entrepreneur > tag this

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD

A NEW GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS IS EVOLVING IN DOHA;
THE KIND THAT MAKES BRANDS AND STANDS BY THEM, AND
TAKES OWNERSHIP OF ITS DREAMS.

ith the wind

b e n e a t h
their
wings
and
passion
unbridled, this
new generation
of businessmen
comes with a sense of proprietorship and
become the names behind the brands they
build.
Qatar Today met one such proud
entrepreneurs; Nasser A. Al Zeyara,

60 > QATAR TODAY > JANUARY 2017

BY SINDHU NAIR
a government employee by day and a
restaurant owner by night. In addition to
his time-consuming occupations, which
he is equally dedicated to, Nasser also
teaches at the Police College (Qatar),
Ahmed Bin Mohammed Military College
(Qatar), and the Qatar Mandatory
National Service Training. Ask the proud
owner of Arnag, artisanal bistro at Souq
Wakrah, why he chose to venture into the
restaurant business and Nasser says, quite
unpretentiously, Because I am a food

lover. And no other reason can do as much

justice as this simple love for the enterprise
you are going to jump-start.
As an entrepreneur, one criterion of a
self-starter was to devote all the resources
to the new business. Nasser disagrees: it
is always better not to put all the eggs in
one basket.
Having a job to fall back on gives the
entrepreneur more confidence to pursue
his dreams because then he is sure that his
financials are not entirely dependent on

the success of his venture. The fact that I

have another job makes me less anxious to
risk everything. Having three partners also
makes it easier to balance the role plays.
At some point in time, the two roles, of
being a government employee and a selfstarter, gets rather demanding as both
require equal amounts of commitment
and hard work. But finally, it is a matter of
balance and giving priority to whichever job
needs your attention at that point in time.
Being a government employee is also an
important part of my life and I do not shy
away from any of its commitments, as that
is my first priority, says Nasser.
While this does get stressful at times,
Nasser thrives on pressure and uses that
energy to push himself further.
HEC has also taken a major lead
in directing Nasser towards the path
of his dreams through the business
entrepreneurship course that he completed
at the HEC Paris branch campus in Qatar.
I had no background in business. HEC
helped me through the different cycles

involved from getting the right team, to

selling ideas and to making an excellent
business model, he says. While Nasser has
not taken any help for funding his dreams,
he still went through some difficulties in
setting the ball rolling. It was all about
finding the right business process involved
and then it was much easier, says Nasser.
The process gets much easier once you
know the different rules and categories.
It takes a while to understand the rules in
Qatar. Getting the right information from
the right people has always been difficult in
Qatar and once we scaled that then it was an
easier struggle.
For Nasser, the procedure was difficult
as the three partners wanted to know all
the paperwork and processes involved. We
went through all the process ourselves. We
wanted to get the feel of the business, from
the difficulties to the euphoria of setting up
a business of our own.
Arnag has taken a difficult route, staying
away from the much-sought after location
of Qatars West Bay, and Nasser's reasons

are pragmatic. He says that the rents were

much higher and hence they had to opt for
a new location, which was slowly gaining
popularity.
We also wanted a larger area to go with
the concept of a Qatari house and that is
almost impossible to acquire in The Pearl
or any other location.
The beauty of food
Nassers love for food is shared by his
partners and that is another major game
changer in his business. My business
partners were equally in love with food.
One of my partners is a Qatari chef who
was already popular among the locals
and he is our social media influencer. He
experiments with food and then puts up the
recipes on social media and his Instagram
posts are hugely popular.
Known to the social world as @jboor_a,
Nassers partner wants to be known by
his social persona but he comes with a
mission to make the world taste good, one
recipe at a time. Ask Nasser about Arnag,
61 > QATAR TODAY > JANUARY 2017

entrepreneur > tag this

"HAVING A JOB TO FALL
BACK ON GIVES THE
ENTREPRENEUR MORE
CONFIDENCE TO PURSUE
HIS DREAMS BECAUSE
THEN HE IS SURE THAT
HIS FINANCIALS ARE NOT
ENTIRELY DEPENDENT
ON THE SUCCESS OF HIS
VENTURE."

"OUR RESTAURANT IS AN
AMALGAMATION OF ALL
THE BEST TASTES FROM
AROUND THE WORLD
WHILE ADDING A NEW
ANGLE TO IT THROUGH
EXPERIMENTATION."

the restaurant, and the excitement in his

expression is palpable.
Our restaurant is an amalgamation of
all the best tastes from around the world
while adding a new angle to it through
experimentation. The recipes are all in
house, tried and tested by Jabor and shared
on social media.
To understand the variety and the
dynamism in the recipes, Nasser gives us
one variant that is being served at Arnag.
The crme brle, a dessert consisting of a
rich custard base topped with a contrasting
layer of hard caramel, is recreated with
a new constituent, Sago, which takes the
same dish to don an entirely new avatar at
Arnag.
Arnag serves the norm with panache:
date puddings that enhances Arabic
flavours, cakes with salted caramel, to give
them a rush of flavours.
We also have Japanese cheese cakes, and
tiramisu, all of which are our bestsellers.
62 > QATAR TODAY > JANUARY 2017

Arnag, which translates as colours,

essentially is about visiting a house of
flavours, reviving memories of your
mothers kitchen, teasing memories while
retaining elements of surprise and mystery.
The restaurant is located at Souq Wakrah
and models around a Qatari house with a
small patio close to the entrance, moving on
to the library, with books that have been
collected from antique shops, a kitchen
which smells of brewed coffee and attracts
people to enter its cozy surroundings and
indulge in hot treats.
The patio also opens to a lounge close
to the entrance and this is where the
owner, passionate foodies themselves,
entertain; this room is always teeming with
enthusiastic food tasters as Arnag is slowly
introducing its main course or savory menu
after the successful stint with the dessert
menu. We take time over the menu as
everything has to be tasted and tested to
get the best results. We use the best quality

ingredients and make all recipes in-house

to enhance natural flavours, says Nasser.
Less than a year since the opening,
Nasser says that Arnag has a good
reputation which is enhanced by Jabors
popularity.
New ideas in food and beverages are
being introduced and that is a huge step for
the country as I felt that we have not really
expanded in this segment as much as other
Middle-Eastern countries and now we are
making waves with innovative brands that
are being created locally.