How Chef Karim Lakhani Survived Idi Amin Expulsion and Built Award-Winning Culinary Career

Anthony Codispoti (00:00)
Welcome to another edition of the inspired stories podcast where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they’ve overcome adversity. My name is Anthony Cotaspodi and today’s guest is Karim Lakhani. From refugee to renowned hospitality executive,

Karim’s journey began when his family came to Canada from Uganda, losing everything overnight. At just 12 years old, he was thrust into a new world. He began first as a dishwasher, later worked alongside world famous chefs, and became an award winning chef himself before moving into senior leadership roles.

He has guided major food and beverage programs for well-known hotel groups such as HEI and Interstate. He has also served on food and beverage advisory boards for brands like Marriott and Intercontinental. Today, he is the executive vice president of food and beverage and procurement at Northwood Hospitality, a boutique hotel management company focused on elevating guest experiences through a people-first culture.

They provide full service operations in areas like sales and marketing, design, accounting, revenue management, and more. And we’re going to hear about his work surrounding AI and predictive purchasing. But before we get into all that good stuff, today’s episode is brought to you by my company, Adback Benefits Agency, where we offer very specific and unique employee benefits that are both great for your team and fiscally optimized for your bottom line.

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To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at addbackbenefits.com. All right, back to our guest today, the Executive Vice President of Food and Beverage and Procurement of Northwood Hospitality, Karim. Thanks for making the time to share your story today.

Karim Lakhani (02:24)
Anthony, thank you very much. ⁓ It’s a pleasure to be on with you today.

Anthony Codispoti (02:28)
All right, so Karim, first I would like to hear about your family’s experience coming to Canada as refugees from Uganda. What do you remember? What was it like to suddenly lose everything that you had known?

Karim Lakhani (02:45)
Well, you know, it started in 1972 in Uganda. The dictator, Idi Amin, ordered nearly all Ugandan Asians to leave the country within 90 days. Primarily what began in terror and loss for our families. You know, our citizenship were stripped, livelihoods and the familiarity of home. We moved from chaos

⁓ disoriented to transit camps and long exhausting flights to Canada and other families were thrown in other countries. ⁓ My extended family of my mom, my uncles, ⁓ they were in Geneva, in Switzerland or in France. We ended up in Canada.

Back home in Uganda, we were a close knit family. We all lived close in one small town. So it was very difficult at the age of 12 to be thrown apart like that. And then, you know, just losing your friends overnight. The difficult transitions eventually led to safety and a slow process of rebuilding our lives in Canada. ⁓ We ended up in Regina, Saskatchewan with a great ⁓

community support locally, ⁓ enabling us to start with new beginnings from almost nothing. ⁓ You know, we temporarily stayed in a hotel while searching for affordable housing. So, and you know, learning, I did speak English, but understanding the Canadian culture and their ways was a challenge. ⁓ But you know, you persevere.

when you’re young. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (04:40)
So

your parents coming here, how did they find work for the first time?

Karim Lakhani (04:44)
So my mother, ⁓ you know, her background, she was very well educated, involved in the family business, bakeries, restaurants, dairy operations. She was in fashion in Uganda. She also studied in England. ⁓ And overnight, you know, she had to find a way to support the family. So with that said, with everything left behind, she started

as a dishwasher at the hotel that we were put up as ⁓ in Regina as refugees. So that’s how she got ⁓ her first start in, know, because the big thing was, you know, the terminology that was always used is you don’t have Canadian experience. So it was always difficult, no matter how well educated you were, to get a professional job.

Anthony Codispoti (05:42)
Was there some legitimacy to that comment or was that a veiled way of saying, you’re not one of us.

Karim Lakhani (05:49)
I think initially, yes, you’re not one of us. There was discrimination by all means. And not to belabor the point, but color of skin. We spoke English very well. We were raised under the British colony. So English was our language in school and at home. And professionally trained and ran businesses.

Anthony Codispoti (06:16)
What was the biggest thing to get used to in terms of that Canadian culture? You say you spoke English, but getting used to the culture there was something else.

Karim Lakhani (06:28)
Yes. So, you know, ⁓ in Uganda, you, we didn’t have snow. We didn’t play hockey. We didn’t skate. We landed in Regina, Saskatchewan in November of 1972. And, you know, just the biggest challenge was connecting with your, you know, classmates or the neighbors or you’re working, you know, where my mom used to work. ⁓

So it was the biggest challenge was, you know, and I’ll give you a quick example of if we were, you know, at the, at the restaurant in the hotel, you know, they would offer a cereal and then they would ask us, well, you know, do you have, did you have corn flakes in Africa? And, know, those little things that we have to get used to that. Yes, we were eating corn flakes. had that availability. ⁓ so it was just different.

I think in 1972 even for the Canadians. ⁓ But they were very generous. mean, there were about 80,000 people that were thrown out of Uganda and the Canadians took on 7,000 of us. ⁓ So it was a big change in those days for them.

Anthony Codispoti (07:48)
I’m trying to put myself into your shoes as a 12-year-old. That’s how old you were, right, at the time? Yeah. And did you, was there any sort of warning that, this transition was going to happen, or did it take place very sudden?

Karim Lakhani (07:52)
Yes.

Well, for us, it was very sudden. We only had 90 days ⁓ to basically leave everything behind. And, you know, we had to find a sponsor in Canada. So my mom’s family worked diligently through a church to get a sponsor. And then we found a sponsor in Regina, Saskatchewan. And then we had to go to the Canadian embassy.

get ⁓ medical, get checked out, get our paperwork. And then we were told that, you know, we would have a flight on a certain date. you know, people that were ⁓ exiting Uganda, it was very difficult to leave. They didn’t make it easy. ⁓ You went through where there was a lot of looting going on during the time that those 90 days.

Going to school you’d see dead bodies floating in the river blood on the streets ⁓ it was ⁓

It was a difficult time. ⁓ But, you know, we persevered. ⁓ And even when we were headed to the airport, ⁓ you know, we were escorted by the Canadian government ⁓ in a bus, but we were still stopped by checkpoints because they wanted to take whatever we had. If we had jewelry or any cash or whatever it was, it was basically taken away.

You know, women were strip searched and some were raped. So it was a difficult time for a 12 year old to see that. ⁓ It was difficult.

Anthony Codispoti (09:50)
Can you put into words how that shaped you going forward in your life?

Karim Lakhani (09:56)
⁓ you know, it, you, you grew up fast. You became an adult overnight. unfortunately, my father passed away in Uganda. I was seven years old. ⁓ but we had a great family infrastructure. ⁓ but when we were thrown apart and it was, and my sister at the time was studying in England. So she fortunately was out of the country.

So was just my mom and I, and it was more, ⁓ you know, becoming so-called man of the house, ⁓ even though my mom, ⁓ she was a very strong woman, ⁓ well-educated, ⁓ well-entrenched in the community, supporting people that needed help. ⁓ know, education was a big part of our background. And so she…

You know, she raised us as a single mom. So, but you had to grow up pretty fast. you know, ⁓ that childhood of going and playing after school and all that, that was difficult to do.

Anthony Codispoti (11:08)
So how did your earliest experiences in the hospitality industry there in Canada begin?

Karim Lakhani (11:16)
So was ironic, ⁓ the job that my mom took on, basically I took on at the age of 13 a few months later because my mom was required to go for surgery in a hospital. And then, you know, she had to come home. ⁓ And while before going to ⁓ the hospital, she asked the chef that she was working with if it would be OK that her son would come and help.

as the dishwasher to take over while she ⁓ was going through her surgery and healing process. So the chef was very kind and allowed me to ⁓ join his team ⁓ at the age of 13. At that point, I had no idea what the legal age of working was in Canada, but he was very kind. So that’s how I started while going to grade school, ⁓ working part-time.

Anthony Codispoti (12:14)
And did you just continue as you were going through grade school and high school working in the same field?

Karim Lakhani (12:22)
Yes. So, you know, it’s, ⁓ in the hospitality industry, especially in the restaurant business, ⁓ extra pair of hands come in handy all the time and are needed. So I started off as a dishwasher and the chef would need somebody on the salad station. So he would train me on the salad station. And so I kind of worked all the way through. ⁓ and then we, after a year, we moved to a small little town on the Eastern part of Canada.

⁓ Just about five hours west of Toronto, a small little town called Tilsonburg, big tobacco country. And I started continuing my ⁓ grade school and then moved on to high school. So I took on jobs in like different places, Kentucky Fried Chicken, A &W restaurant, ⁓ Motel restaurant, just ⁓ helping the

the family financially, whatever I could do.

Anthony Codispoti (13:23)
And then at some point you entered a special Canadian apprenticeship program that really helped to shape your culinary career. Can you tell us about that? How it came about? What you did?

Karim Lakhani (13:36)
Yeah, so ⁓ I was working for a catering company while I was going to high school with a very good chef who was a mentor. And ⁓ primarily while I was finishing high school, was always had aspirations to either become a pilot or a photographer. ⁓ Unfortunately, ⁓ we couldn’t afford ⁓ college education or equipment for photography.

⁓ but my mom was very adamant that I should be going to college and I didn’t want to put financial constraints on her. So, the chef recommended, you know, why don’t I go for an apprenticeship in Toronto at George Brown college? So I had no idea what that was. And so I had no idea what apprenticeship was, but he felt that I had, the skills, ⁓ in culinary.

Anthony Codispoti (14:25)
You had no idea what an apprenticeship was. Okay.

Karim Lakhani (14:34)
to be able to take on this as a career. So the way it works in Canada is ⁓ you have to first ⁓ apply for a job under a master chef. Once you’re accepted, then you have to register with the Ontario government for the apprenticeship branch for colleges training. And then…

get accepted in George Brown College, ⁓ you know, it was the culinary art school in Toronto ⁓ with an employment agreement. So once you got the employment agreement, you got accepted. And so then you had to, your apprenticeship was a three year program ⁓ in an accredited college. You got your BA and you began working. So you had to work out of the three years every year.

eight months under a master chef practically and then theory was four months. So while you worked, you got paid and while you went to school, you were paid unemployment. And so I was fortunate enough to get my apprenticeship completed in two years rather than three years because of my past background.

Anthony Codispoti (15:53)
because you had already had some of this work experience that they required.

Karim Lakhani (15:57)
Correct. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (15:58)
And how was it that you got to work under a master chef? How did that connection happen?

Karim Lakhani (16:03)
You know, ⁓ that’s a good question. ⁓ a friend of the family was working at the Windsor Arms Hotel as an accountant and he was also a Ugandan refugee. And so my mom reached out to him and said, you know, my son is coming to Toronto. He’s looking to work in a hotel. Is there a possibility that you could connect him or if you have any connections, ⁓ with the chef that he could come and interview?

So that’s how I, you know, connections and ⁓ making sure that, you know, you understand what is required. ⁓ And he opened the door and ⁓ to this day, I’m very grateful for that.

Anthony Codispoti (16:51)
that made a big difference in the trajectory of your life.

Karim Lakhani (16:53)
Absolutely. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (16:56)
And so while you were taking classes, ⁓ you’re collecting unemployment, you’re not getting paid. But are you having to pay for the college education itself or that’s something that the government picks up the tab on?

Karim Lakhani (17:09)
The government picked up the tab on that. So I didn’t have a 50, $60,000 yearly tuition. Unlike today, if you’re going to CIA in North America.

Anthony Codispoti (17:11)
Okay.

And so what happens after graduation? What’s your next stop?

Karim Lakhani (17:27)
So ⁓ after graduation, you’re an apprentice and then they offer you a position ⁓ at the hotel that you’re at as a chef de partie, which is the next level. The culinary arts is very much like a military brigade. ⁓ So there are all these hierarchies that you get offered that you have to work through. So you become a chef de partie, sous chef, ⁓ and then a ⁓

executive Sue and then a chef. So the first step was you, you know, you’re offered a chef de parti position. I left that hotel and joined the King Edward Hotel in Toronto, ⁓ which had just newly opened with a $40 million renovation. ⁓ and so that’s where I again, started working as a chef de parti. ⁓ and the chef that I left at the Windsor Arms trying to discourage me not to leave.

that this is a new hotel, it’s not gonna be a good venture. ⁓ But I stuck to my guns and I think I made the right decision.

Anthony Codispoti (18:35)
Why? Why do you think that?

Karim Lakhani (18:37)
it opened a lot of doors for me. Trump, ⁓ the King Edward in Toronto at the time was owned by Trust House Forte, which had over 400 hotels, worldwide. And so it opened the doors to the next step of me trying to get a European experience. So, you know, while I was at the King Edward, we had a chef.

⁓ come in and do an orientation and then, ⁓ cooking experiences, ⁓ and tastings for guests. So I approached him, ⁓ he was from the hotel, the Berg in Geneva. And I asked him, you know, if it would be possible for me to come and do some training in Geneva, Switzerland. ⁓ he didn’t speak English. I spe- spoke limited, limited French because it was more.

Canadian French rather than the French French. So long story short about 12 months later I got a letter that said that they had accepted me to come and do a stage in Geneva Switzerland for 18 months.

Anthony Codispoti (19:50)
What is that?

Karim Lakhani (19:51)
That’s the next stage. It’s stage means stage. So the next level, ⁓ from a chef de partie. So you get, you get to do different stages in the kitchen.

Anthony Codispoti (19:59)
Why was it, sorry, go ahead.

So why was it important for you specifically to get European experience?

Karim Lakhani (20:09)
⁓ You know, that’s a very valid question. So ⁓ Canada had a lot of European chefs. ⁓ So the first, you know, we had a lot of French chefs that would find it easy to come to Canada to work in Montreal and then from Montreal because they spoke French and then they would be able to come to Toronto or other parts of the country once they learned English.

And working under those European chefs, I really admired them and talked to them all the time about trying to get, know, what would be the next step in my career. So it would be just ideal for me to get the European experience. And at that point, European experience was very, very valuable because that opened up a lot of doors from just your background and understanding of the true essence and what true essence of

cuisine and the basics are all about.

Anthony Codispoti (21:11)
So you’ve had the opportunity, Karim, to work with a lot of culinary legends along the way. Aside from that master chef that we just talked about who really kind of opened the door to that apprenticeship program for you, who’s the most memorable one that you were able to work with and what was the most significant lesson that you learned in that?

Karim Lakhani (21:33)
⁓ yeah. So, you know, I was fortunate, ⁓ when I became the chef of the Watergate, ⁓ hotel, I had the opportunity to work under, with Jean-Louis Paladin. Jean-Louis Paladin was a one-star Michelin chef. He had his own restaurant, ⁓ in the basement of the hotel and was doing very well. ⁓ what I learned from him was, you know, he was how to keep an open mind and being creative.

The one challenge that I had in Canada was that, ⁓ you know, the Canadian chefs were very conservative thinking. I found that having that influence with the U.S. openness, it gave you a lot of latitude of, you know, incorporating different cuisines together and being a little bit more creative rather than being more standard, the basic fundamentals.

So Jean-Louis Paladin, he set the standard of technique and creativity. ⁓ He was a champion in resources, rigorous sourcing of local products, ⁓ really looking at how we could use American products, but working with farmers, things like that. And then the last thing that he was very good at was bringing chefs together, a brotherhood of chefs.

And, know, in the old days, was all everybody kept their recipes to themselves, all that. But in Washington, D.C., we had a great brotherhood of chefs. And he even helped me when I opened my first restaurant in ⁓ in at the Watergate, ⁓ you know, and I had gone to train in Italy. I had the opportunity to train in northern Italy in Bergamot ⁓ to really fine tune my skills on Italian cooking. You know, spent a month just

⁓ learning how to do risotto ⁓ in Bergemont. And that was all because of the general manager of the Watergate. But at the same time, Jean-Louis was also very much about, let me bring some of the key chefs from the city to critique what you feel is the right thing for this new opening. So that was the toughest challenge for me to have other much more ⁓ well-versed

⁓ European chefs, Italian chefs, French chefs coming to taste my food prior to opening the restaurant. And, know, it opened my eyes. ⁓ yes, I was absolutely nervous, but, ⁓ it made me grow substantially of number one, developing a relationship, but also keeping an open mind, taking feedback and not becoming, you know, defensive on that side.

