Sourcing & Heritage
From Hrima Village to Richardson: The Story of Our Makdous
Our makdous and olives come from Hrima, a small village in Jordan. Here's why that matters — and why we think rural sourcing is worth the extra work.
A jar of makdous, from a village you’ve never heard of.
If you’ve eaten Middle Eastern food, you’ve probably had makdous — small eggplants, cured in olive oil, stuffed with walnuts, garlic, and hot pepper. It shows up on mezze plates, served cold, eaten in two bites.
What most people don’t know is that makdous is made, not bought. Specifically, it’s made by families — usually in the fall, when the eggplants are small and the olives are ready. Whole villages set aside days to brine, stuff, and jar enough makdous to last the winter.
Our makdous comes from one such village: Hrima, a small farming community in rural Jordan.
Why a village matters
At most Middle Eastern restaurants in America, makdous comes from a distributor — which got it from an importer — which got it from a factory in the Levant that makes jarred goods for export. It’s fine. It’s technically makdous. But it’s also anonymous.
We went the other way. We work directly with Hrima because:
- The quality is higher. Small-batch, made the traditional way, with eggplants that didn’t travel far before being jarred.
- The supply chain is shorter. Fewer hands means fewer quality loss points — and it means we know where the food actually came from.
- It supports people we know. Rural Jordan has economic challenges that Amman doesn’t. Buying directly from villages — and paying above wholesale — puts money into communities that need it.
That third one is the part we care about most. The Khashoka brand was built in Jordan. Our first responsibility is to the people whose hands shape our food.
What Hrima sends us
- Makdous — the stuffed eggplants, cured in olive oil.
- Local olives — the small, firm, slightly-bitter olives that are a staple on any Jordanian mezze plate.
Both of those are on our menu in Richardson. Both of those came from Hrima.
What “rural community sourcing” means, in practice
It’s not a story we added to our marketing. It’s a sourcing decision the brand has made from the beginning:
- Direct relationships with small producers in rural Jordan.
- Paying a premium to preserve traditional production methods.
- Shipping in smaller, more frequent batches — not warehouse container loads.
It’s less efficient. It costs more. It’s also why our makdous tastes like makdous, and not like the industrial version that dominates the American market.
How to taste the difference
Order makdous as part of the Local Dishes section when you visit us. Or order the Labneh and Makdous — it’s the best way to taste both together.
You won’t need a tasting note to tell. It’s recognizable.