Maadi’s Coquette Crafts Parisian Chicken to Flirt With Your Tastebuds

When one thinks of dining in Paris, they often think of cafés. Delicate coffees, soufflés, and croissants make up the popular fabric of what one considers French cuisine to be - but the truth is that it encompasses much more than that. French rotisserie eatery Coquette understands the complexities of la cuisine de Paris, and is spreading their knowledge across Cairo - one rotisserie chicken at a time. 

Founded by Dina Hashem and Riad Koura, Coquette’s story found its beginning in Hashem’s travels to Paris when she was young. “I fell in love with the flavour the rotisserie ingredients created in the chicken,” Hashem tells Scene Eats, “and when I grew up, I found out that the rotisserie cooking method for chicken actually originated in 1940s France.” 

After a long career in media, Hashem and Koura decided to leave their jobs, and flirted with the idea of pursuing an old passion, the art of French rotisserie. Coquette was then born, as Hashem yearned for the taste of Parisian chicken, and the restaurant began serving rotisserie chicken done according to the French recipe. 

Coquette currently dishes out an extensive menu of rotisserie chicken options alongside other menu items, like special garden salads, creamy mushroom soup, chicken wings and strips, and sandwiches. The star of the show, however, remains the rotisserie chicken, which they can serve a quarter, half or the whole of with a wide array of sauces. A classic favourite is the dill ranch, which, when paired with a side of creamy spinach, becomes simply wonderful. 

“We cook our chicken entirely according to the French method, marinating it in a French brine for 24 hours prior to cooking. We then use the French Rotisol grill to roast the chicken, ensuring it is just like the chicken you can have in Paris.”

Coquette’s menu was then designed in a way that perfectly complements our main star, the chicken. In Hashem’s words, “Every sauce was designed to make the flavour of every bite of chicken stand out.” After all, “Coquette in French means flirtatious - this resembles what Coquette’s food does to the taste buds of customers; it flirts with their taste buds.”