LONDON: A British-Moroccan chef and entrepreneur is bringing a smile to dozens of key workers and homeless people in England during the coronavirus lockdown by cooking and distributing 150 restaurant style meals every day. Khalid Dahbi, 39, the executive resident chef at a British concierge company, said he was keeping his kitchen open during the coronavirus outbreak to provide nutritious food to workers on the front line as a way of giving back to society. “For me, it’s another way of having fun,” Dahbi told Arab News. “Amid the darkness of the coronavirus pandemic, if I can make people smile through my food, then I’ve succeeded.” Dahbi says his meals are gourmet standard and he has been serving dishes like risotto with truffles, grilled supreme of free-range chicken with risotto primavera, smoked salmon sandwiches and risotto primavera with grilled chicken and salsa. “The meals are not served hot but we ask recipients of the meals to heat them up and they are served in packaging that is suitable for ovens and microwaves,” Dahbi said. “So they just need to warm the food up and they have a restaurant style meal. The British government has introduced a lockdown and social distancing measures to slow the spread of coronavirus in the country. The measures include restaurant closures which make it difficult for key workers such as nurses and police officers who have stretched schedules and work round the clock to obtain food. “There are a lot of people in London who don’t have access to hot food and with everything closed, I am taking the opportunity to cook some gourmet meals for nurses and other key workers, Dahbi said. “We have distributed gourmet meals to ambulance services in Euston in central London and Chobham, a village in Surrey.” Dahbi, who is the executive resident chef at the concierge company named Quintessentially, says he and his team are “keen to deliver” and distribute meals where they are needed. “A few friends of mine who work for the NHS recently called me and told me that nurses have very little options for food and that they can only buy cold sandwiches at the hospital cafeteria. “So we cooked some food and put it into our vans and took it over to London Bridge Hospital where a member of staff made sure that around 30-40 nurses had a nice hot meal.” Dahbi said he is preparing the meals solely to help others and has always “loved giving back.” “I’m giving to the areas where there is a real necessity. Yesterday, I went to Charing Cross Police Station. The police don’t have access to hot food. We walked into the police station and we were welcomed with open arms. They accepted all the food we gave them and thanked us immensely because they needed it, there was nothing around. Even if you bring food from home, it’s not the same thing.” Although 80 percent of the meals that Dahbi cooks is given to frontline workers, he has also distributed food to homeless shelters in Covent Garden, Camden and Marylebone. “If I come across anybody on the streets on my way to these shelters, I’ll stop and open my boot and give them a meal,” he said. Dahbi, who also owns a pizzeria and restaurant in London’s Covent Garden, covers the costs for the meals that he and his team of five chefs make, as well as their wages. He said it is a way of keeping his team in employment during these difficult times. “It’s my way of investing in my team and keeping them busy because I don’t want to lose these people who have been with me for such a long time. So it’s a good way to get them involved and of course they are being paid as well.” Paying tribute to his team, he said “I am successful because of the people around me. Without them I’d be nothing. They stand by me on a daily basis and for me to turn my back on them is not something I will consider,” he said.