we also want to give it some time before making too many changes. But I’ve been creating some new things here and there so keep an eye out!

Lonumedhu: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, Chef Sam. We wish you the best in your new endeavour!