So that was key. then Michel Richard was another chef that I worked with who also was instrumental. ⁓ He was very good as far as not only technique, but his background was a pastry chef. So everything with him was an exact science. So, you know, he was using French techniques with American flavors and making food and dining more fun rather than, you know,

just uptight, fine dining sort of thing. So he made it really open up. And then the last one was Alan Dukas. I had the opportunity to work with Alan Dukas who, you know, at the time ⁓ was the only chef in the world with three Michelin stars simultaneously at three restaurants in the globe. But, you know, he was rigorous about standards, quality, French techniques. ⁓

looking at mindful cooking practices. So emphasizing on sustainability in those days and using natural flavors and ingredients to enhance. So if we were cooking vegetables, we wouldn’t be cooking them in ⁓ just water. We would have vegetable broth to enhance the flavors. And that really stood out on a dish. But it was a very disciplined way and a

you know, a culture that we didn’t have in Canada. Well, so it’s more about making sure that you respect the ingredients. Okay. You don’t overpower them with butter, with sauces, bring the natural elements and flavors out of those with enhanced vegetable stock or proper, ⁓ cooking methods, things like that balances of, you know, modern.

Anthony Codispoti (25:55)
What do you mean by mindful cooking practices?

Karim Lakhani (26:21)
with environmental responsibility.

Anthony Codispoti (26:24)
And you talked about, you

know, sort of a farm to table purchasing locally at, you know, the, water gate there. And this was back in the early nineties. And you talked about sustainable practices, ⁓ with the, third chef that you worked with. And again, I’m going to guess this timing is probably, you know, early mid late nineties. So kind of before a lot of this stuff was really in vogue.

Karim Lakhani (26:49)
Absolutely, yes. We worked, and this was just because of the chefs. ⁓ They were the ones that started all that. we would look at sustainable fishing, sustainable vegetables, ⁓ looking at how ingredients were grown, and we would go to the farms. We would go to the butcher shops and look at how animals were treated, all those sorts of things.

We, I guess you could say we were ahead of our times, ⁓ so to speak, but you know, we would be on Capitol Hill talking about sustainable fishing, things like that as a, as a chef’s community.

Anthony Codispoti (27:29)
Interesting. What

was the reception to that on Capitol Hill at the time?

Karim Lakhani (27:34)
⁓ very positive. ⁓ you know, they, they, you know, we were close, ⁓ to the waters, ⁓ you know, ⁓ of the Chesapeake. So it was a good influence locally, ⁓ to talk about, you know, not overfishing and, you know, having less farming, but all natural, ⁓ and, it was very positive to help the environment, but also help.

the fishermen for the longevity of their careers.

Anthony Codispoti (28:07)
You know, something else you talked about ⁓ regarding your time there at the Watergate, and this is the Watergate, right? The one that everybody knows in DC, the Nixon fame. Yeah. So one of the things you talked about is, ⁓ you know, having sort of these renowned international chefs come in and taste your food. It’s a little nerve wracking, but you learn to be very receptive and not defensive to their feedback, which I have to imagine.

Karim Lakhani (28:16)
Yes. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (28:36)
allowed you to grow in ways that you wouldn’t have otherwise. So my question for you, Kareem, is was that something that came naturally to you or was that a skill that you really needed to be coached on or learn to acquire, that ability to take that constructive feat?

Karim Lakhani (28:56)
you know, it was a combination. So when you are going through your training, ⁓ in school as a chef, ⁓ you know, it’s very much like a military. You respect your elders. ⁓ you know, even in our family, we were raised with respecting your elders. ⁓ and in school, you respected the chefs, you respected, ⁓ you know, what you were learning. But then in.

practical, even the chefs that you worked with, you learned from them. So that was already bred into you when you were going through your training phase and working with all these chefs. was, you know, even though it was a tough environment, there was, you know, ⁓ and I don’t know if you’ve read Kitchen Confidentials, but it was not an easy, you know, with Anthony Bourdain, the kitchen is not an easy place to work.

There’s ⁓ a lot of yelling, screaming, fire, knives, ⁓ but it was just like being in the army. That’s how you came in line. But so I learned that it was important to learn from the people that wanted to ⁓ impart their knowledge ⁓ and embrace it. knowledge is power.

And I felt that I had to do that. Now, I was an executive chef. They were all executive chefs. They were on a higher level than I was, but I was ready to listen and, you know, make it better for myself and my team.

Anthony Codispoti (30:36)
So what eventually

prompted you to begin the transition from being a chef to moving into the corporate side of hospitality?

Karim Lakhani (30:43)
So while I was, ⁓ you know, with Cap Star Hotels and Resorts and working with Michelle Richard, I had, ⁓ you know, I was working for Michelle in Baltimore at Citronelle in Baltimore. And ⁓ the mother company was Cap Star Hotels and Resorts. And Michelle, at that time, had five restaurants in Cap Star Hotels. ⁓ The biggest challenge with Michelle was he was very creative.

very good as far as the food that he was putting out. It was the business side that he lacked. So, ⁓ and I had that. So I had the creativity, but ⁓ at the same time, I could manage one of his restaurants and show a profitable operation. So the president of the company came to me and said, look, ⁓ we need you to be more involved in Michelle’s operations. So

⁓ we need you to look at his, ⁓ operations by going to San Francisco, going to LA, going to Santa Barbara, Philadelphia. And at the same time, we want you to be back on Friday, Saturday to be in the restaurant because the customer, you know, I was very engaged with the customer. So I started to learn how to be involved in the operations of Michelle’s other, not only on the culinary side, but the front of the house.

