GFC's new campaign to feed underprivileged tykes

Hello and welcome delightful citizens of the Dhaka foodie community; it is I your friendly neighborhood gastronaut, taking great pains to help you navigate the treacherous yet delicious byways of our fair cities culinary topography. So last week I received an event invitation on Facebook from the Gourmet Food Company (GFC). After a little digging (which was basically visiting their website gourmetfoodcompanybd.com) I found out that the GFC is a brand new venture from Mishal Karim. Karim is a food entrepreneur extraordinaire who sits at the helm of Direct Fresh (premium groceries delivered to your door with an amazing assortment of products sourced from all over the world; Italian mortadella or Beluga caviar anyone?) and more recently Chows (best dumplings in the country, period). Behind the scenes in the kitchen, we have another legend in the local culinary scene, George Smith of Georges Café fame. This league of two extraordinary gentlemen have come up with the concept of ‘Farm to table’. What this basically means is merging the supply chain backbone of Direct Fresh, with the culinary know how of George Smith, to deliver food of the highest quality right to the doorsteps of the Dhaka Foodie (that’s you and me). The invitation I received was for a GFC event called “Thrive Pizza”. After another round of online tinkering, I found out that GFC has partnered with Thrive-global, which is an international charitable organisation specialising in child nutrition. Very simply put, Thrive-global operate by connecting a network of global donors with local volunteers, all in the name of putting meals in front of hungry children. So far they operate in Dhaka, focusing on the Kuril Slum (home to 40,000 residents, making it the biggest slum in the country), and in Manila, Philippines. Volunteers from all over the world work with donors and donor organisations (like Direct Fresh and GFC) to make a palpable difference in the lives of these children in need. For this particular project, GFC aims to transform the profits from their first 500 orders into nutritious meals for the needy kids of Dhaka city. The tagline from the event invite says it all: ”Enjoy a little slice of heaven and bring happiness to a child in need.” Since the campaign started, it has created a certain amount of buzz; so much so that it attracted the attention of an anonymous benefactor. Like a philanthropic superhero/heroine, this mysterious patron donated a very generous amount towards this cause. This has enabled Thrive to deliver 427 delicious GFC pizzas to 854 hungry children within the seven schools that Thrive supports. Onwards to the offer itself. The menu is simple; 14 inch wood fired pizzas with seven different gourmet style topping variations to suit every palate at only Tk800 each with free delivery. Delivery is available within the tri-state (Banani, Gulshan, Baridhara) extending into Bashundhara R/A. After much debate with my wife, we decided on two pizzas, the Quattro Formagi (Four Cheese) for me and the Mushroom for her. The delivery time was 45 minutes, which is standard for pizza delivery in Dhaka. The pizzas came piping hot, delivered by Gofetch. The moment I opened the box the scrumptious, piquant aroma of the four luscious cheeses wafted out. There’s not really much I can say; perfect mix of cheese and pizza sauce on a thin, crisp wood fired crust. Normally on Four Cheese pizzas the blue cheese tends to overpower the taste of the rest, but the balance on this was perfect. The Mushroom was equally good, fine gruyere cheese topped with a healthy smattering of beautiful assorted mushrooms. One thing I will say is that you really taste the quality of the ingredients. Comparing this pizza to others available on the market is like comparing an original song to a cover. It may be good; you might even tap your feet and hum a couple of lines, but in the end there is no comparison! All and all the service and the food were impeccable. Add the social responsibility element and all I can do is tip my proverbial hat. So if you want a large sprinkle of premium high quality ingredients, a generous dash of culinary wizardry and a huge helping of love and kindness you have to try out GFC!