Welcome to The Industry, a column that explores the backstories of people working in San Francisco’s food and beverage sector. From farmers and purveyors to servers and sommeliers, chefs, chef-de-cuisines, and everyone in between, we take you deep inside the city’s food scene. Next up: Foreign Cinema chef de cuisine Ahmad Alhawwash.
Once upon a time in my blurry twenties, before I became a roving food writer constantly on the road, I had the luxury of being a restaurant regular, and Foreign Cinema was my spot. I would patronize the place multiple times per month — it helps that my apartment is conveniently across the street.
In all of my dining around the country and the world, there’s no restaurant quite like it. The soft orange glow of the courtyard. The stunning, tall-walled, white tablecloth dining room on one side, and the gorgeous gallery that doubles as a private dining room on the other. The daily menu changes and of course the perfect selection of 35mm films projected on the wall during dinner. It’s the most romantic restaurant in San Francisco.
Led by executive chefs, co-owners, and life partners Gayle Pirie and John Clark, Foreign Cinema turns 26 this year. It’s a San Francisco icon and institution, but it takes a village to make sure it runs smoothly, so I chatted with Ahmad Alhawwash, the current chef de cuisine (CDC), to learn more about the restaurant and his role running the kitchen.
I know many Ahmads all over the world, and have an Ahmad uncle (or two). Allow me to ask: What is your background?
I’m Palestinian. My dad is from Palestine and my mom is Spanish.
My dad was born in Palestine and came here when he was 18 — first to Arizona. Funny story: He won $15,000 in a dog race and brought my whole family over here — his sister, his brother, his mom and dad.
In the 1980s?
Yeah in ’84 or ’85, they all came to San Francisco.
And you were born here?
Yes, I was born in San Francisco, but I was raised from diapers until teens in San Bruno. I went to the culinary program at the City College of San Francisco. I moved to San Francisco about seven years ago, back in 2017 or 2018. Currently I am living in the Outer Richmond. I’m a two minute walk from Golden Gate Park, right at the end of Geary, really close to Ocean Beach.
Where do you like to eat around your neighborhood, and what's your order?
I’ve been a frequent visitor of Pearl 6101. It’s hard because their menu is always changing, but I love their crab hush puppies. And I love the way they do their steaks. And I love their Pearl Martini.
And I love The Laundromat as well. It’s a small wine bar with pizza and small apps. They have a really good wild mushroom pizza — it’s really good Detroit-style pizza — it’s crunchy and not too doughy. Their fried brussels sprouts are really, really good.
Iggy’s Place is a sandwich shop and they do really good sandwiches, hoagie-style. Everything’s made in-house, including the bread. I like their brisket sandwich — it comes on a sesame roll. That one’s really good. The bread is soft and the meat isn’t dry. They do a really good job.
Same question as above, but in The Mission near Foreign Cinema?
After work, to get a drink I like to go to Casements. I love their drinks. The beet juice cocktail is really good.
Old Jerusalem. It’s been there for years. I think the owner is Jordanian-Palestinian. I used to go there with my dad when I was younger. He has really good breakfast — ful, which is a classic Arabic breakfast. It’s basically beans braised in a liquid with garlic and jalapeno, and you drizzle olive oil on top and eat with pita bread. The shawarma is awesome and his kebabs are really great as well: lamb, beef, or chicken. And his hummus is amazing.
What other Palestinian restaurants do you frequent?
We are located next to Grand Coffee. I know it’s not a restaurant but [founder] Nabeel [Silmi] is a great friend of mine. We’re pretty much cousins. There’s Reem’s, also in the Mission. She has a really good za’atar flatbread — manoushe it’s called. She also has, which I’ve never seen, a chocolate chip sesame cookie with halwa, which she mixes with the dough.
Freekeh on 16th is really good. They have really good labneh, probably some of the best I’ve ever had. It’s a yogurt dip you can take wherever you want — olive oil, with a sprinkle of sumac and pine nuts on top. You eat it with pita or sometimes they have a lavash. Another dish I get that’s pretty close to my heart — my dad makes this all the time still — it’s called Jibneh Nabulsi. It’s a salty Palestinian cheese. You sear it hard in a pan and it gets super crispy on the outside. You eat it with olives, a sprinkle of za’atar, more olive oil, and you wrap it in pita bread and its heaven.
There’s also one that’s super classic — I used to go with my dad a lot — Truly Mediterranean. I grew up on that. It’s a San Franciscan staple. I get their lamb shawarma, no tomatoes (laughs).
What’s wrong with tomatoes?
