Ham El-Waylly on Home Cooking, 90s Nostalgia, and Harnessing ADHD Powers in the Kitchen

On this episode of Not From Concentrate, Catherine Smart talks with chef and cookbook author Ham El-Waylly about the surprising journey that led him from fine dining back to the food that first shaped him.

Raised between Egyptian, Bolivian, and Qatari cultures before building a career in New York restaurants, Ham shares how the sudden loss of his mother caused him to distance himself from the recipes he grew up with—and how reopening her handwritten recipe notebook during the pandemic helped him reconnect with his family, his creativity, and himself.

They talk about:

How home cooking became part of healing after grief

90s Nostalgia and how it shaped this book

Making global flavors feel approachable for everyday cooks

Balancing restaurant life, parenthood, and feeding a family

ADHD, creativity, routines, and learning to work with a busy brain

Why comfort food is about memory as much as ingredients

Ham also shares recipes from Hello, Home Cooking, including his Cinnamon Pita Crunch, cheesy tapioca garlic buns, and toasted spaghetti with black beans.