THE ART OF THE SNACK | GOA NEW YORK

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us to Goa New York, an Indian restauran that takes our taste buds to another level with their savory dishes! We had the chance to catch up with Chef/Owner and Restaurateur Hemant Bhagwani who has opened a number of restaurants in Canada! With Goa New York, he brings his vision of Indian food here in NY for us to enjoy. We wanted to find out more about his culinary background, how he got into the industry, opening Goa, and what we can expect when we come in with our friends and family for an amazing meal!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about your background and culinary journey?

CHEF HEMANT BHAGWANI: I was born in India and got my hotel and culinary management degree in Switzerland. I then put my learning to use in Sydney and Dubai, getting involved in every stage of a restaurant from start-up operations to turning around struggling ones to taking successful ones to new heights. I landed in Toronto in 2000 and launched my Canadian career. After adding a professional sommelier certification to my qualifications, I decided to set out on my own in an effort to get Indian cuisine the recognition and respect it rightfully deserves. Since 2002, I have opened 57 restaurants.

AM: You are a celebrated Indian chef/chef restaurateur in Toronto and have opened a number of restaurants in Canada. Why did you want to open your first U.S. project?

CHEF HB: I have long wanted to bring my style of Indian food to the U.S., and I am very excited to start with New York City. This is truly where it's at! Getting Indian food recognized for its range, flavors, variety, and array of ingredients is what I have always strived towards. The logical next step for me after Canada was the U.S.

ATHLEISURE MAG: You're known for channeling the vibe of Goa. Can you tell us about this and what that means?

CHEF HB: In 2017, feeling burned out from many years in the restaurant industry, I sold my company and took a six-month sabbatical. I spent those six months in Goa, where I fell in love with the place, the culture, and most importantly the cuisine. Goa is not just a place. It's a vibe. It's colorful, vibrant, and pulsating with energy. It's unlike anything and any place else! Goa is India's happy place or as I call it the 'Miami' of India.

AM: You launched Goa New York in Tribeca in Feb, from an ambiance standpoint, what can diners expect when they are coming for their next great meal?

CHEF HB: Goa New York is a luxurious space that draws its inspiration from nature as its palette. When you step through the doors, you are greeted by the sight of two peacocks that were custom designed for the space. Whimsically, we call them Melody and Mayura (peacock in Hindi). As you continue further inside, you will see our interpretation of the Tree of Life, inspired by the century-old banyan tree in Arambol, Goa. The wallpaper is also evocative of nature scenes with flora and fauna. We aim to combine the ambiance with exquisite food and drink offerings, and music, to bring a sublime experience every time.

AM: What ingredients and spices are associated with Indian cuisine?

CHEF HB: Indian cuisine is actually many, many different regional cuisines. But religion also plays a role in how the same dish might be prepared. Broadly speaking, and just to name a few spices, Indian cuisine uses turmeric (also recognized worldwide now for its health benefits), cumin, coriander, garam masala, fenugreek, asafetida, and Indian red chili powder (which is brighter and hotter than paprika), as well as ingredients such as cinnamon, bay leaf, mace, nutmeg, fennel seeds, carom, cloves, mustard seeds, curry leaves. What my restaurants specialize in is using locally available high-quality ingredients and giving them the traditional Indian treatment. The result is what you will experience when you visit Goa New York.

AM: Your menu reflects your culinary journey across the world. Why was it important to bring this modern, playful, and interactive take to the food that is offered here?

CHEF HB: One learns from one's travels! I have been traveling, learning, and evolving since I left India right after high school. Along the journey, my skills have been honed, my repertoire has expanded, and the learning continues, of course. This is the very reason I am here, to bring MY take. That includes the modern aspect, and the playful and interactive take. I believe that when you come to my restaurant, you are my guest as much as you would be at my home so you get to have the full benefit of my experiences around the world.

AM: What are 3 appetizers that you suggest that we should have when we come in?

CHEF HB: I recommend the Shrimp Balchao Toast Tiger Shrimp in a spicy tangy spicy sauce, red radish, prawn chili oil, on Japanese milk bread toast; Goan Style Slaw Goan Salad with 16 ingredients, green chili, salted star fruit, and plum dressing; and Hamachi Ceviche Coconut Broth, kokum dressing, crispy puffed rice, and chili salsa.

AM: What are 3 entrees that we should have with friends and family?

