Off hours: JLT bistro founder cooked up right career choice

Investment banker turned cafe owner, Yousef Al Barqawi, says the lowest point of his career switch was doing zero business on a weekend day when the eatery first opened in 2013.

Yousef Al Barqawi, managing director, is pictured at Fraiche Cafe and Bistro in JLT. Sarah Dea / The National

Yousef Al Barqawi is the founder and managing director of Fraiche Cafe and Bistro, a fine-casual cafe located In Jumeirah Lakes Towers that pays homage to the Frenchy culinary city of Montreal. The entrepreneur, 32, from Jordan, worked in investment banking as a financial analyst specialising in fixed income and alternative asset class products before launching the cafe in July 2013. Mr Al Bar­qawi, has lived in the UAE for five years and currently resides on Palm Jumeirah.

How do you spend your weekend?

Spending some much-needed alone time to decompress, work out and catch up on some reading and family time. The occasional dinner/night out with my friends as well.

How did you become a chief executive?

Growing up, and ever since, food occupied a large part of my interest. My earliest memories are of me standing in the kitchen, knee-high to my grandmother, watching her cook. As I grew older, I treated it as nothing more than a “hobby” and a summer job, here and there. However, my passion and infatuation with it would never wai­ver. While working in finance was immensely rewarding both on an intellectual and financial level, I could not shake off a certain sense of restlessness. It was safe, secure ... and boring. If I’m being honest, I look back at that time quite wistfully, the way some of us look at relationships gone by; remembering all the good things while blocking out all the bad that made you want to leave. Sometimes even the sound and proper decision (staying in a well-paying job with excellent career prospects) doesn’t seem the most appealing one, especially if it involves a choice between security and pursuing your passion. So at one point, even against my better judgment, I decided to take the plunge and pursue my passion and first love of food and cooking.

What advice would you offer others starting out in your business?

Do your homework, and as much of it as you possibly can. If you haven’t logged a minimum of 1,000 hours of research and/or work in this field, then stay away from it, as it is almost a surefire way to go bust. For any, and all, aspiring entrepreneurs, please question your motives. Are you doing this (whatever it may be) because you want to, or because the market wants you to? If it’s the first, then you’re probably walking into a tricky situation that you may not be fully equipped to handle. I consulted and advise many start-ups, and if there is one thing I keep hearing come out of struggling entrepreneurs it is: “I wish I had taken more time to think about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it”. In other words, don’t rush. Ask as many questions as you possibly can and seek as much advice as you can receive, especially if it’s the best kind: free. Failure is extremely expensive. So to avoid being another statistic (90 per cent of new businesses fail inside of 12 months), take your time and do your homework.

What is your go-to gadget?

My iPhone is by far my most-used gadget.

What was the lowest point of your career?

Doing zero business on a weekend day when we first opened back in 2013. It was not always an easy ride. In fact, at some points it felt as if this whole move was a step in the wrong direction. It was only through an immense amount of hard work, a tightly knit (and extremely appreciated) support network and quite a bit of luck that we made it through to where we are today.

What do you have on your desk at work?

It’s very spartan really. Laptop, notebook, teapot and water.

What is your most indulgent habit?

Ice-cream ... way too much ice-cream

What can’t you live without?

My family.

How do you achieve a work-life balance?

You have to force the issue. You need to make sure you have time for yourself, no matter what. Work will always be there, clients are always willing to wait, even if they don’t seem so. Understand that no one has ever wished they could have worked more; but of course don’t be negligent either. The idea of working in what you’re passionate about is quite appealing. If anything, it has been overly romanticised lately. In fact, the one thing I get to do the least of while being in this business is the very reason I actu­ally got in to it in the first place. I barely cook any more. My attention has completely shifted to running the business, managing and expanding it.

If you could swap jobs with any­one, who would it be and why?

Anthony Bourdain. He is an ex-chef turned writer, turned TV show host – currently hosting Parts Unknown on CNN. He spends his time travelling the world, eating the food every new culture he comes across has to offer. That ranges from the utterly glamorous to the nobly common. He is by far my favourite writer out there, and prob­ably one of my favourite people on the planet. Much as I would love to trade jobs with him, I highly doubt he’d be as up for it as I am.

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