So eventually we sold one of the hotels and the president of the company came to me and said, look, I need you to go to San Francisco to take on Michelle’s restaurant in San Francisco. said, well, we already have a chef there. He says, no, no, no, I want you to step out of your whites and put on a ⁓ suit and ⁓ tie and run the front of the house. And I said, but I don’t know, you know, I’ve never done that before. He said, you’re fine.

You have, I’ve seen you in action. You engage very well with guests and you need to make sure that the operation is running well. You will have a maitre d underneath you, but you need to collaborate between the front and the back of the house. So that was my first step from going from the back of the house to the front of the house. And it was just basically being pushed out.

Anthony Codispoti (33:06)
But even before that, they were having you go to these locations and kind of rein things in from a business perspective. Where did you first get that business side experience of the restaurant industry?

Karim Lakhani (33:18)
So when you go to school, you get the basic fundamentals of food costs, labor costs, beverage costs, all those sorts of things. And then when I worked ⁓ prior to the Watergate, I was also the chef. That was my first gig in Philadelphia at the age of 28 to become the executive chef of the Palace Hotel, which was another Trust House Forte Hotel as well. And so…

That’s where I really honed my skills because now this was my ⁓ business. I was running it as my business, even though it was a hotel. ⁓ I was incentivized with the profitability, looking at the bottom line, the top line, all those sorts of things. So I had a very good general manager who taught me the skills of ⁓ looking at food and beverage profitability at the same time.

⁓ not giving up on quality or whatever that is. And then I even honed my skills more at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. So that’s where I got it before I went on to Cap Star Hotels at Michel Richard.

Anthony Codispoti (34:27)
And so as you began that transition from back of house to front of house for the first time, where you’re kind of like, I don’t know, I think I’m going to be a fish out of water. What was the biggest thing that surprised you to those two sides of the house?

Karim Lakhani (34:40)
Well, the first thing was Michelle had to embrace that. You know, have the corporate, you know, the corporate president, you know, from the hotel and the investment side. And Michelle had a great relationship with the corporation. so Michelle and I had a good relationship and, you know, he saw what I had shown from a financial standpoint.

But at the same time, you know, he was a little skeptical about my skills on the front of the house. ⁓ but he gave me an opportunity and you know, I was going in, ⁓ you, the good thing was that I had been working for Michelle already for a couple of years. So that made it easy while I was transitioning, ⁓ and visiting the properties that I had a relationship with the chef, with the other GMs.

⁓ of the operation. So that made it easy to transition. The big thing was, ⁓ you know, connecting with the major D learning the wine side of the business, the beverage side of the business. So that was the more, that was the big hurdle for me. But the good thing was that when I was with Sean, John Louis at the Watergate, you know, he had a great wine seller and I learned a lot from him and his team of, you know, wine.

and pairing food with wine, things like that.

Anthony Codispoti (36:06)
And so was that sort of the most challenging element was learning how to pair the wines with the food, or was it just like a completely different operational experience because you’re buying it differently, you’re serving it differently than you would food.

Karim Lakhani (36:22)
⁓ well, you know, I was involved in the entire operation at Citronelle in Baltimore. So it was, it was not, ⁓ something totally new. so, you know, it, you know, you, you started doing wine inventory, understanding, you know, all the different wines, ⁓ the vintages, ⁓ where they’re coming from and then making sure the costs are right and all that. So you learn from that part.

Unlike food, you have much more involved in the wine and beverage side. And in our business, you make a better profit in beverage than in food. So you really needed to understand that and make sure that ⁓ the pricing was correct, the markups were correct, the pours were correct, ⁓ pilferage, ⁓ things like that that you have to keep an eye on on the front of the house as well.

Anthony Codispoti (37:20)
So how did the opportunity at Northwood Hospitality first come about?

Karim Lakhani (37:25)
So ⁓ when I left HCI Hotels and Resorts, I started my own consulting business. And at that point, I had an opportunity where HCI gave me a good start. They were my first client ⁓ in Minneapolis, opened a restaurant ⁓ for HCI in the Westin in Minneapolis called The Bank.

And I was involved in that prior to leaving. So that made it easy. ⁓ and then I started to reach out to different, ⁓ people that I knew. And my previous president from cap star who threw me into the front of the house, ⁓ was the president of Northwood hospitality. And he reached out to me and said, Hey, ⁓ we would love to have your services. We’re looking to, you know, buy one hotel in Houston.

I can’t bring you on full time, but it would be great that if you could help us with the concept, ⁓ look at the operation, look at the kitchen, look at the front of the house and give us your insight and then ⁓ ongoing consulting services. So I did that with ⁓ the Houston hotel for Northwood and then they bought another hotel in Boston, the same deal, but that was a total renovation, changing it from

the Radisson to a revere lifestyle hotel. was called the revere. ⁓ and we created, ⁓ and high energy bar dining, all those sorts of things. And so that was the, those were the two hotels. And at the same time I was, my business was also taking me to, to China and Egypt and Africa for consulting as well. So I was juggling North, Northern

North America and also abroad. then eventually Northwood ⁓ decided to buy a portfolio of hotels and they said, okay, we feel that we want to start our own platform, the hospitality platform. And so we’re going to hire, you know, food and beverage sales, finance, all that. And we’d love for you to join. And I said, the only reason I’ll join is

You know, when I was with Interstate Hotels and Resorts, I was overseeing 400 hotels, but it was not fun for me. It was not creative. And I wanted something smaller and you know, I love the brands, but I wanted more boutique luxury style. And Northwood was, you know, right up my wheelhouse there.

