Mission
To scale authentic culinary experiences without compromise, engineering the perfect bite at scale.
About Gastro Food
Where culinary authenticity meets operational excellence.
Our mission is to scale authentic culinary experiences without compromise — merging the artistry of traditional, time-tested food with the science of operational excellence.
- Established
- 2021
- Brands
- 5
- Home
- Egypt
Why we exist
A house of brands, built to last.
Vision
To become the region’s premier F&B house of brands — exporting homegrown culinary excellence and setting the institutional standard for hospitality and growth.
Architecture
Established in 2021, Gastro Food is our corporate, partner and employer brand. Our restaurants are the consumer-facing stars, each with its own voice.
Our philosophy
Great food is the best way to bring people and cultures together.
We prioritise tasty, traditional, time-tested food over passing marketing fads. We build brands people genuinely love — and, alongside them, the robust, invisible infrastructure needed to scale them sustainably, without ever compromising the product.
How we operate
A central engine, kitchens free to cook.
We want partners, landlords and investors to know that our back end is built with the same care as our food.
Shared services
Finance, people, real estate and procurement are run from one corporate hub, so our branches can focus purely on execution.
Central production
We are consolidating production into central kitchens, so every branch starts from the same standard.
Data-driven systems
We are rolling out integrated POS, inventory costing and ERP to protect margins and keep every brand consistent.
Quality & training
We are developing a group-wide guest experience and quality playbook, with training to match — so we scale standards, not just food.
The portfolio
Brands people genuinely love.
Leadership
Founders’ vision, institutional rigour.
We combine the culinary authenticity of local founders with the operational and financial discipline of global franchisors.
-
Dareen Akkad
Co-founder & Culinary Director
An AVPN-trained pizzaiola, AVPN ambassador and AVPN’s first Arabic-speaking instructor, after a career with multinational advertising agencies in Kuwait. As co-founder and head chef of What the Crust, she built Africa’s first AVPN-affiliated pizzeria and was named the only Arab pizza chef on 50 Top Pizza’s World’s 100 Best.
-
Ahmed Helmy
Co-founder & Strategy Director
Over 20 years in brand and business strategy across the UK, the GCC and North Africa — including Head of Planning at Ogilvy Kuwait and Managing Director of Ogilvy Consulting in Cairo — advising telecom, aviation, banking, retail and F&B brands. Co-founder of What the Crust.
-
Yassine
Founder & Board Member
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore.
-
Omar
Founder & Board Member
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore.
-
Youssef
Founder & Board Member
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore.
-
George Wadie
Group General Manager
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore.