Halloumi Bowl

Halloumi is one of the oldest cheeses in the world still made by the same method as it was two thousand years ago. First produced in Cyprus during the Byzantine era, the cheese is made from a blend of sheep and goat milk — and sometimes cow's milk — then folded with fresh mint leaves before being brined. The mint is not just flavouring; it acts as a natural preservative, allowing the cheese to keep for months without refrigeration in the hot Mediterranean climate.

What makes halloumi unique among cheeses is its remarkably high melting point. Traditional cheesemakers discovered that by heating the fresh curds in their own whey to nearly 90°C, the proteins cross-link in a way that gives the cheese a rubbery, squeaky texture and allows it to hold its shape on a grill or in a pan. For centuries this was considered a practical curiosity; today it has made halloumi one of the fastest-growing food exports in the world.

Our Halloumi Bowl brings the grilled cheese into a nourishing breakfast format: creamy hummus as the base, a tangy Piyaz salad of cannellini beans with red onion, parsley, cucumber and sumac, two perfectly poached eggs, and golden grilled halloumi slices on the side with toasted Turkish bread. The combination of cool hummus, warm egg yolk and salty charred cheese is the whole point.