Anthony Codispoti (40:07)
Okay. And so did you join when you joined them full time? Was it in the current role that you have now?

Karim Lakhani (40:13)
So I started off as a ⁓ VP of food and beverage and procurement, and then just moved on to executive vice president over the years. ⁓ At that point, we purchased the ⁓ Palace Hotel in New York City, 900 rooms, $140 million renovation, putting in seven food and beverage outlets. We picked up the London West Hollywood, we picked up Chica Lodge.

So we started to catapult to a real own management company.

Anthony Codispoti (40:51)
And so how does

Northwood’s approach to business and people make it special, set it apart from other groups?

Karim Lakhani (40:59)
Well, the thing with Northwood, ⁓ you know, it is a subsidiary. So Northwood Investors is the mothership and Northwood Hospitality is a subsidiary of Northwood Investors. You know, we ⁓ primarily ⁓ operate in boutique, ⁓ operational model and high touch collaborative management style.

⁓ we also have some branded hotels like the Conrad in Nashville, the luxury collection in Ballantyne. And then we have some select service, but primarily they started with, ⁓ boutique, but yet, ⁓ independent hotels. ⁓ the New York palace was not boutique, but it was an independent iconic hotel. ⁓ so the, the, the important thing about Northwood.

is that it’s a direct ownership and management of assets, allowing for giving our teams hands-on and flexible approach to operating, ⁓ at the same time creating value for the investors. ⁓ We are proven experience across multiple hospitality segments. ⁓ As I said, resorts, select service, boutique, and branded hotels. ⁓

You know, and we look at everything. So even from the home office, ⁓ we are very much involved in the operation and helping support the operation. ⁓ we give them a lot of autonomy. ⁓ you know, at the same time, they have to, you know, bounce things off of us, but we’re not bureaucratic. We don’t want to put obstacles in the way. So from a traditional hotel management company, we’re different that way.

Anthony Codispoti (42:54)
how many properties in the portfolio currently?

Karim Lakhani (42:57)
⁓ we’re at nine at the present time, plus two restaurants, that are separate. ⁓ All our hotels and resorts have restaurants. ⁓ but primarily, ⁓ at one point we were like 15 hotels. So we buy and sell, but we keep our hotels for, for awhile.

Anthony Codispoti (43:16)
Okay. And so in your current role, Kareem, as executive VP of Food and Beverage, how do you approach integrating technology like AI and predictive purchasing into your procurement practices?

Karim Lakhani (43:33)
So a couple of things. ⁓ We do use ⁓ AI in predictive analytics ⁓ of demand and forecasting for buying. ⁓ I work with the GPO on purchasing on that side of the business. we are looking at, first we have contracted pricing. So that gives us a leg up. ⁓

The other side of that is with everything that’s going on with inflation, with tariffs, things like that, we really need to have the finger on the pulse on a weekly basis. I will have a vendor that I have a contract with and all of a sudden the contract is coming up and prior to the contract coming to end, they’re talking about

you know, raising prices by 5 % because of tariffs. So, you know, we have to look at what our other alternatives are. And in predictive purchasing, you have to be ahead of the curve, look at what are the other providers out there that can give you best pricing with great service and with delivery at the same time.

making sure that they can support the hotels across the country. ⁓ It’s important that we are also looking at predictive pricing, not only from the manufacturer, but also from what’s going on ⁓ from the menu standpoint. So as prices keep going up, labor keeps going up.

⁓ you know, we have to look at analytics and so, ⁓ Northwood has also, ⁓ just recently launched, a BI system where I can go in and look at what the cost of different product is and what it costs me to put it on the menu, ⁓ based on, you know, each part of the country has different labor costs. delivery costs are different.

So I have to use my business intelligence systems to look at some history, but at the same time, look at my contracts and make sure with my GPO, my global purchasing ⁓ partnership, that I’m getting the best pricing. So we look at commodity pricing. If you look at coffee, coffee has gone through, you know, up by 30%.

But at the same time you have a partner that is willing to stay true and kind of not not pass on all the tariff costs ⁓ Through and they’re take a hit. We’re gonna take a little bit of it We have to make immediate changes in our pricing on the menus You know when you’re starting to pay $30 for a dishwasher in California ⁓ And I can only charge so much ⁓

from on the menu, I have to go back to my distribution, my GPO to see what things that we can change, ⁓ not from a quality standpoint, but get better pricing on product that can help bring some of the food costs down and help with the labor that we have to pay these days.

Anthony Codispoti (47:11)
How dynamic are those pricing fluctuations? Is it, I’m planning for a month out, or is it like you get an alert on your dashboard that’s like, we got to change a price today.

