Sara Aqel

Amman

A committed champion of culinary ethics

Chef Sara Aqel's culinary education may have started in her family home, with a mother who loved to cook and host, but it soon saw her travel far and wide. She graduated first from Jordan's Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and then from Switzerland's Les Roches before making a name for herself as the global executive chef of Fi'lia, leading acclaimed restaurants in Dubai, Miami, Paris, and The Bahamas.

Her return to Amman, she explains, was motivated by a strong belief in the strength of Jordanian produce and producers. At Dara Dining, she creates dishes that draw on local flavours, such as a tomatino and shanklish salad, a Palestinian-inspired moussaka and khubeizeh greens. She also looks across the Mediterranean to Italy, Spain and Greece, with pizzas, pastas, baked feta and torrijas (a classic Spanish dessert) all on the menu. In 2025, Dara Dining won the Highest New Entry Award as part of the Middle East and North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants, cementing its position as a significant player in the region's culinary scene.

It's not just on the plate that Aqel excels: she's also a major champion of sustainable and ethical practices. She understands that food is a platform to promote conversations around cultural exchange and education and works with likeminded producers who have proven themselves to be committed custodians of their land and communities. For example, she works with Mistaka, a cheese producer using dairy made from local Awassi sheep which have been raised according to nomadic traditions. Aqel also sources ceramics from the Iraq Al Amir Women's Cooperative, who design custom handcrafted plates for the restaurant.

For her promotion of local flavours and her strong sense of commitment to ethical practices, she is the deserving winner of MENA's Best Female Chef Award 2026.

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