Restaurateur Michael Shemtov and his team at Butcher & Bee (B&B) are not just known for their delicious food – they were just nominated for a James Beard Award after all – but also for giving back to the community. After the success of Pay it Forward Charleston, the group was brainstorming new ways to help folks in the food and beverage industry when they came up with The Bee Fund, an initiative that aims to shine a light on historically marginalized people in the food industry.
Every six months, B&B and BLAKE, a public relations firm, will choose a new recipient from a pool of applicants who can come from anywhere geographically and anywhere in the food world. That recipient will then work with the BLAKE team for six months.
The first recipient is Maryam Ghaznavi's brain children, Malika , and the forthcoming Ma'am Saab – South Carolina’s only Pakistani restaurants. Chef Ghaznavi is a Pakistan-born teacher by trade who, in March 2020, opened the first version of Ma'am Saab with her husband Raheel Gauba. Next came Malika, a Pakistani Canteen-style restaurant located in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre. The couple isn’t done though, as the second version of Ma'am Saab is planned for downtown Charleston (inside the former home of Jestine’s Kitchen). The original Ma’am Saab was located inside the now closedt Workshop food court concept.
Know a business that should be a recipient of The Bee Fund? You can find the fund application here.
