Yasmina Hayek

Em Sherif

The talented young chef bringing the best Lebanese food to the world’s attention

Given the breadth of her experience, it’s hard to believe that Yasmina Hayek, executive head chef and culinary creative director of Em Sherif Group, is yet to turn 30. 

In her late teens, Hayek studied at what was formerly the Institut Paul Bocuse in France, now Institut Lyfe, before honing her craft in high-end kitchens in Paris and Copenhagen. She then returned home to Beirut to join the family business, infused with a passion to preserve Lebanese culture and heritage.

First launched by Hayek’s mother, Mireille in 2011, Em Sherif Group has gone from strength to strength under the shared stewardship of the mother-daughter duo in the years since, with Hayek leading on the group’s first European outpost in Harrods, London, which opened its doors in 2022. The original Beirut branch has also been named among MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants since the ranking’s inception in 2022.

With her oversight of the group’s culinary offering at all levels, the prodigiously talented Hayek is a deserving recipient of the MENA’s Best Female Chef accolade as part of the upcoming 2025 awards.

Em Sherif now operates 24 outlets, spanning four sub-brands: the flagship Em Sherif restaurants, Em Sherif Café, Em Sherif Sea Café, and – its latest addition - Em Sherif Deli. Hayek is involved in every aspect, from menu creation and execution to creative direction and training for the team, with painstaking detail paid to menus, music and décor at each new opening.

Now focused on the group’s burgeoning deli concept – the flagship Beirut location opened in March – Hayek is brimming with ideas to target a whole new clientele with fresh, authentic Lebanese food on-the-go. It’s an aspirational, lifestyle concept that the cuisine has perhaps lacked until now, she believes. Gym-goers grab cold-pressed juices and pastries in the day; at night DJ’s play vinyl records on countertops while shawarma spins in the back.

Hayek says she wakes up every day excited about heading to work: “As a young woman in the food industry, if I’m not the one who’s going to transform and take my local food culture to this other level and export it worldwide, who will?”

Read more about Yasmina Hayek in the interview and watch the video: 

Contact