The Lighthouse Conversations with Hashem Montasser

The Lighthouse Conversations with Hashem Mont...

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“I observe. I document. And more recently, I speak my mind.”​ Hani AlMalki on Dubai’s F&B reset, credibility over clout, and a restaurant career built without a restaurant​.

Hani AlMalki — aka Bedouinfoodie — returns to podcast for a second sit-down, and it lands nothing like the first.​ When war hit the region, he started writing: a daily diary on his Instagram Stories that became required reading for Dubai’s food community, built on the one thing m ...  Show more

“If you tell me we're not going to build, then probably replace me. There is no need for having me.” Karim Awad on leading EFG Hermes mid-revolution, a decade of building, and why legacy is measured by what remains after you leave​

Karim Awad walked into EFG Hermes at one of the most turbulent moments in Egypt's recent history — a company caught mid-revolution, a bruised brand, and a region that wasn't sure it wanted to stabilise.​ What he did next is what this conversation is about.​ Karim and Hashem talke ...  Show more

Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte on the Soul of Space and Collectible Design​

“I really wanted to slow things down… to create an experience where people take their time, build relationships, and connect with design in a more human way.”​ Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte has spent fifteen years living out of a suitcase, experiencing the quiet palazzos of Venice ...  Show more

“Going into a new market requires humility. You don’t know the market well, and you have to accept that.”

In this year-in-review episode, Hashem looks back on 2025 and what it actually took to open two restaurants in Riyadh in one year.​ It’s a conversation about going up the learning curve fast, staying humble, and why consistency always outlasts hype.​​ Chapters: 0:00 Coming up... ...  Show more

“The day I stopped being a ‘Googler in Dubai’ and started being ‘Lynn, who happens to work at Google,’ everything changed.”​

Lynn Hazim, founder of Middle Child and creator of popular food blog @nosoupforyou, shares her journey from corporate life at Google to building her own restaurant in Dubai. The episode explores her early love for food, the roots of her inspiration, and her bold pivot to entrepre ...  Show more