Karim Lakhani (47:24)
You can get an alert on a daily basis. If you look at commodity pricing, look at beef prices, how they have escalated ⁓ with all the diseases that were hit with cows. so our pricing kept going up. ⁓ so give you a quick example. One of our hotel restaurants ⁓ in Florida, we saw that our

food costs kept inching up, inching up, inching up and our profitability going down. So I had to go down, work with the distributor who processed our steaks and our meats, chicken, all that, and start to talk about, okay, what can you do for me? We have been a great partner. Can you, number one, give me national pricing?

and I will commit to certain amounts of volume. At the same time, I’ll bring in the other hotel that’s just across the road so we can negotiate and it’s better for you on transportation cost, production cost, things like that. And then what are the other cuts that we could implement that are, you know, great quality, ⁓ but don’t need to be. So for example, take a filet. Filet is a very tender

piece of beef, right? And you don’t always need to serve prime fillet. ⁓ You can have an aged or you could have a choice plus and at the same time give guests a good value. Same thing with a hamburger meat. What can we do there? So you’re looking at produce going up and down when labor in this country is getting more expensive. So that is ongoing.

on a weekly basis those prices change.

Anthony Codispoti (49:24)
Kareem, I want to shift gears in our conversation. We’ve been talking a lot about the professional side, but I want to talk about sort of you as a person a bit more. And I know part of that revolves around the work that you do to help improve other people’s lives. I’d be curious to hear more about the work that you’ve done in Baltimore with both young people and single abused mothers.

Karim Lakhani (49:51)
Yeah, that was, ⁓ you know, I kind of fell into that. ⁓ when you get recognized as a chef, the community reaches out. ⁓ and to me, the first time I was approached, I was a little bit skeptical of what was involved. ⁓ and it was, ⁓ for a home of, ⁓ boys, ⁓ that had gotten into trouble and, ⁓ were

you know, ⁓ in a challenging situation where ⁓ they didn’t have a skill. They were teenage boys. And so I, you know, they came to me and approached me and said, would you be willing to help these kids ⁓ with, ⁓ you know, learning a skill? So I said, okay, let me come and see this, the space, what’s involved, all those sorts of things.

So I looked at the space, I looked at ⁓ the juvenile kids that were in that detention center. And ⁓ it was something that opened my eyes that there’s a different world than just the marble pillars and the fine dining that I have grown up in and I lived in. ⁓ But I came from that background.

I did, I was not a juvenile delinquent, but I came from, you know, challenged where, you know, my family could, had hard time putting a meal on the table, right? ⁓ And so I said, this is an opportunity for me to give back. So I started with a ⁓ 10 week program where I would go every week ⁓ and work with these kids and

the attitudes were totally negative. know, who are you? What are you going to show us? And here I am coming in to these juvenile kids, young kids, and showing them how to use a knife. And a knife is a dangerous weapon. So initially I was very skeptical. And so they would watch and the, while I, you know, you have to find a couple of kids that want to learn.

And then the other ones that want to say, stand on the side and just watch. And so as I started to work with the other kids and showed them knife skills, all of a sudden he picked it, piqued their interest of what was I doing and could I show them how to do that? So by the end of the 10 weeks, I had all the kids, ⁓ you know, just, ⁓ willing to learn.

embraced what I was teaching them. And initially discipline was a problem, all those sorts of things. But the way I could speak to them was through my skill. And then we had a graduation. So for the graduation, ⁓ we brought them ⁓ to the rooftop of the Citronelle restaurant in Baltimore. Now these kids had never been in a hotel. And they came in and they walked into the hotel.

all dressed up, ties, suits, the whole nine yards, truly professional. And we cooked lunch for them. And then a couple of the kids loved what was happening, that they applied for a job and we hired them. So it was very fulfilling for me to do that. The other part was, you know, I had the opportunity in Baltimore where these abused women, ⁓ I would go into their homes, ⁓

and abused women’s homes and teach them how to cook healthy foods for their children. So that was another part that was very fulfilling for me at the same time. So I’ve done that a few times and then I had an opportunity to give back in Africa as well with the Maasai in Kenya. ⁓ So that was another great ⁓ opportunity. ⁓ The Maasai in Kenya were working with them

Anthony Codispoti (53:54)
Wow.

Karim Lakhani (54:09)
on sustainable cooking. They had North American clientele and how to cook North American food with local ingredients. And that was another eye opener, a great learning experience. know, hospitality really opens up a lot of borders for you ⁓ and sky’s the limit when you want to give back.

Anthony Codispoti (54:32)
What does that feel like to give back like that?

Karim Lakhani (54:37)
it’s truly fulfilling. It’s something I want to continue to do. I would say it’s worth a lot and all the money in the world, does not have the same impact that helping others grow and see them, ⁓ you know, evolve into, into professionals that can help them sustain.

their livelihood, their families, and have an amazing career. ⁓ Giving back, somebody gave me in life a chance, ⁓ coming in as a refugee, and I wanna do the same thing. ⁓ I stood on others’ shoulders to get to where I am, and it’s time for me to give back at the same time.

Anthony Codispoti (55:31)
love that. And we talked a little bit about those challenges that you had coming over as a refugee, having to learn the culture. You didn’t have anything. You’re starting over all again. What’s another big challenge in your life, Corinne, that you’ve had to overcome? How did you get through that? And what did you learn going through that process?

