A casual meet up with an old friend , Asad Shiekh from Foodies R Us was long due then fate played well and with CokeFoodFest17 around the weekend, Kluchit got Asad Shiekh to sit with us for gup shup. So here it is, Asad Shiekh talks candidly about FoodiesRUs and his upcoming FoodFest17.
Q. Asad Sheikh and Foodies R Us, how did it all start?
A. Foodies R US started off more than 3 years ago. I had passion about this page as I used to write about food but my friends pushed me to start it. Though I never thought about the group, but due certain fan following and persuasion from family and friends, I initiated Foodies R US. So after little above 3 and half years, Foodies r Us stands as the most engaged food oriented group on Facebook.
Q. Journey for 3 years plus, you made friends and foes too. Crazy enough?
A. The group and its growth got me many friends but yet made many foes too. The crazy journey had me experience different people but that too in a positive manner. The journey has been amazing and gained unexpected growth over the time period. Also, there have been many events during this period which took me way far high and too low. I believe all those were a test for my determination but i’m sure it is obvious that strong determination got me where I am today. When on a journey like this, the focus should be the destination, never the journey.
Q. We have been there from quite an earlier time with you on Foodies R Us, it has been a time consuming group. How would you describe from your family support?
A. Well when this journey started, due to my extended commitments my better half used to get quite upset. For reference, at night I would just hear her saying, ‘ab band kro yeh or so jao!’ and I used to respond back, ‘meri biwi ban, maan na ban!’.
Q. How does she respond back to all those selfies with different people, especially the ladies?
A. She is quite used to it. I mean at the end of the day, they are just ‘harmless’ selfies. For instance, I have been pulled by members of Foodies R Us at Dubai airport, same in Bahrain and now if I look back, same wherever I have traveled. To give you an honest response, its an honor for me. I never ever say no to anybody, what so ever.. At one occasion, I was shared a poem written by father of certain member of Foodies r Us. The verses of that poem was heartwarming knowing how people think about me.
Q. Foodies R Us Food Fest, was it planned or was it just riding the present trend of Food events?
A. No, it is not a walk the walk sort of a thing. It was envisioned when Foodies R Us was only 7000 members old. Been in the works for last 2 and half years and could have been launched 2 years back or for that matter last year too. We only wanted to launch it properly when we had the momentum. Today we stand at almost 60,000 members, it could not have been better than this.
Q. Is it the largest group as of now?
A. Well, its among the largest there is from our region but it is the largest engaging group, yes! Numbers were never the goal at all from day one. I wanted my members to be interactive. I am picky about who becomes a member, and still have 20,000 pending requests for the group. I handpick my members for the group and I personally take them out too.
Q. So was FoodFest17 the next straight step for Foodies R Us after achieving this level?
A. No no no, it was never the next step from the group. From the group initiation, the next step was Food Mob. The simple start of Food Mob was from Khan Baba Chowk Chuburji, approx 35 members with just one female member. Quite odd for the first one event. We carried on and till today we have done 38 food mobs. Food mob was the first step, followed by the Cooking competition among the members. Our members are so talented that competition to know the best was the only viable next step. Winning members were rewarded by movie tickets and similar stuff. From competition, we progressed to OnePlatter.com. This portal is still like my baby. All these were in my mind for a very long time, we already knew that there is a right time and right place for all these steps. I really really really wanted to do the website 2 years back and the FoodFest even 6 months before that but that was not the right time.
Q. What is OnePlatter.com?
A. We launched OnePlatter.com a year back with a concept of a food portal and it is all about food only. We got so much talent from our group andwe just had to shortlist members. OnePlatter.com has recipes from these members, from simplest recipes to cooking videos. These are the recipes which any person would like to have and follow. Instead watching those professional chefs on TV, OnePlatter.com is a place where you get the recipe from people you can actually relate to.
Q. What came after OnePlatter.com?
A. The fourth step was the food event and that too with a bang. I am sure, nobody in history of Lahore, for that matter Pakistan has ever launched the event the way FoodFest is launched.
Q. Why the delay in event from the first mentioned date?
A. The initial plan was to have the FoodFest on 20th Jan and the reason was not to have clash with any sort of other event. But then this was not a small event, it was huge from the day one. Now imagine the level of logistics and also the level of sponsors involved needed huge work in the background. Yes, we delayed it and that too twice because it was every time we felt there was something missing. Now this time, we were ready to go full fledge and nothing felt missed out for the event.
Q. Being a potential visitor to your event, though we are coming but still for audience, what does the FoodFest17 hold?
A. I would rather call it a family festival. We have got everything for every family member like Kids area for kids. There are music concerts, i’m sure you won’t be able to imagine the level of music entertainment there is with Coke involved. I will not reveal if its Coke Studio but there is some artist every day. As every day its going be different from the other, we are intriguing people to come on each day. There could be international musician performance too, possible or not, that i for you o find out when you attend the event.
Q. What are the timings of the FoodFest?
A. On Friday 3rd Feb it will be 3pm till 10pm, Saturday 4th Feb and Sunday 5th February its 1pm till 10pm.
How many and what sort of stalls should we be expecting at the event?
There will be more than 90 stalls. But if you consider the corporate stalls too, there will be close to 110 stalls at one venue. These 90 stalls are mostly food stalls, food from street corner to high end restaurants. So if we’ve got Arif Chatkhara and Waris Nihari on one side, you will Cosa Nostra and Bamboo Union on the other. Audience should expect the largest mix of food and entertainment ever.
So is FoodFest the final step for Foodies R Us?
Oh no…a big NO! There are 2 more projects coming up. If I look at my calendar today I am booked till April. So people out there, Foodies R Us member or not, watch out for far more and far larger then what is happening today.
From Foodies R Us to FoodFest, seems like a single person journey but I am sure there are others too. Who would you name?
Yes, many. To start off, you are among those (humbled). I would like to name Faisal Dar, who actually pushed me into this. Then Muhammad Farooq, who is like a friend and a pillar for the group. Another name that need to be mentioned is Murshad Alam, a true friend and support to my cause. The most important support has been my family. The force behind me and that umbrella over my head is my family.
Lastly, name couple of home based cooks, the ones visitors should be looking forward to
Well, Muneezay Khalid is going to be there with her Churros. She is getting engaged on the same weekend (big shout out to Muneezay from Kluchit.com…congrats). Ayesha Ali from YehGharKaHai, proud foodie and an amazing home based cook. Arhsay Murshid, an amazing cook. She is definitely someone to look forward to at the event. Then there will be cupcakes by Meera Asad. The list goes on and its hard to mention all of them. Add on to the list is another lady by the brand name Bon Apetit, Sehr Aftab Cheema. True definition of desi cuisine from her menu but on the event she is coming up with amazing fusion food. I am sure everyone will be surprised to see the level of food.
Thank you for your time, we will definitely grab you at the end of the event.
Thank you and will definitely looking forward to see Kluchit team on the event.
Team Kluchit
