From 14 July, BILLA and Habibi & Hawara will be bringing Austrian-Oriental delicacies to five BILLA market kitchens in Vienna.
BILLA employees were previously trained and prepared by their Habibi & Hawara colleagues in food preparation and oriental hospitality.
Presentation of the cooperation on 13 July at the kick-off event with Harald Mießner, BILLA Sales Director, and Martin Rohla, founder of Habibi & Hawara
In selected BILLA and BILLA PLUS markets, oriental ready-to-eat specialities from the Viennese integration and training programme for people with a refugee and migration background are available to choose from, promising unmistakable enjoyment at home or on the go. Based on this successful cooperation, the partnership will not only be expanded with new, unique products such as five salad creations and five hummus variations in the markets, but also selected BILLA market kitchens will now spoil with the Habibi & Hawara delicacies.
A total of 50 employees from five Viennese BILLA market kitchens were given the opportunity to experience Austrian-Oriental fusion cuisine at first hand in recent weeks - directly in the Habibi & Hawara restaurants. There, they were able to take a look behind the scenes and lend a hand in the restaurant kitchens themselves when it came to preparing falafel, hummus, köfte, Arabic salads and baklava. In the service area, they learned from their Habibi & Hawara colleagues what true hospitality is all about and how to give guests a warm welcome. They will use the knowledge they have gained and the many valuable tips from 14 July in the BILLA market kitchens. From 14 July they will be putting their knowledge and many valuable tips into practice in the BILLA market kitchens in the Inner City (Kärntnerring 9-13, Ringstraßen Galerien), in Leopoldstadt (Olympiaplatz 2), in Favoriten (Wienerbergstraße 27), in Simmering (Swatoschgasse 3) and in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus (Europaplatz 3, Westbahnhof) and cook hearty delicacies from Hawara and refined delicacies from Habibi for their guests - from regional products, refined with ingredients from all regions of the Middle East. In a separate, coherently decorated area of the market kitchen, starter variations consisting of hummus, falafels with mushroom-zucchini salad and cauliflower-spinach salad with tahina dressing are served for one person at 6.90 euros or for two people at 13.90 euros. Among the main courses, customers can choose between beef toshka, a flatbread with fresh minced meat with harissa, mozzarella, hummus and Arabic salad for 7.90 euros, and meatless dishes such as mahashi, stuffed peppers in tomato sauce with mint and rice for 8.90 euros. Freshly baked baklava (4 pieces) at 3.90 euros and oriental fruit salad at 5.90 euros promise a sweet finish. The dishes are available individually or as a menu - consisting of starter, main course and dessert - for 19.90 euros.
Harald Mießner, BILLA CEO of Sales, on the cooperation and the new hospitality concept at BILLA: "We are very pleased to take the next step with Habibi & Hawara and to now have our fantastic partner on board in five store kitchens. Together with Martin Rohla and his team, we want to integrate essential values such as hospitality and charity even more into our daily work and shopping routine. Learning from each other - be it in the form of new recipes or on a human level - is what makes our BILLA family so diverse and unique."
Martin Rohla, "Oberhawara and Mastermind" of Habibi & Hawara explains: "Habibi & Hawara is so much more than the wonderful food and the special atmosphere in our restaurants. We are a private and independent training and integration programme for people with a refugee or migration background. Moving into the Market Kitchens makes our important project even more visible and that makes me especially happy." Founded in 2016, Habibi & Hawara was the first restaurant by refugees for Austrians and now has five locations in Vienna.
Kick-off event for all Habibis and Hawaras
On July 13th, Harald Mießner and Martin Rohla hosted a kick-off party at the BILLA Corso wine bar in the Ringstraßen-Galerien on behalf of all five participating market kitchens. In a select circle, numerous guests, the teams of the participating BILLA market kitchens and the Habibis & Hawaras celebrated, laughed and feasted together. Culinary delicacies from the new Habibi & Hawara range, which is available in the five BILLA market kitchens, were a feast for the eyes and the palate. Lively exchanges and an exuberant party atmosphere characterised the special evening.
