Halal Fest founder
Irfan Rydhan.
I have eaten fully Halal food since I was sixteen. At that time, my Muslim friends did not all eat Halal food; I only began to take it seriously after learning about Halal at Sunday school.
Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, there were not many Halal restaurants in the Bay Area at that time - just one or two Chinese Halal eateries and a few Indian-Pakistani restaurants. In those days, people like me who ate Halal food would be very happy to eat Halal meat dishes out, especially during Eid al-Adha.
Now I am truly full of gratitude; 20 years later, the Bay Area already has many great Halal restaurants (including in other parts of the US). These restaurants offer a wide variety of food. I can now eat Halal burgers, Halal fried chicken, Halal beef, pizza, and more.