About

About Eat Enjoy by Raneem

Welcome! At Eat Enjoy by Raneem, you’ll find healthy and delicious recipes, cooking tips, and secrets that will transport you straight into the heart of Middle Eastern kitchens and different cuisines.

Hi! My name is Raneem Abbara; I am a food blogger, wife, mother of two and I love coffee!

I was born and raised in Dubai, UAE, to a Syrian father and an Egyptian mother. Due to the metropolitan nature of Dubai, I spent all my childhood exposed to different types of cuisines, Middle Eastern, Asian, American, and Italian. Growing up, I watched my parents, especially my mom, enjoy cooking and sharing different recipes that she taught me, which set me on a path to becoming a cook myself.

Fast forward to my college years. I moved to Cairo, Egypt, with my older brother to study pharmacy and Biotechnology at the German University in Cairo, and that’s where I met my husband, Ahmed!

I had to start cooking because we were so tired from eating out, and it was so much fun to experience different cuisines and flavors.
When I got married, I was a skilled cook, and my husband gained nearly 40 pounds in just over a year (Yes, we’re food lovers😋). We were the couple known for their fantastic meals. But when my husband wanted to lose weight without sacrificing tasty food, I had to get creative. I developed healthier yet still delicious recipes.

Then, in 2016, we moved to Morgantown, WV, USA, and started an Egyptian restaurant “Cairo 2 Go” based on our passion for Egyptian culture, and it was an instant hit! Running a restaurant and leading a team was a new experience for me. The biggest challenge was teaching my Egyptian recipes to cooks unfamiliar with the cuisine. I created clear, step-by-step guides for cooks of all nationalities to follow.

When COVID hit, we faced many problems. To boost declining sales, we launched our first ghost kitchen, “Tre Pasta”. It was an instant success too! We were now running two restaurants from one kitchen, serving both pasta and Egyptian food daily. It was fun but also hard work.

Months later, we built on our success and launched a third brand serving Nashville-style hot-fried chicken. By the start of 2021, we were operating three restaurants from a single kitchen!

Our popularity and success were overwhelming, but they came at a high cost. Staff shortages, supply issues, and pandemic-related problems meant we worked 80-hour weeks for a year. We barely saw our kids or had time for ourselves. Eventually, we questioned our reasons for continuing. Despite our success, we were exhausted and unhappy. Seeing no end to this, we made the hard choice to close our restaurant to prioritize our family.

Following a much-needed break, I was eager to continue sharing my love for food. Starting a food blog seemed the perfect solution.

Now, I maintain a healthier lifestyle, enjoy more family time, and continue to share my cooking passion with a global audience!