Karim Lakhani (55:32)
the

Well, one of the biggest things was, ⁓ you know, when I ⁓ left the Watergate, it was not on good terms. And I won’t go into a big story about that, but it was a life learning lesson for me. ⁓ And I was very disappointed. I was down. ⁓ I didn’t work for about ⁓ two months and come to find out that somebody had an agenda ⁓ that was, you know, not not

good ⁓ at the end of the day. But what was good was, you know, ⁓ Jean-Louis Paladin ⁓ really was ⁓ influential in the community and he helped connect me with Michel Richard, ⁓ which today has helped me grow to where I am today. So it’s critical that you keep your relationships, you know, and

It was a tough time, you know, not knowing where I was going to end up, but that opened a lot of doors. So having those relationships, keeping them close to your vest, treating people with respect, I think those are key elements of, you know, some of the mistakes and career movements as a setback, but then persevering and opening doors.

Anthony Codispoti (57:19)
So, Corrine, as you think back to that uncomfortable parting of ways at Watergate, is there maybe a part of you that has a little bit of gratitude for that experience because of the doors that eventually opened up for you?

Karim Lakhani (57:36)
Absolutely. You know, ⁓ when you’re in it and you’re close to it, you don’t realize ⁓ what you’re going through, that it is making you stronger. It’s making you think differently. And ⁓ how can you in life, ⁓ once you’ve gone through it, then you realize that any adversity that comes,

Even though I went through hardship coming in from Uganda, but I was a kid, I was 12 years old, I didn’t know any better, it was more difficult on my family than myself. ⁓ As you become an adult and you get into the professional world or in life, ⁓ you really look at your experiences not to dwell on, but to learn from. And that’s what makes you stronger and move forward.

So I feel that that’s a great step. And look, life is not easy. Life is hard. ⁓ But if you embrace it the correct way and don’t go down a wrong path, ⁓ and if you have people that are supporting you through that, ⁓ know, my mother, my sister, my friends, they were all, you know, supportive during that time.

And even though you don’t feel good about it, they’re there for you. ⁓ And you don’t even need to reach out because they know what you’re going through.

Anthony Codispoti (59:09)
And you also mentioned the importance of maintaining those professional relationships because that’s something that, you know, as you left Watergate that really helped to get your feet back on the ground. Do you have any recommendations for listeners on how they can do that themselves, how to maintain those relationships?

Karim Lakhani (59:29)
Yeah, I think it’s, it’s important. So, you know, when I spoke earlier about, ⁓ Jean-Louis and the chef’s brotherhood, ⁓ I think it’s important, ⁓ you know, for, ⁓ us all, ⁓ to continue to nurture those relationships. ⁓ you know, it’s, it’s not about, you know, just picking up a phone and calling and saying, Hey, how you’re doing. It’s, it’s really, you know, networking.

and ⁓ developing those three or four core business relationships that you can have, that you can share ideas with, that you can ⁓ be totally transparent and ⁓ address what you are looking to do or what challenges you’re going through. And at the same time, reciprocate with them. And food,

and beverage brings people together. And whether you are in the hospitality business or you’re in the technology business, it’s always good to break bread with somebody and you see a different side of them. You have a great open conversation where you’re not in a fish bowl, but you’re communicating and getting to know each other of who we all are ⁓ and supporting each other through that.

times. ⁓ When Michel Richard was ⁓ part of our organization, even with Northwood, he was going through some challenging times. We would sit down and just chat. I knew the challenges he was going through and how I could help ⁓ him through that. And then it’s up to the individual what they want to do or not do. But it’s critical that you invest in your friends.

and your professional friends and family.

Anthony Codispoti (1:01:27)
So it’s not like I’ve got

to keep close tabs on a hundred different people. It’s sort of this core circle of folks that you trust that you can open up to that you guys can share stories and support each other.

Karim Lakhani (1:01:39)
Absolutely. And it’s the core, you know, and that’s important. You know, you don’t need to, like you said, have 50 or 100. You know, it’s important that you understand what is it that clicks between you and that person? And are they on the same wavelength as you? And how can they support you, you know, off and on?

Anthony Codispoti (1:02:10)
Kareem, I’ve just got one more question for you today, but before I ask it, I want to do three quick things. First of all, anybody that wants to get in touch with Kareem directly, we’ve got his email address here, klakhani at northwoodhospitality.com. So that’s K-L-A-K-H-A-N-I at northwoodhospitality.com. And don’t worry, we’ll include that in the show notes.

Also, as a reminder, if you want to get your hotel and restaurant employees access to benefits that won’t hurt them financially and carries that financial upside for the company, reach out to us at adbackbenefits.com. Finally, if you’ll take just a moment and leave us a comment or review on your favorite podcast app, you’ll hold a special place in my heart forever. Thank you. So last question for you now, Karim. ⁓ You and I reconnect a year from today and you’re celebrating something really big.

What’s that big thing that you hope to be celebrating one year from today?

Karim Lakhani (1:03:05)
Wow. That’s quite the question. ⁓ I hope that I’m celebrating ⁓ improving somebody’s life. ⁓ That ⁓ they ⁓ reached out or I was put in a situation where I had the opportunity to share my time and knowledge and that took them to another level in their career, a greater level.

⁓ to help them in their future, ⁓ be it in the business sense or personal sense. ⁓ and, ⁓ you know, whether we’re celebrating, ⁓ their success, ⁓ in business or in life, ⁓ I hope it’s something similar to that, that I, that I had a part, something to do with that. So that would be my goal. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (1:04:02)
Karem

Lakhani from Northwood Hospitality. I want to be the first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us today. I really appreciate it.

Karim Lakhani (1:04:11)
Thank you very much for your time, Anthony was great. And let’s stay in touch.

Anthony Codispoti (1:04:18)
Folks, that’s a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us today.