While the culinary component of the A to Za’atar origin story starts when I enjoyed a degustation at Noma in 2013, the story of the brand goes back to the fall of 2015, when I was considering leaving my full-time job at NYUAD to concentrate on my fiction writing. I’d come up with a great name, and knew I needed to do something with the title. Perhaps unique to the market in Dubai, in 2016, on social media, everyone had a gimmick or nickname. So I did too. Because in the world of food, who was Courtney Brandt? In my mind, ‘A to Za’atar’ was much easier to remember. Thus, A to Za’atar was born. Not knowing much about anything in the market or food scene, I started by reviewing restaurants, networking with other influencers and social media types. Before too long, I was receiving invites to different places and…
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Hi, I’m Courtney. In addition to this blog, I run an Instagram account called A to Za’atar (give me a follow if you haven’t already). Before we begin, ahem, a gentle reminder that I am NOT an Influencer. As part of my remit as a food writer/food personality, I tend to often share my experiences on social media. Most of the time this is not a specific deliverable, but instead, a nice perk for places I’m invited to. Furthermore, in the current market where I currently live and do most of my writing and reviews (Dubai), for reasons I don’t particularly follow, Instagram is almost the only marker that matters. Followers, likes, even the coveted blue tick – all of this can be bought, and as my engagement is currently in the crapper, I find this especially troubling. Mainly, because a) I low key hate Instagram as a platform, and…
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