CHEF HB: Great for friends and family are the Goan Prawn Curry with okra, drumsticks, coconut, kokum, dried mango, Portuguese chili-garlic oil; Pork Tenderloin Sorpotal an essential pork curry from Goa, slow cooked, with caramelized onions, roasted kohlrabi curry; and Laal Maas 8-hour slow-cooked, bone-in goat leg in Rajasthani red chilies. I also recommend the Butter Chicken because I do think we make the best butter chicken in NYC - it's charcoal smoked.

AM: What are 3 sides that we must have?

CHEF HB: Some of our great sides include the House Baked Sourdough Poi Bread which we serve with a choice of chorizo butter or balchao butter; Shakuti Chicken Pao white chicken massaged with coconut and then cooked in a spicy tamarind curry, served with pao bread; and the Rawa Fish Fry with granulated wheat chili crisp, pickled red cabbage, green chili chutney. The chicken and fish are listed as appetizers, but I love to have them as sides! The portion size is perfect to add as a side to any dish.

AM: In terms of cocktails, what are 3 that we should have?

CHEF HB: The Goan Paradise a classic Goan-Portuguese cocktail from the 1920s with coconut feni (Goan spirit), fresh lime juice, spicy syrup smoked on the table; Kokum Margarita with Ginjo-shu tequila curry leaf, lime juice, kokum salt, agave nectar; and the Goan Shandy with ginger wine, ginger cordial, lemon juice, wheat beer, ginger matchsticks - are all great options!

AM: Dessert is a great way to end a meal, what are 3 that we should share with friends and family?

CHEF HB: I recommend the crispy Jalebi Rabdi, which we serve with Moscato; Bebinca Goan layered coconut cake paired with sherry; and the Cumin-chocolate Fondant with tawny port.

IG @goanewyork

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Michael Tulipan

Read the JUN ISSUE #90 of Athleisure Mag and see THE ART OF THE SNACK | Goa New York in mag.

THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY MONA KATTAN

Huda Beauty is a coveted beauty brand that includes an array of must haves from makeup, skincare, fragrances and tools. Co-Founded by Iraqi American sisters Huda Kattan, Alya Kattan and Mona Kattan, they created an ever growing billion dollar beauty empire that is one of the fastest growing brands. With an assortment of over 213 products that are sold at Sephora, Harrods in London and on its own site, we caught up with Mona Kattan, Co-Founder and President of Huda Beauty and their fragrance brand KAYALI, from her home in Dubai, the brand's headquarters to talk about her role in the company, new launches, how she is navigating COVID-19 and how KAYALI's fragrances transport you to your favorite destinations.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us about the brand Huda Beauty. How did it come about and how did you and your two sisters come together to be a part of the company?

MONA KATTAN: Huda Beauty began in 2013. Huda was beauty blogging and working as a makeup artist and I had launched a network of salons in Dubai. She started playing around with creating her own false eyelashes and they were unlike anything on the market. My sister, Alya and I encouraged her to start selling them and everything started to take off from there. To this day we continue to focus on innovation and unique products for our Huda Beauty community!

AM: What is your role at the company and how would you describe your day to day activity?

MK: As Global President I lay the groundwork for our future. We have grown very fast so have had to think long and hard about how to regionalize, where to open new offices, communications and marketing and hiring. As of recent, Covid has also changed many aspects of consumer behavior and it’s my role to help navigate and adapt as needed. We are fortunate that we are small enough that we can pivot easier than most.

I am also the founder and face of our fragrance brand, KAYALI. I’ve learned how hard being the face of a line is - you wear so many hats. From setting the vision, discussing formulas, shooting campaigns, working on expansion and development! It’s exciting and a lot of work. I absolutely love fragrance though so this is a role I’ve passionately embraced over the last few years.

AM: What are the roles of your sisters at the company?

MK: Huda is of course Founder, CEO and Face of the Huda Beauty brand! She primarily focuses on product development and content while keeping the company running from a financial perspective. Alya is officially our Chief Instagram Officer but oversees all social channels including YouTube, Facebook and Tik Tok! If you are a fan of Huda Beauty, you know this is a huge job because we are very active on social and it’s core to our business. This is just the tip of the iceberg for them though, because as a small company no job is ever too small for one of us to tackle!

AM: Huda Beauty is available at Sephora. What was it like when you first heard that it would be carried in this store?

MK: We were beyond ecstatic! We walked into our meeting with Sephora with one set of false eyelashes - that’s it. They took a leap of faith with us and we were determined not to fail - which was enough to drive us harder than we had ever worked before.

AM: We like that Huda Beauty is inclusive in its assortment as it pertains to its range of foundations and concealers. How important is that to you as a brand and what is the developing process like when it comes to making sure that you are shade accessible?

