The smell of her grandmother’s fresh bread baking in the oven is still with Ghada Muhsen.
She also vividly remembers helping out her parents when they were preparing food in their restaurant. Now she’s preparing to follow in their footsteps, guided by those memories and a love of food.
Muhsen, who lives in Orland Park, plans to open Neima Coffee and Cafe bakery in Lemont, which is named after her grandmother, with help from her husband Sam, son, Noor, 23, and daughter, Jenna, 20. They are putting on the finishing touches, awaiting furniture, and working to open their family venture in November.
They already operate a ghost kitchen, which delivers baked goods, mainly cheesecake.
“Everything was from scratch,” said Muhsen of her childhood memories of cooking. She recalls going to Palestine, where her grandparents lived, and watching them cook. Her parents also grew up in the Middle East. They all emigrated to Virginia at different times, where she grew up. She helped her parents out in their restaurant there, too.
“The smell of the bread baking is just amazing,” she recalled. “I grew up loving food, making food, working with people.”
Neima will have room for 30 seats indoors and about the same outside. They’ll serve salads, soups, sandwiches, croissants, pastries — including the Middle Eastern knafeh, layers of phyllo dough filled with cheese — and coffee and espresso drinks. Events can also be hosted there.
“It’s fun, I’m so excited about it,” she said.
Muhsen graduated with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts from Moraine Valley Community College in 2020, starting as a business major but then changing to nutrition.
She settled on culinary arts after a class project, where she visited a restaurant in Orland Park and she asked the owner if he could help her out on the assignment.
“He was like, absolutely,” and motioned for me to come to the kitchen. “I interviewed him, he gave me an apron and helped me.That was so cool,” she said.
Muhsen did a video interview of the chef, took pictures and got an “A” on the project.
After graduation, she worked in food service industries and as a pastry chef at several senior living facilities.
At the Palos Hills community college, she loved classes with teachers/chefs Dean Eliacostas, Lampros Tzima and Jeanie Kraus.
She’s still in close contact with the three and considers Eliacostas a mentor.
“He wanted to teach us and make sure we knew every detail,” Muhsen said. “I love the way he is with students … he’s very knowledgeable and firm, but very respectful. He’s a leader.”
Muhsen said he also offered advice on finding a spot for her bakery, advising her to look for an affordable location with enough foot traffic.
Even now, Muhsen goes to him for tips.
“I go to him with everything I need,” she said. “He’s there whenever I need help.”
Eliacostas shows the same regard for his former pupil.
“Even though we’re in a very controlled environment, there’s a lot of commotion in the kitchen and there’s just her poise in general,” he said. “Her willingness and desire to learn and ask questions — It’s refreshing to see how organized her mind is.”
He said Muhsen has stayed involved with the school, too, being on the department’s advisory board and helping with high school competitions.
“A lot of it is discipline and how we are in the kitchen,” he said. “There’s a lot of discipline needed in this industry. That is something she most definitely has.”
Eliacostas said Muhsen was also a credit to the college.
“She’s so dedicated when it comes to her craft,” he said. “We’re all beyond elated. “She truly embraces the craft.”
The three MVCC chefs have already visited Neima and intend to return there.
It’s that kind of support that made being a student at the college almost like an extension of family and one that carries on into her future business. She remembers returning home after classes and feeling like she wanted to go back the next day.
“We built a relationship,” she said. “It’s like a family relationship and that is what I want for my bakery.”
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.