I love tomatoes in certain things, but in sandwiches or shawarma or burgers I don’t get it. It just dampens what you’re eating and makes everything soggy and watery. I’ve kind of come to that conclusion over my time of eating. But I’ll eat it by itself or in a pasta.
So how’d you end up at Foreign Cinema?
After culinary school, I went straight into hotels. For the first six or seven years I was bouncing around different hotels: Sir Francis Drake (now Beacon Grand), I did the Hilton, and some other fancy ones. I got tired of it.
Right before Covid, around 2018, for a year I was staging at different restaurants: Monsieur Benjamin. The Progress. I staged at Cotogna and a bunch of different places. The last one I staged at was Foreign Cinema, and I’ve been there ever since. That was 2018. I started as a junior sous chef, very green. First restaurant job that I got hired into. I was junior sous for a couple years, then put my head down, learned everything I could, and worked my way up to executive sous. And in 2024 John and Gayle graciously gave me the opportunity to be their CDC and work with them and collaborate.
What exactly does a chef de cuisine do?
Every restaurant is different, but in general terms, a CDC in any restaurant means you have a grasp on the menu and the entirety of the restaurant. You’re cultivating a daily menu, you’re managing a kitchen team, you’re managing servers. You’re making sure the restaurant is running on all cylinders. At Foreign Cinema, I’m basically the conductor of the night. I run the ship and make sure things run smooth with no problems and provide a quality guest experience. It’s also making sure the kitchen and servers aren’t feeling too much pressure. It’s like I’m an octopus: I have eight hands and I’m doing a lot of things at once.
What does a typical day look like?
The day actually starts the night before around 10 p.m. I’m putting in orders before I go home. Fresh produce. I’m texting farmers and produce companies what we need for the next day.
When the day starts, I get in around 10 a.m. Right when I arrive, I walk in the front door and check the restaurant and make sure it’s in one piece. You want to make sure things are there and everything in order. That’s very important. It’s important to John Clarke. It's part of my routine.
After that I go over all the orders. I get the invoices. Make sure everything I ordered the night before is here. Sometimes it’s not and it gets into a frenzy and we change the menu.
I get with the other sous chef and we talk about what showed up, what didn’t show up, what we need to change. We go upstairs and do menu edits. I plug in what produce we got.
Around 1 p.m. all the other sous arrive. We go over the menu and what needs to be done. We’re prepping the menu throughout the day and prepping in a way that’s easy for the cooks to handle.
The cooks come in at 3 p.m., so there’s a short prep time. We go over what station they’re working at, what’s expected, what on the menu has changed. It changes everyday and it’s hard for them to remember. It’s very important as the chef to set the cook up for success
Break time is at 4. That’s when we do staff meal.
4:30 p.m. is lineup. It’s a very important part of the day. I go over the menu with the servers and managers and John and Gayle. I go over what the daily menu will be and ingredients.
After lineup, there are daily samples. The cooks cook what dish they’re going to do. We taste it, give it constructive criticism, what needs to be changed, and then we open at 5 p.m. and service starts.
And during service, what’re you doing?
I’m in the front: It’s called expo. That’s the person calling the tickets. He’s being a conductor running the ship. When tickets come in, I’m handling first course, and there’s another expo. When the food comes in the window, I make sure the food is the standard of what it needs to be. Sometimes the cooks miss things. I make sure it is hot, and I make sure it looks good before it touches the table.
What’s your favorite part about your job?
My favorite part is I get to educate people every single day. It’s very important to me. The look on someone’s face when they learn. That’s pretty much my favorite aspect of the job. Foreign cinema is an educational institution.
And also cooking. (Laughs). That’s why I’m a chef. A lot of CDC jobs you don’t do cooking, you’re just managing, whereas at Foreign Cinema I’m grateful I’m able to cook and touch the food still.
If you can share a meal with anyone — dead or alive — who would it be and why?
My mom. She’s my best friend.
What makes you happy?
My newfound passion, which is riding bikes. I just got into endurance cycling and I have a nice road bike which I’ve been riding for the past seven months.
What advice do you have for the people?
Just trust your own path. I feel like now in the world a lot of people are caught up in what other people are doing. Just focus on your own path. It’s human nature to compare yourself to people, just be on your own path.
Ahmad Alhawwash’s Must List
Pearl 6101 (6101 California St.)
The Laundromat (3725 Balboa St.)
Iggy’s Place (3519 Balboa St.)
Casements (2351 Mission St.)
Grand Coffee (2544 Mission St.)
Old Jerusalem (2966 Mission St.)
Reem’s (2901 Mission St.)
Freekeh (3126 16th St.)
Truly Mediterranean (3109 16th St.)
P.C.H. (550 Sutter St.)
The Progress (1525 Fillmore St.)
