Q&A: Lettuceat’s Co-founder Ahmed Shereba
The fitness scene keeps getting bigger in Egypt and I couldn’t be happier about it. And because being healthy means 70% food and 30% exercise, I interviewed the people who redefined healthy food to us. Check out what Ahmed Shereba, Lettuceat’s co-founder, had to say about their healthy restaurant and Cairo’s first ever fat-loss challenge.
Lettuceat is a true healthy restaurant. What gave you guys the idea to create this restaurant? What was the inspiration?
Well to be honest, this is actually a very insightful story. We always had dinner gatherings at our house and it would be five courses, gourmet servings.
It happened many times with whoever we invited over that they would have the salad course and literally stop us from serving the third course and tell us, “Could I please have another serving from this amazing salad and I will be done.”
So this is where we knew that we had something worthy of a true opportunity in Egypt.
Egyptians are great eaters, but they always had a dull, boring perception of salads – we managed to change that.
Were you surprised with Egyptians’ positive response to it?
Not really! As stated, we knew we were onto something – not just in terms of our product, which is packed full of natural goodness and gourmet-guaranteed quality. We seriously believe that we are not just selling you a salad; we sell you the whole experience: opening your full delish salad bowl, adding an astonishing signature dressing, a freshly baked piece of multi-grain bread and nuts or croutons, depending on the salad. It is really a whole food experience that our customers are cherishing.
So, tell us about the name “Lettuceat”.
The name, well me and my sister came up with the name. It is playing on “let us eat”. So to relate it to salads and the healthy lifestyle we are promoting, we played with the word “lettuce” and integrated it to get Lettuceat. Of course, needless to say, as long as we had it, we went ahead and registered it everywhere to secure it before the project started.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about healthy food?
Without a doubt that it’s BORING and that to eat healthy you have to DIET. This is really something that we not only believe is wrong, but we are also investing a lot of our time and money to promote #livingRIGHT, to change this misconception. It is amazing what we hear about how people are dieting until today! Diets are seriously pre-historic – the entire US and EU are not moving towards “eating clean”, which is what we are all about. You should enjoy a mango salad you should enjoy a salmon salad or a multi-grain delicious wrap, because they are natural, fresh and full of natural goodness for your body – and most importantly they taste delicious in their given natural state.
How do you maintain great taste and still keep foods healthy?
Like I have said, good, natural clean food tastes naturally delicious, as long as it’s fresh and of great quality, which we are all about. We don’t stock products. This is why unfortunately for us we sometimes run out of certain salads in the middle of the day, but that’s because we are giving our consumer a promise: If we are selling it, it’s the freshest you will eat, and hence it’s a daily challenge to pick up the best and freshest ingredients that we approve to be in our salads. And that’s something we quite understand – that it might be limiting to our sales yet it’s key to our success equation.
What are your signature dishes? What should a first-time visitor order?
Well, that’s a tough one, haha, depending on your taste buds, but there is a reason why a certain salad carries the Lettuceat slogan: The “Delish” Tuscan. The combination of its ingredients with our signature top-notch, aggressive Balsamic dressing makes it quite astonishing.
Can you tell us more about the fat loss challenge and what made you initiate it?
From day one of creating Lettuceat, our vision was to create something valuable for our amazing community, a community that truly cares about #LivingRIGHT! With that comes fresh quality, gourmet and most importantly DELICIOUSLY good food that is actually good for you! NOT a diet, but a true #LivingRIGHT experience.
The Lettuceat Fat-Loss Challenge is just another continuation of this on-going vision. A vision that we will continue supporting with all means necessary. A vision that goes beyond nourishing your God-given bodies and selling great, delicious food. We sell the total experience of #LivingRIGHT!
This is why we teamed up with In The Zone Sports, Egypt’s top-rated agency in event organizing, and with the best rated entities in the fitness community like Cairo Runners, Samia Allouba Gyms, Stallions, CrossFit Engine 38, Reform Pilates and Train For Aim to bring you Lettuceat’s FIRST Fat-Loss Challenge!
THIS IS HOW THE CHALLENGE GOES:
The first step was to get your measurements and picture taken at the registration location. The competition itself started on the 23rd of October. From then until the day the competition ends, which is on the 25th of November, you’re on a quest to shed as much FAT as possible. When the competition is over, you go to the location where you registered to get your measurements taken again.
They say it takes 21 days to kick a habit and the Lettuceat Fat-Loss Challenge is here to put you on the right track, to help you start #LivingRIGHT!
What is your advice to the contenders and generally to anyone trying to stick to a healthy eating lifestyle?
It’s a way of living. If it feel as annoying as a diet then you will not enjoy it, your ultimate test is that you have to enjoy the journey, otherwise its meaningless.
What’s next for you guys?
We would rather keep that as a surprise, and trust us when we tell you that we will SURPRISE. This is only the beginning and we are more excited about what’s coming next than what we have amazingly enjoyed so far.
WE SAID THIS: Check out our Health & Fitness section for nutrition and exercise tips!
