Hospitality, sustainability, community, and excellence - these are the core values at Saffron De Twah. Chef Omar has modeled this through his award-winning menu, down to earth service, and Saffron Community Kitchen initiative.
Now, Chef Omar needs to take some personal time to focus on his physical well-being, mental health, family, and strengthening Saffron De Twah and the Saffron Community Kitchen. Starting at the end of August, Chef Omar will be taking a 6 month sabbatical to focus on personal projects, wellness, and community service.
During Chef Omar’s sabbatical, we’ll still be continuing the following:
[x] limited caterings for special events, including weddings, birthdays, corporate retreats, anniversaries, parties, etc. - submit a request on the website at saffrondetwah.com/catering
[x] providing meals for the Saffron Community Kitchen initiative on site and utilizing our fundraiser donations to design and open the new Community Fridge on site - donate at launchgood.com/sck2023
[x] hosting ticketed events and pop-ups at the restaurant while we are closed to the public for walk-ins. Stay tuned via the newsletter for those announcements.
The restaurant will be closed for walk-ins from Friday, August 25, 2023 to Friday, March 15, 2024. After much thought, we’ve decided to support staff in finding new culinary placements at this time so that they are not struggling to run the restaurant in Chef’s absence and so that our guests do not have to experience a dip in our service standards while Chef is not on site. Hospitality to us means valuing people over profits and we wanted to do right by our small but mighty team.
During this time, Chef Omar will still be working with volunteers and others on building/site upgrades, responding to emails and other requests, participating in meal relief opportunities, traveling to taste new food in South Asia and the Middle East, and working with culinary leaders here in Detroit and elsewhere to talk more about the importance of mental health and well-being for chefs and food service workers.
Stay tuned for news about our upcoming pop-ups and other specials. Make sure to sign up for the newsletter and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.