Alex Mchaikhi
Co-Owner
"If you don't love what you do, it shows."
Having worked and traveled all other the world, he knows it shows in any country, in any language. He speaks five languages: Arabic, French, Italian, German and English. He has worked in the hotel/restaurant industry in his native Tunisia, Lake Como Italy, New York City, Boston, Massachusetts and finally, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Alex was born in Tunisia, North Africa, the youngest of five children. He attended Tunisia's University of Hotel Management, majoring in Hotel Restaurant Management.
After stints at luxury hotels in Tunisia and Italy, Alex moved to New York City, to work at La Reserve, a fine French restaurant. He then ventured west to Ohio, serving as maitre'd at Orchids Restaurant at the Omni Netherland Plaza, helping gain the restaurant four stars in the Mobile Guide for the first time. A trip back east took him to Boston, as maitre'd at the Boston Harbor.
Coming back to the Midwest, Alex became the General Manager of one of Ohio's finest restaurants, L'Auberge, in Dayton, which also earned four stars in the Mobile Guide. He kept that post until 2004, when he was thrilled to return as Director of Restaurants at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza.
In early 2006, Alex joined Chef Yajan Upadhyaya in ownership of Cumin restaurant - where, for Alex, every night is like hosting a party. Alex and Yajan, inspired by a true love of the business, look forward to taking Cumin Indian Fusion to the next level.
Alex lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Deborah Mchaikhi. When not at Cumin, he loves Jean-Robert at Pigall's, Andy's Mediterranean Grille, Café de Paris and RED.