Dendara was created by a family team, inspired to share their way of being and living through the alchemical nature of food. Founded by Salma, a Holistic Medicine Practitioner qualified in Naturopathy, Medical Nutrition and Herbalism and Family Constellations Therapy. Alongside her private practice, Salma has been developing recipes for businesses for over a decade; with the emphasis on food that can encourage and support embodied healing.

Dendara’s recipes were born from the traditional roots of Arabic cuisine - namely our Founder's Egyptian origin, the patience of slow cooking, and her upbringing in Paris.

Today, what truly guides her creations is a deep kinship with plants, a devotion to the arts, and an understanding of creation itself as a somatic experience. Cooking is not separate from the body - it is a dialogue with it.

Food and eating are an ode to our many homes: the lands that shaped us, the memories that nourished us, and the body that carries us. Because ultimately, “home” is not a place - it is the experience of feeling safe within ourselves.

This is the foundation our company stands on: an invitation to turn inward, to move toward the body rather than away from it. We believe that questioning and becoming conscious of what we consume, through every sense, is essential. Awareness is nourishment.

The guiding tenets of Dendara are that our offerings be ethically-sourced and nutrient dense, entirely free of gluten, dairy and refined sugars, be minimally sweetened, infused with herbs and spices, made with care and intention and consumed with mindfulness and gratitude. 

Our name originated when visiting Hathor’s Temple in Dendara, Egypt. The temple was created honouring the cycles of life and death and those that came before, which is deeply resonant with Salma's journey. In ancient times, it was eminent for its healing rituals. Hathor was also the goddess of love, joy, and celebration. For us, she symbolises what we strive to emanate, along with how we view and wish to share food: as medicine, nourishment, art and a blessing. Eating is an opportunity to consciously connect, relish and rejoice. We advocate choosing pleasure from a state of self-awareness. After all, life is an invitation to celebrate each other and the gift of aliveness!

We want to be as transparent as possible with what goes into our food. We pride ourselves on sourcing the finest and primarily organic ingredients from aligned local vendors. We prepare our food under the highest hygiene standards and use eco-friendly packaging.

Eating free-from not only supports our health without sacrificing taste but expands us to explore the wealth of natural ingredients available.

Our baked goods are created with flours from Shipton Mill that are certified gluten-free and organic and are rich in nutrients, which are then filled with fresh produce (from Ted’s Veg). We are keen to keep the refined portion minimal and emphasise the inclusion of fresh produce in our baked goods. We make our vegan dairy-alternatives from scratch using whole ingredients and stick to the basics without any additives or preservatives. We use organic unrefined sugar sources such as Egyptian Medjool dates, maple, coconut, agave, unrefined demerara and erythritol to sweeten – the key being, minimally regardless of source. Our primary source of sweetness is derived from fruits and root vegetables, which we aim to honour as nature intended without much added sugar. When in use, our soy is organic and animal proteins include free-range eggs, sustainably-farmed or wild-caught fish and organic and halal meat sourced from farms and artisan sellers we have been personally buying from for decades.

We primarily operate as a catering company, prioritising our kitchen on-site to ensure freshness of food daily. Thus, our bakery space is intentionally small providing takeaway for our customers that want to purchase per slice.

The space features two coffee tables able to seat up to 3 people each and two stools facing our display counter. 

Our space was designed by the founder’s brother, Marwan, and largely inspired by what is ancient, specifically, temples. “Dendara” is a town in Egypt in which the Temple of Hathor lies. In the Pharaonic era, no architecture was a result of chance or personal whim. Orientation was partial as well as ideological. Symbolic inscriptions preceded language, providing room for expression. There was an emphasis on harmony with Life elementals - and unity of universal Consciousness.

Our vision was to offer a mini oasis amongst the fast-paced culture of London - in so much, when you come in for a pick-up, you can feel that presence and energy exchange. You’ve entered our field and it is our honour to be of service.

While harmony begins internally, there is no denying how the external environment can affect us.

We’ve used lime wash as a non-toxic, breathable and eco-friendly paint, limestones to mirror temple elements, and wood to transpire calmness and relaxation.

For our seating, the green Aveena oats reminisce about sunsets by the Nile River.. and while the seating is not multiple, like our guests have shared, “Intimacy is a big part of what we offer” - as proximity is a large influence when it comes to intimacy, we hoped to enable connection and discourage the cafe and lounging on screens culture.

We're also located a 5-minute walk from Kensington Palace Gardens and Hyde Park, when the weather permits, we highly encourage grabbing a takeaway!