Chef
Sabrina Mahfouz
I cook here, create here,
make here be as much of life as I can
because outside of this
I’m not safe,
I don’t know the way.
Chef tells the gripping story of how one woman went from being a haute-cuisine head chef to a convicted inmate running a prison kitchen. Leading us through her world of mouth-watering dishes and heart-breaking memories, Chef questions our attitudes to food, prisoners, violence, love and hope. Inspired by an interview Mahfouz conducted with celebrity chef Ollie Dabbous, Chef studies food as the ultimate art form taking stimulus from Dabbous’s obsession with simplicity and making something the best it can be.
Featuring Sabrina Mahfouz’s distinct, lyrical style in abundance, Chef received its premiere at the Underbelly, Cowgate, during the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a Fringe First, and was produced at the Soho Theatre, London, in June 2015.
Product Details
About Sabrina Mahfouz
Reviews for Chef
The Times
Mahfouz’s poetic script fizzes with energy
Independent
An extremely tasty 50 minutes full of unexpected flavours and depths . . . Lyrical yet bruising writing . . .Cleverly structured . . . The order and cleanliness of the kitchen becomes a metaphor for an escape from the chaotic life of her childhood. But even in the pristine kitchen unexpected dangers lurk, and violence erupts in the sharp blade of a carving knife and trickle of blood on the chopping board. Small but nicely formed, and very piquant.
Guardian
Mahfouz interjects moving stories from Chef's life with beautifully written tales of dishes
Whatsonstage
The best production I saw . . . outstanding . . . a bruising monologue
Observer