MK: Inclusion is core to our brand. Having grown up in the southern part of the US, I looked different than those around me but this difference taught me the importance of having role models you can relate to. We want everyone to be able to relate to us and to feel welcomed within our brand family, so having few shades just wasn’t an option. Having a wide variety of shades means it takes us longer to finalize each product, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

AM: As we are all at home during COVID-19, how important is it to still incorporate your beauty routine whether it’s using skincare, applying makeup or utilizing fragrances in order to keep sanity in a time where so many things are unknown?

MK: Continuing with some sort of beauty routine gives me a sense of sanity and brings normalcy to my day! It also makes me feel put together even if I’m not leaving my house. Skincare is important all the time, but during this time it has also been a nice distraction and indulgence. Fragrance is one thing I simply can’t live without no matter what; it has such a way with impacting my mood and during quarantine it’s been really impactful!

AM: How are you passing your days personally as well as running a business that is still working on new assortments and staying in touch with your customers and fans?

MK: Right before COVID, I launched my YouTube page so I have spent a lot of time creating new content from the comfort of my home! YouTube has also been a great way to connect with people all over the world during a difficult time. I also enjoy reading - I love a good motivational or self help book - also perfect for staying positive now!

AM: Fragrances are the perfect way to showcase a feeling as well as to transport you. Can you walk us through these fragrances and how you can feel like you’re doing a bit of wanderlust to your favorite destination – even though we’re all in our own bubbles at the moment?

MK: I love how fragrance can take you back to a specific memory and uplift your mood. This summer, as travel is looking different than it did in summer's past it has been fun to play around with fragrance and memory! For example, want to travel to Bora Bora after your bath? Spritz some KAYALI Vanilla or Soleil Blanc from Tom Ford which have hints of vanilla, coconut, orchid and jasmine notes that can take you there! Or want to relive or imagine you’re waking up in Provence - layer a fragrance with lavender, rose de mai, basil, rosemary or sage such as the KAYALI Elixir | 11 or Rose 31 - Le Labo! It may seem a bit silly, but I truly enjoy experimenting with scent.

AM: What are your favorite fragrances?

MK: My all time favorite fragrance is KAYALI Deja Vu | White Flower 57! Creating this juice has been a labor of love and passion. It took me 56 different attempts in the lab to get it right and the comfort and happiness I find when I spritz myself with the perfume is hard to beat!

I also love Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjan! He is a genius when it comes to perfume and I absolutely love him. Baccarat Rouge 540 is one of the most beautiful perfumes; it’s filled with notes of Jasmine blossoms and musks; it’s amazing!

AM: What are your go to 3 must have products from Huda Beauty?

MK: WISHFUL Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub - This has been life changing for me. The pineapple and papaya enzymes mixed with the AHAs and BHAs gives me super bright and glowing, even-toned skin!

HUDA BEAUTY Legit Lashes Double-Ended Mascara - I am lucky to have nice lashes, but this mascara really amplifies them. I love that the wand is double sided.

HUDA BEAUTY Silk Balm Hydrating Lip Balm - This is our newest liquid lip balm that feels like a balm but looks like a gloss! It’s packed full of hyaluronic spheres for an ultra-hydrating treatment that works into your lips throughout the day. It comes in 1 universal shade that is absolutely stunning on everyone.

AM: We know that you’re in Dubai, when things are open again – can you tell us where we can find you dining, shopping and working out?

MK: My favorite restaurant is definitely Il Borro at the Jumeirah Al Naseem hotel! They have incredible food and the service is always amazing. I workout at home actually, so, nothing will really change there. If I go shopping, it’s normally to Dubai Mall. They have absolutely everything I need!

IG @MonaKattan

@HudaBeauty

PHOTOS COURTESY | Mona Kattan

Read the July Issue #55 of Athleisure Mag and see The Business of Beauty Mona Kattan in mag.

FOOTWEAR.FASHION.LIFESTYLE | SOUL DXB

There are a number of events that are taking place in the first few days of December as we begin to close out your year. From music festivals Art Basel Miami and more. Sole DXB takes place in Dubai Dec 7th - 9th and focuses on Fashion, Footwear and Lifestyle by merging a number of brands and musicians together for a fun experience. Sole DXB is helmed by Hussain Moloobhoy (began his career at Saatchi London and moves to the Middle East and joined Saatchi and Saatchi Dubai where her served as its Creative Director - he took a sabbatical to explore global designs and fashion industries which led him to create a creative agency), Joshua Cox (serves as Co-Founder of Sole DXB to create a platform to help revive culture and inspire the urban fashion industry of the region), Kris Balarite (with a focus on creative design and advertising as well as freelancing with sports brand consulting, he serves as a Co-Founder of Sole DXB and is the brand creative director for the first ever basketball concept store in the Middle East known as Conquer) and Rajat Malhotra (in addition to being a partner in the Sole DXB, Rajat established a media and telecom business where he served as a CEO as well as partnering with Sunny Rahbar as a Co-Founder of the Third Line Gallery which has allowed curated exhibitions in NYC's gallery Stellar Rays).

