CULTURE

Hisham’s Food Truck: A Delicious Dance

Former BalletMet dancer brings South African food to the community

By Christina Musgrave / Photography By Christina Musgrave | September 02, 2020

Owner Hisham Omardien inside his food truck.

Hisham Omardien grew up in Worcester, South Africa, a small town outside of Cape Town. When he was 10 years old, one of his most important responsibilities was walking his younger sister to and from ballet class. While she danced in class, Hisham watched in the window, practicing moves outside.

Six months later, the ballet teacher took notice of Hisham’s moves. One day, she approached him outside the building and asked if he’d like to practice ballet inside the building. After he practiced with the class, the teacher called Hisham’s mother to insist that he join.

At first, his parents said no. But after he got a pair of ballet shoes, there was no stopping him.

AN UNEXPECTED CAREER

Ever since that moment, Hisham’s life has revolved around ballet. He attended a high school headed towards the arts, practicing ballet every day. When he applied to college, his parents wanted him to become a teacher, but he was determined to be a dancer.

Hisham became a professional dancer at the Cape Performing Arts Board in South Africa. He danced there for 10 years, then one fateful day he met David Nixon, who was leading the BalletMet professional ballet company and dance studio in Columbus. BalletMet’s performances at the Ohio Theatre and elsewhere reach an audience of about 125,000 people a year, and the company also offers classes in ballet, tap, modern and lyrical dance.

David offered Hisham a one-year contract, which he accepted. Hisham moved to Columbus, where he met his future wife, Olivia, who was also a dancer for BalletMet. Before he knew it, one year turned into two, two into five—and after 18 years at BalletMet, Hisham found himself looking for his next move in life.

Besides ballet, Hisham’s other passion in life was food. One of the things he missed the most about South Africa was the food. Growing up in a tight-knit family, every family gathering was centered around the table.

In the summers when BalletMet was between seasons, Hisham worked for Bleu & Fig, a catering and event planning operation. Although he had restaurant experience, he wanted to start something on his own. But at age 50, he couldn’t fathom the thought of starting at the bottom of the food chain in a new career.

“I found this passion for cooking food, being close to home and paying homage to my mom,” he said. After months of soul searching and researching, Hisham decided he didn’t want to start a restaurant. He wanted to start a food truck. With the growth of the food truck industry outpacing the restaurant industry, this offered the promise of a new venture that Hisham would own.

And in September 2018, Hisham’s Food Truck was born.

Hisham’s Food Truck serves South African Cape Malay food using family recipes.

Left: The chicken, potato and chickpea curry, served over basmati rice, is the most popular dish on the truck.
Right: Hand pies features a choice of fillings in a puff pastry.

A LIFE CONTRAST

In ballet, the schedule is rigorous. The day is broken down into strict time slots, with only a few minutes even to use the restroom. Ballet companies dictate what the dancers are doing each day they’re at the studio.

Operating a food truck couldn’t be more different. A food truck offers flexibility. After years of long hours of ballet, the food truck offered Hisham complete control over his schedule and, even more importantly, more time with family.

The truck serves South African Cape Malay food, a unique style of food that nobody in the city was offering at the time when he opened. Hisham offers curries, hand pies, and samoosas, which feature spicy ground beef or vegetable filling in a small triangle-shaped pastry. He imports all of his spices from South Africa, and all of the recipes come from his home.

The most popular dish on the truck is the chicken curry that Hisham himself describes as “insane.” His food is bursting with flavor. Each bite tells a story about his family that Hisham shares with the community.

Hisham’s favorite dish is the samoosas. “They’re little labors of love,” Hisham says. It takes five hours to make 100 thin sheets of dough for the pastries. He says they’re still not as good as his aunties’ back home, but someday he’ll get there.

The best part of running a food truck? The customers. Hisham is incredibly personable. You can tell how much he cares about his family, the food he makes and the customers he serves. And his customers equally admire Hisham. In the early summer, four South African families had a Memorial Day celebration outside his food truck. He even has customers from Indiana who drove to Columbus just to eat his food.

Owning a food truck is about more than just cooking food. Hisham has learned to be a mechanic, businessman, plumber and electrician. Even more impressive, Hisham’s truck is truly a family affair with just him and his wife running the operation. Although it’s difficult, it’s worth it, because introducing Cape Malay food to Columbus has given Hisham so much joy.

Hisham has learned a lot over the two years since he opened. Fittingly, he premiered his truck in 2018 outside the Ohio Theatre—the perfect place for one dream to end and another to begin.