Today we’d like to introduce you to Attiyah Khan.
Hi Attiyah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Atto, short for Attiyah, born in US, and raised in Jeddah & Pakistan. Mom to 2 boys. Both culinary & confections as well as fine arts has been my passions for as long as I remember. On my 6th birthday, a family friend had gifted me a cooking book – its pages full of colorful illustrations of cute snacks, cupcakes, and desserts to make. I enjoyed baking – making those with my grandmother & Mother. My Grandmother was an influential mentor in my culinary upbringing, working alongside her, I learned how to make, perfect, and improvise recipes and enjoyed decorating plates and serving tables. There’s an old adage used by many chefs. ” You eat through your eyes first” – this has stuck with me and alludes to the fact, that the Art of presentation is key! Food should be appealing to draw out all the five senses into our eating experiences. While my short stay in Jeddah, I was taken in by the humble Date fruit, and the many varieties of it – its tastes and textures from filled & studded with nuts. dry fruits made into splendor cookies like mamoul, ka’ak, ka’ab El ghazal as well as chocolate-covered confections. I wanted my boys to enjoy these delicacies however both my boys wouldn’t try these or even look at dates. quite to my dismay. Knowing how this tiny fruit holds a spiritual significance as well as touted as a powerhouse of nutrients, This Mama-chef went on a mission & started sneaking dates into Brownie batter, Preferring date syrup to sweetened drinks and date sugar to cupcakes and baked bread. My oldest one asked one day, “Could you make an “Oreo” tasting date?” – you can betcha – there I was in the kitchen making “Oreo date truffles” this sparked & paved the way to making many flavored dates that were kids approved – with my family & friends’ encouragement, I started this small cottage business of making dates & desserts & chocolate confections. It’s indeed an emotional journey for me as I pair my food creations to memories, one such Date Truffle of ours is named, “Apriconia” a dessert my sister made in college and won First prize, our inspired date has Apricots & Apricots jelly filling.
My younger son, who has Autism has also shown much interest working with me, he loves baking brownies and cookies, and adding sprinkles and stickers on our boxed goods. It’s a hope that we build on his attention to detail & focus skills so that he can support himself in future. This working 1:1 with him has helped in his independence & functional skills as well as leaving a legacy & bonding as foodies.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Gathering the inventory was easy however finding room to place and store the many small items was a mega challenge task in the beginning -with conscious planning and organizing work space – this has made it all a smooth go now! Underpricing my work initially was a quick lesson learnt, the need to pay yourself often gets forgotten in trying to retain a customer, my prices are fair-market based on the time spent, effort & cost of supplies utilized. Micro-managing the many schedules in an active houseld from school drop-offs to after-school practices, weekends socializing and family events – the juggle prior took a toll however much has now settled as I learned to find my “Work time” and prioritize stuff around it. Tips from fellow businesses also helped me as did The Food Handlers course- it really helps with using best practices and time management. I work with gloves from start to boxing, Great care is taken to deliver a quality product with disclaimer labels, in case of allergies.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in Artisan Dates with Gourmet flavors, Dessert shooters, Baked goods and Basket treats/party date favors. I use Vegan Chocolates, Organic blends of Oats, Almond, Rice, Coconut flours, Cane sugar, Agave, date, and maple syrups. I strive to keep our date product for the most part raw, holistic, and healthy quality treats – even the dye colors we use are plant-based. We hope to leave an environment-friendly footprint, consciously curated and crafting our dates and desserts. What sets me apart is my work ethics and efforts, in trying to accommodate my customers as best as I can & hoping to motivate teens and young adults to make healthier & wholesome treat choices.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think we all take risks every day- for instance. Driving a car is an everyday risk – So, yes – In a way, an entrepreneur of a kind, will have to make some conscious decision to risk in an effort to move forward in the highly competitive market. If they encounter a negative, it wouldn’t be necessarily chalked as a “failure” rather an “experience”. Every moment is a learning moment. A young bird needs to open and trust its wings before taking its leap-dive from the tree branch. I like to observe small businesses, especially those based from homes – do they all tend to aspire to conformity and stay in their lines or they explore other mediums to enhance their skills and market? Seeing others think & make their choices helps in understanding the thinking exercises needed to make informed decisions. I enjoy creating and use my creative skills to try different mediums in my choice of ingredients, not everyone has the same taste palate so there’s a risk, yet everyone seems to enjoy & the products are well-liked. Sure, there are many doing chocolate-covered dates – but we differ is bringing the concept of “Savory” dates into play …. some spice, some smokiness – a kick up the notch – those that have a sophisticated palate are sure to appreciate these culinary treats.
Pricing:
- Since we use a wide array on ingredients in our dates, each date is priced differently. Our dates range from $3 to $5/- we offer in boxes of 8 & 12 or platters of 16 & 24 pcs.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dates.curated_by.atto/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/DatesCuratedbyAtto/
