Our Story
Namaste from Team Choola!
Choola is founded by husband & wife duo – Ameer & Nicole – as a way to really celebrate and showcase how fantastic and delicious Nepalese food is, making it more accessible and also encouraging people to learn more about Nepal and its fascinating culture!
Ameer grew up in Nepal and moved to the UK aged 10. With his love of food and cooking for others, learned through helping his mum and aunties in the kitchen back home, Ameer found his calling as a chef after university, working in a number of different restaurants from sushi to Scottish bistro fayre.
However, over the years he realised that his true passion was the food that he grew up with – the flavours and spices of home.
But not only that, he wanted to build something of his own, sharing the food of his childhood but adding his own twist to make it his own.
And street food seemed like the perfect avenue to bring this dream to life – it captured the essence of Nepalese food and his fond memories of back home – going to a hole in the wall for the best Momos that he’s ever had, or waiting for the local food cart to come to his street to serve up freshly prepared Aaloo Nimki, where the neighbours all came together to chat and eat on the street.
On top of that, he wanted to create an experience to remember. He wanted to capture the warmth and generosity of Nepalese hospitality, to build something that people loved and returned for, where customers felt welcomed and could try food they’ve never heard of before.
And so, together with his wife Nicole, who left an office job in marketing to join in on the adventure, they bought a trailer, quit their jobs, and Choola was born.
What does ‘Choola’ mean?
Commonly used as a term for an outdoor kitchen, most homes in Nepal will have a ‘choola’ in the garden – an open stone stovetop, fuelled by fire underneath, where food will be cooked above.
While we don’t have an open fire in our trailer, it does act as our outdoor kitchen, as we travel around Fife, Edinburgh and beyond, cooking up authentic Nepalese dishes, all from our little Choola!
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Contact Us
hello@choola.co.uk