The popular Middle Eastern restaurant giving Manchester a taste of Palestine

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Growing up, Ali Yousef would hide his culinary skills. Born into a Palestinian household, the 33-year-old restaurateur grew up eating authentic Palestinian meals made by his parents who would also experiment by making things like ‘Middle Eastern baked beans’.

Ali would mimic his parents' penchant for cooking and experimentation, and turned the kitchen into his own personal Mecca. However, despite teaching himself how to cook all types of cuisine, his shyness wouldn’t allow him to tell anybody about his talent. READ MORE: Stockport café comes above Manchester spots to be named best place for brunch READ MORE: High-end restaurant loved by David Beckham and Coleen Rooney plans international expansion It wasn’t until well into his twenties when his astounded wife told him he should open a restaurant, that he gave up a life of unfulfilling office work to pursue his until then hidden passion of food.

Fast forward several years and Ali is now the proud owner of Baity, a popular Palestinian restaurant that has made itself a home at the new Kargo MKT at Quayside MediaCity. “It wasn’t something that I spoke about, I didn’t see it as a skill that I was worthy of,” he told the MEN. “When my parents would leave to go somewhere, I’d be home alone and I’d run straight to the kitchen.

I’d sit there and mess things up, come up with new ideas and get lost in time. “I dabbled with everything. I even bought ostrich meat once, I loved to experiment. “As I grew up, I got married and my wife saw my skills in the kitchen and it was a push from her that made me believe in myself and I got my confidence.” Baity first opened in Didsbury in September 2019 to great success.