Known as the dhalpuri roti queen in many circles, Fazila Ali Razack assures that her dhalpuri roti is the best anywhere this side of the world, not because of any secret ingredient that is added, but because it is prepared with love.
Her Dhalphuri roti has found its way to Switzerland, Australia, China, Hong Kong, across America, and even in her homeland, Guyana, where she grew up in a small village, named, Industry, on the East Coast of Demerara.
Today, Fazila, fondly called Fazee, is the proud proprietress, of Fazee’s Delight, a Guyanese, Caribbean eatery, at 215-21 Jamaica Ave., (corner of 215th Place & Jamaica Ave.), Queens Village, where she catered from her home kitchen for many years.
The moment you walk into the restaurant, the aroma of delicious Guyanese food awakens your senses. From curried fish, chicken, and lamb stews, to fresh vegetables cooked with spices, beef patty, pineapple tart, dhalpurie, potato ball, bread, and cakes, customers have the option, to dine-in, or take-out, the food, prepared fresh, daily.
The beautifully contemporary style restaurant space, designed with a stunning tiled backdrop, and colorful, wall sconce lighting, a huge television set, and modern furnishings, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, from 7 am to 6 pm, seven days a week.
The delightful lady, who credits her family, friends, and dedicated staff for her success, always liked cooking, but her destiny, was put on hold, when she became a hairdresser.
However, after migrating to the United States, in 1996, and as faith would have it, Fazee, who made dhalpuri roti for friends at no cost, was asked to supply her sister, Zena’s hospital staff party with her famous Dhalpuri roti. The response was phenomenal.
Her tasty dhalpuri roti became a hit, and at Zena’s insistence, she began to charge $1 for a single Dhalpuri roti. This progressed to include a friendly competitor’s, request for help with making 300 dhalpuri roti for a family Christmas dinner. And as they say, the rest is history.
Since opening, a week ago, business has boomed. The “split pea stuffed flatbread,” that Fazee says is a “whopping 17” with a velvety, cotton ball texture and melts in your mouth, is sold out every day.
After years of sweating over a small hot stove in an apartment building, and then from her home kitchen in Queens Village, making dhalpuri roti and selling it for $1.00, the price has not increased that much. It now cost just $2.00, a small sum like all the other food items in the restaurant that are cheap, from $5.00 to $15.00.
“I now see myself progressing higher and higher,” says the ‘Dhalpuri Queen,’ who never envisioned that she would get to this level of success, because she made dhalpuri roti for the love of it, and to share with friends and family
However, it is a new day for the businesswoman, who has her daughter, Farah besides her, dishing out delicious recipes from her mother’s kitchen, to meet the demand for the food she puts her heart and soul into preparing from scratch, every day.