With their creative backgrounds, we wanted to know more about what Sole DXB is as it has taken place for a number of years and is constantly focused on specific cultures that are being presented. With its mixture of art, sports, music and footwear, we took some time to find out more about this event.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Summarize in your own words what Sole DXB is?

SOLE DXB: VERY. DOPE. A celebration of hip-hop culture that has been so integral to our lives. We're simply creating an event that we, as people, wold want to go to. Just so seems there's a lot of others like us too...

AM: What is the decision behind celebrating various cultures at various points of your event from Amercan Hip Hop one year, British Hip Hop and this year, Japanese contemporary design?

SD: Culture is global, its nuance local, our individual upbringings widespread. As partners, we all grew up across different cities all around the world, but moved to Dubai eventually. During that process, Dubai had so much to offer, but there were parts of our past lives that we missed and we didn't feel that we should have to get on a place everytime we wanted to experience it. Last year, we looked at how the scene goes down in London. For many it was the year of grime, so we brought out champions of UK sounds like Skept, Stormzy, Little Simz, and Chipmunk. The year before it was very much a look at how the orginators of hip-hop, the US, did things. So we brought in legends like Mobb Deep and DMC (of Run DMC). We consider ever event an education through experience for our consumers. This year. we've looked East, especially at the real design finesse from Japan. So we're bringing out (Fragment founder and) icon Hiroshi Fujiwara to give a talk. Then we have brands like Visvim, Wacko Maria, Neihgborhood and Undercover showcasing their wares. Beyond that, there's some real godfathers of the industry coming down - we have Mass Appeal offering an exclusive international screening of (yet to be shown) Word is Bond. And that's before we even talk music (read: Kano, Pusha T, Goldlink, IAMDDB and more ...).

AM: What are the pillars of DXB offerings that attendees come to expect regradless of the theme running within the year?

SD: The best in beats, kicks, design, food and vibes, all under a big blue sky in the sun. As Bobbito Garcia, our longterm guest and friend said, "there really is nothing else like it in the world." We pride ourselves on a humble and open atmosphere. The days are smooth, the parties are bumping.

AM: What is the Dubai Design District (d3) and why has this partnership been integral to your event?

SD: Dubai Design District is our home, and moreover, the city's destination singularly dedicated to to design. It's the chosen home for the region's growing collective of creatives, artists and designers - and an institution we are very proud to work with. We have been partnered with Dubai Design District for three years now, and recently signed a further three-year contract to mark our mutual respect, and furthermore, agreement to nurture the Middle East's creative culture together. If the last 3 years have been about building our brand and establishing a global presence, the next 3 years will be about nurturing and fostering regional talent We will serve as a platform to showcase our stories to the rest of the world and to connect our international visitors to the community here d3 are central to all of this.

AM: You have a number of amazing entertainers and brands that are participating this year, who are you excited about?

SD: NxWorries (presented by PUMA), King Push, Kano, Teyana Taylor (presented by Reebok), Goldlink, IAMDDB... We have such a variety of great performers it's difficult to pinpoint just one. But there's also the talks, the brand showcases, the art. Hiroshi Fujiwara (Fragment), Jeff Staple (Staple Design), Melody Ehsani, and Peter Bittenbender (Mass Appeal Records) are all speaking amongst others. Then we have the Nike basketball tournament in conjunction with Ball Above All. And Cadillac is hosting the regional debut of Cadillac X Warhol: Letters to Warhol. FRAME is a concept store bringing down some of Japan's leading brands. Then there's' a wealth of really exciting local brands, like amongst few and ANTHLGY doing their thing. And really, that's just the start of it There is a lot to see and do.

AM: Are you already planning next year's event and will there be future cities that you will bring this to?

SD: We are always cooking up plans. 2018 will be a madness - trust us on that!

AM: Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about DXB and how those of us who may not be attending can still be a part of this event?

SD: Follow us on Instagram @SoleDXB - you might not be there but it will definitely make you want to visit.

Read more from the Nov Issue and see Footwear.Fashion.Lifestyle Soul DXB in mag.