If you’ve seen Youssef Hamzaoui selling his specialty hummus at a farmers market, you’ve seen how proud he is of his hard work and of his craft. He knows that his hummus is the best you’ll ever try, and he’s not afraid of a challenge. The Mediterranean, is named after his home of Tunisia. From the name itself to the hummus that he makes, the company represents Youssef and his family's secret recipe. 

Youssef started selling hummus at farmers markets when he was fifteen years old. As he grew up, he knew he wanted to branch out and work on his own, so he moved to Washington and The Mediterranean was born. 

The hummus he sells is unique not just because of the secret recipe, but because of the flavors that they make as well. In addition to classic hummus, Youssef makes over thirteen flavors, including lemon hummus, avocado & cilantro hummus, and black bean chipotle hummus, which is his favorite. Youssef likes to experiment with Tunisian spices to create the new flavors, but he also finds inspiration from dishes at restaurants or other flavors that influence him to try a new kind of hummus.  

He knows that his hummus is amazing, and he has the fan-base to back it up. He was selling out at almost every single market, every week, so he’s invested in some new machinery to ensure that they will have enough hummus to go around. He says that anyone can go to YouTube and learn how to make hummus for themselves, but no one else knows hummus like he does, “there is no competition, to be honest. It’s all about hard work,” he explained.  

As someone who grew up working at farmers markets, Youssef feels at home with his work, “it’s part of me,” he said. He loves the community, being outside, and getting to interact with people. Someday he hopes to open a drive-through shawarma stand that would use his family hummus recipe in their wraps.