Head Chef, Rob Zakir, attended culinary school in New York City and has worked in family owned restaurants in various cities for over 20 years. After working on Wall Street and in the real estate and fashion industry, he finally decided to pursue his life-long passion of owning his own small and intimate Trattoria and now is expending that love of fine dining to catering events with Olive Branch. He looks forward to working with his wife of 17 years, Raya Hosseini Zakir, and infusing Olive Branch with the same adventurous spirit and standards of excellence that he has for his restaurant, Trattoria Ponte Vecchio.
Raya has worked in the high-tech industry since 1990, helping companies bring their products from the early development stage to maturity. She started her own successful consulting business in 2013. After almost 30 years in the high-tech industry, Raya felt the need to serve her local community in a new and nourishing way. She and her husband, Chef Rob, share a love for food and the unique ability it has to bring people together. In 2018, they had the opportunity to acquire Atlanta West, putting their own unique stamp on it and renaming it Olive Branch. She is excited to meld her business expertise with her passion for holistic food and innate need to give back to the local community.
Chef Rob and Raya look forward to sharing their joy and passion for food with you and your guests.
“When you do things from the soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy” – Rumi