He is also the owner and Executive chef of the award winning Rumi restaurant in the vibrant mile end / Outremont of Montreal. Todd has been on numerous TV shows and films speaking about the art of Middle Eastern cuisine. As well, he is a world traveler and has lived in Amman Jordan and currently lives part of the year in the ancient Islamic city of Fes, Morocco where he lives in a restored Riad in the Old Medina. He is passionate about the spirituality and hospitality of good and has found in the teachings of Sufism an outlet for this creative world.more...See more text
Todd Husayn Friedmann studied literature at McGill University and then earned a graduate degree in Culinary Arts from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. With a flurry of spiritual interests, Todd and his brother Jonathan had explored yoga, meditation and other metaphysical practices, but it was the discovery of Sufism that would transform them inside and out.
One day Todd happened to meet a couple while hiking up Mount Royal. A long discussion ensued, and the two introduced Todd to the topic of Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam as practised by Sufi mystics since it originated in the seventh century AD in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The next day, Todd headed down to Park Avenue, to the Centre Soufi de Montréal. "I listened to the Imam's words and I felt an intense feeling of warmth, like a fire inside," says Todd. With that mystical experience, he was hooked, and a long love affair with the discipline began.
As the brothers explored the world of Sufism, they travelled the world, discovering cultures and cuisines, and in the early 2000s, back in Montreal, they decided to go into business. Restaurant Rumi, named for the renowned Sufi poet, opened on a quiet corner in the Mile End to offer a mix of cultures in a combination of food, art and music.
