Cherinet Girma, owner and operator of Berbere Ethiopian, has been cooking recipes for over 15 years that he learned from his grandmother and mother . As a little boy he remembers vividly how his grandmother would call him into her kitchen to come and test for salt in her food. Out of all 7 grandchildren she must have noticed that Cherinet had a passion for cooking and tasting foods.
Years later, when he first migrated to the USA at the age of 15, he lived with his two older siblings for a short time. At this time he was placed in a unique situation to start cooking. For a Christmas holiday, he took upon the daunting challenge of making Doro Wat - a traditional ethiopian dish much like mole in the hispanic culture. From then on the limits had been lifted from him to experience and explore other Ethiopian dishes.
"After four hours of simmering, boiling, and smelling all of the delicious smells – my family sat down and ate in silence… After a few bites everybody was smiling – the flavors of each of the lentils were unique and authentic."
Finally after years of waiting, Ethiopian food has arrived in San Antonio! I stopped by the Berbere food truck today for lunch and I was not disappointed! I was greeted with a smile and service was quick. I ordered the 3 veggies plate with the red lentils, green beans, and cabbage. Great vegetarian… -A.K.
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I can't tell you how excited I am that San Antonio FINALLY has Ethiopian food! It's the one type of food that I miss most from living in NY & LA. I was greeted with a smile by two friendly gentlemen. I told them how excited I was that they are here and that they should open up an actual restaurant.…
-Sofie C.
"My daughter invited Cherinet over to cook a meal and give a lesson on preparing Ethiopian cuisine, which is something I had fallen in love with while living in NYC and Berkeley but is not widely available in central Texas. Next thing I knew, I was asking if he could cater an end-of-semester luncheon for my students at Trinity. It was a hit! The vegetarians LOVED the red lentils with his fresh cheese and the cabbage cooked with tumeric spices. The carnivores RAVED about the spicy beef wat and lamb tibs. Next thing I knew, it had become a Trinity tradition. All of my seminar students now expect an Ethiopian luncheon as payment for putting up with me for fifteen weeks. If that’s their demand for putting up with me, I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. - Erwin Cook