Bronwen Shelwell

    bshelwell@gmail.com

    HANAN YARIV and his partner Hannah Zhang have a passion for food. Especially the food they create.

    Yariv, 32, has been in China for about five years, mostly working in the IT industry in Shenzhen. He has long wished he could trade his business suit for a chef’s hat.

    When Yariv was younger, he loved cooking and moved to Paris when he was 23 in the hopes of studying at the renowned Cordon Bleu school of cooking, but had to give up because he found that the tuition was too expensive.

    While working in Shenzhen, he wanted to cook the dishes he ate in Israel.

    Yariv began by experimenting with different recipes for tahini, a type of sesame seed paste, and hummus. He eventually created his own unique dip.

    Yariv shared his creation with Zhang, who shared it with her friends. After a few months, orders began coming in.

    Zhang and Yariv have even come up with a few recipes that fuse Israeli and Chinese food together.

    “[People] know that the ingredients in hummus, mostly chickpeas and sesame seeds, give your body an excellent source of protein and important vitamins, and are a rare vegan source of essential fatty acids containing 20 essential amino acids.”

    Their food brand has become their full-time project, and they have expanded into catering, which Zhang feels is “a great way to connect with people and see their reactions to the food — it’s also a great way to showcase the product and what you can do with it.”

    They have successfully catered a number of small events and have large-scale catering projects scheduled for the Grand Hyatt and Shangri-La hotels.

    The sudden transition to being full-time business owners in Shenzhen has not come without its challenges, but they don’t believe there are secrets to success.

    “All challenges are a part of the process — and at the end of the day, it’s all about hard work and passion,” said Yariv.