About Special Food Company

Epicurean Saudis, having spent their summers savoring refined new flavors and exotic foods all over the world, come home to a sparse collection of high-end restaurants. We are here to fill the gap.

Our premier restaurant personifies our brand philosophy beautifully with their distinct cuisine and refined ambience. The genius of Arkadiy Novikov, the first Russian entrepreneur restaurateur, Novikov draws a joyous sense of delight in their guests. Serving two vastly different cuisines, Italian and Pan-Asian, prepared by some of the world’s best chefs, the restaurant empire is a culinary giant in its own right.

From the cold posh heart of London, to the warm Palm-tree dusted coast of Jeddah, Novikov’s voyage to the Kingdom will be a most welcome addition to the high-end gastronomical renaissance taking place in the Bride of the Red Sea.

The Executive Team

Visionary, dynamic, and talented – our discerning leaders are the catalyst behind the success of Special Food Company.

Mr Bakr Bagedo | Chairman & CEO

Sheikh Bakr is the son of the late dignitary Sheikh Ahmed Bagedo, a Real Estate & Health Care tycoon in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Continuing his Father’s legacy, he has established numerous domestic & international enterprises of his own.

His latest foray into luxury F&B has him at the helm of SFC as the CEO, a company focused on importing global flavors to the Arabian market. He is also the founder and CEO of Skip The Q – a unique food delivery aggregator in the KSA.

He is the Chairman and Group CEO for BAB Holdings & Vice Chairman for Saudi Investment Group. Working with a diversified range of sectors including Healthcare, Real estate, Agriculture, Renewable energy and many more, Sheikh Bakr has built up a robust insight and expertise in financial and investment practices.

His insight and He is also a major shareholder and a member of the Board of Directors of Bagedo Holdings & a shareholder at Erfan Bagedo General Hospital.

Sheikh Bakr graduated from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland with a degree in Business Administration and Management. He leads by example, and inspires a culture of integrity and benevolence in his employees and all enterprises.

Wan Hafikah Wan Chik | Deputy CEO

Ms. Wan Hafikah Wan Chik’s professional experience and accomplishments span more than 15 years in the field of corporate development. A dynamic strategist, she specializes in investment & business development consultancy; particularly in corporate restructuring, corporate recovery, fund raising, and project management in both public and private sector of emerging and developed markets.

She has built reputable relationships with major investors in various ventures and corporations across the globe. Owing to her extensive acumen, she has been responsible for approving and overseeing the execution of multimillion-dollar budgets by the investors. She is noted for her sound judgement in identifying new business opportunities, as well as maintaining good relationships with the investors.

She also brings nearly a decade of experience in business re-engineering with various top international drilling companies across the globe. She has served on several Board of Directors of Oil & Gas companies in the Middle East and South East Asia.

She does G2G work with the Economic Zone World (EZW), which is a global developer and operator of economic zones, logistics and industrial parks and the holding company of Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai. She is the representative of EZW for Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Expanding her diverse portfolio further and farther, she is currently spearheading numerous ventures in the F&B sector of the KSA. She is the Executive Vice President for Skip The Q, a food delivery aggregator, and the Chief Investment Officer for the Saudi Investment Group. She also oversees the strategic development and execution of a number of high-end hospitality/F&B projects in the KSA market under BAB Holdings.

Ms. Wan Hafikah brings with her a wealth of investment and economical experience to BAB Holdings, particularly from IT, F&B, and the Petroleum sectors. An intrinsic leader and mentor, she directs every project with pragmatic passion, creating teams and leading them through complex and diverse challenges to deliver breakthrough results. She holds a First Class Honors Degree in Communication and Information Technology from Edith Cowan University (Australia).

Kyriakos Kyvelos (Hellas) | Chief Investment Officer

In 2010 a JV between the Republic of The Gambia State & Gallia Holdings (private investment company) for the national sea passenger transportation sector and then Gambia Ferries Management Company where till currently he was the Managing Director in Gambia’s capital city, Banjul.

In 2011, he co-founded GreenAl Renewables Africa and to develop, manage renewable energy & environmental projects in the greater West Africa region. From 2008 to 2010, worked as C.O.O. in HBTC Group of Companies, in Saudi Arabia, mainly managing the Naval Services and Real Esate arm of the group. From 2007 to 2008, was the C.O.O. of a Maritime & Naval Services firm specialized in the sea passenger transportation, called Maritime Holdings in Bristol, UK and from 2003 and up to date he is the Managing Director for Marine International Services Group in Hong Kong & Jeddah, KSA, specialized in the sea passenger transportation.

Kyriakos in 2011 and up to date became CEO & Partner Of Finextra Partners specialized in Corporate Finance, Business Development & Commodities. In 2014 and up to date became the CEO for Saudi Investment Group and In 2019 joint BAB Holdings as the Chief Investment Officer.

Abdul Rauf Usman | Chief Finance Officer

The world of finances is not new to Abdul Rauf, servicing over 28 years in a wide range of companies Abdul Rauf’s portfolio speaks for itself. Abdul Rauf started his journey with one of the leading brands – Coca-Cola™ in Saudi Arabia, giving 8 years of his life. Being responsible for all the finances of the company, Abdul Rauf gained notable experience in corporate finance.

Fate led him to Pakistan where he was appointed as a finance manager for another leading brand, PEPSI, giving 4 years of his life. Abdul Rauf’s most notable experience came from Green Vision Co Ltd, a joint venture of Al Rajhi Holding. Where he gave 12 years of his life as a finance manager of Saudia and UAE, establishing the finance department of the company right from scratch. Managing healthy operational banking relationships to implementing business planning, budgeting and forecasting, he has done it all.

He did his MBA in marketing and holds the associate membership of CIMA – UK.

Karim Ben Djemaa | Director of Business Development

After spending 16 years in the F&B business in various managerial and consultation positions, Mr. Karim knows how a restaurant runs inside out. He has developed many fine dining establishments in Paris from ground up. He brings the same expertise to our Middle Eastern venues and trains business owners on how to establish and develop their restaurant into a profitable and perdurable business.

Reem Al-Nomani | HR Director

Reem is the HR Director at BAB Holdings, where she runs the human resource departments for multiple projects; including DTA (Food delivery app), SFC (F&B firm), and Valor (F&B consultancy). Having served in the cosmetics, aviation, technology, and F&B industries, Reem possess extensive HR proficiency, which helps her lead any HR department at optimal standards.

In her decade-long professional life, Reem has worked in various multinationals around KSA. She earned distinction early in her career; being responsible to create,from scratch, entire HR departments for start-ups and long established companies alike. Reem helps companies find the best people for the right jobs, runs a smooth ship, values right and fair principles for each employee, be they the cleaner or the CEO.

Reem believes in working for self-improvement, celebrating every accomplishment, and treating everyone with due respect. She lives in Jeddah with her adorable and fiery daughter, and is happiest feeding her loved ones great food.