[broadcaster 1] Hello, Twin Cities.
It's that time of year again,
and we're here live from the fairgrounds
with less than 24 hours
until the 151st annual Minnesota State Fair.
And if this year's culinary offerings are any indication,
we're in for a big treat.
Chocolate chip cookie beer, peaches and cream nachos
and a deep-fried dilly dog,
which, if I'm getting this right, is a sausage
inside a hollowed out pickle and then deep-fried.
[broadcaster 1] We'll meet one of the faces of the 2010 State Fair, Jibril Hadi.
You might've seen his face on billboards all over town.
This young man has a restaurant right here in Little Mogadishu,
but he's always dreamed of having a booth at the fair.
He's tried five times before to get in,
but this year he won the selection committee over
-with a very unusual offering. -[broadcaster 2] Stay tuned,
because you'll never believe the dish he's serving.
-[director] We're clear. -You should probably lose the gum.
-Welcome to the show, Jibril. -Thank you. I appreciate it.
So, Jibril, tell us what you got cooking up.
[sighs] Camel-on-a-stick.
-[broadcaster 1 gasps] -Ooh.
Don't-- Don't tell me you've never eaten camel.
-I haven't. -Uh, no.
No? Well, you're missing out, okay?
Let me tell you, it's delicious. All right?
You know what, I'll hook you guys up at the fair.
-You know, speaking of the fair... -Yeah.
...two million people come through every year.
So how much camel meat do you need to buy to feed those numbers?
-Not much. Just, um-- Just 8,000 pounds. -[gasps]
-Eight thousand pounds of camel meat? -Yeah.
You're not getting that at the deli counter at Kowalski's.
Well, what are you doing sitting here with us?
-Shouldn't you be cooking? -You're right, you're right.
-You get out of here now. -I'm outta here.
Mama, I love you. [laughs]
[Randy] This is Randy Zimmer from KNOW 91 FM.
[radio host 2] Welcome back. This is KAXD.
[radio host 3] Here we are at KQYP with Jibril Hadi,
the camel-on-a-stick guy.
[Jibril] Hey. Thank you. Glad to be here.
[radio host 3] Billboards, TV.
You've become the face of the State Fair this year.
[radio host 5] Here's a dumb question. Where do you even get camel meat?
-[Jibril] Ah, believe it or not, Australia. -[radio host 4] Australia?
[Jibril] That's where the best camel comes from.
[radio host 5] I wasn't expecting that.
[radio host 4] You have less than 24 hours to pull this off?
-[Jibril] Yeah, that's right. -[radio host 5] That's a lot to do by tomorrow.
[radio host 4] This sounds like a pretty big swing.
-[radio host 5] Good luck. -[Jibril] Thank you.
-This is Jibril. -[Pam] Hi, it's Pam from Star Tribune.
-[person shouts] -We only have a few minutes, so I'm just gonna jump in.
How did you even come up with camel-on-a-stick?
I mean, camels are the most important animals in our culture, you know?
They're tough and a pain in the ass. [chuckles] Just like me.
-[chef in Somali] -[Pam] I like that.
[in Somali]
-[in English] I'm sorry. Could you hold for one sec? -[chef, in Somali]
-[in English] So? -So?
[in Somali]
[chuckles, speaks in English] That's rich.
A-And who stole whose Chicken Fantastic recipe, huh?
Who? Somali food police. Man, get out of here!
[in Somali]
[in English] Okay, I won't forget about you when I'm rich and famous.
[in Somali]
[Pam, in English] Everything okay?
[chef]
[Jibril] Oh, camels. Yeah. Did you know that a beautiful woman
could command 100 camels
from a potential suitor? Did you know that?
[Pam] I did not know that.
The Somali community must be so excited about this.
Guess who it is? [in Somali] It's Denzel Washington!
[Jibril, in English] I'm on a call.
[Pam] Is it true that you tried for many years
to get into the fair before this?
So, I applied to the fair for the first time about,
But the judges were like, "Isn't that just stewed beef and bread?"
[Pam] How did you come up with this?
[worker] Hey, Jibril. We gotta talk.
Anything on a stick is always a big hit,
so I was like, "Boom, mango on a stick."
-[Pam] I love mango. -Too spicy for Americans.
I can't make it any less spicy and still call it Somali.
It's bisbaas, not salad dressing.
And then went to make what?
Then I said, "Chicken is too boring.
Everyone pitches chicken."
So I thought, "What's delicious?
What's not boring? What could be on a stick?"
[chuckles]
Boom. Camel.
[Pam] Most of us have never had camel.
-Yeah, I smell it right now. -[Pam] Does that taste good?
What? The flavor? Insane.
[Pam] Mmm, I, honestly-- I can't wait to try it.
Better than I could've hoped for.
[Pam] Are you nervous about having to feed two million people?
Am I nervous? Who has time to be nervous? Huh?
[Pam] Well, not you. You've got lots of cooking to do.
-Thank you for your time. -[Jibril] Oh, and uh, make me look good.
-[Pam] I don't think that'll be a problem. -[Jibril] Okay. Bye.
What do you mean you haven't heard from him in ten hours?
[in Somali]
-[in English] Relax, bro. No stress. -Relax? No stress?
[in Somali]
[Jibril, in English] I've got 24 hours
to cook 8,000 pounds of camel meat,
and you're telling me not to stress?
Find out where the truck is and call me back.
[groans]
The meat's still not here.
It'll be here.
[patron, in Somali]
[Jibril, in English] Ingredients for my ranch dip.
[groans] First camel-on-a-stick and now ranch dressing?
-[chuckles] Ranch dressing. -[patrons laughing]
Do Chinese restaurants in China have fortune cookies?
No, but they should.
[in Somali]
[patron 2]
[patron, in English] Famous, famous chef.
Who's Mo Farah?
Somali runner who runs for the UK.
Oh. So they're calling you a sellout.
I don't think you're a sellout, Chef. You're making money.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we got ourselves the good stuff
for the dipping sauce.
We can't serve camel with ranch.
It's like putting ketchup on a steak.
Americans like ranch. Somalis like ranch.
This Indian likes ranch.
-[chef] Viraj, get this off my counter. -[Viraj] You bet.
[in Somali]
[in English] I will conference him in.
[in Somali]
[in English] I swear it wasn't my fault.
What wasn't your fault?
Jibril, not a big deal, but the truck broke down.
What? W-where's my meat? What happened to my meat?
[in Somali]
[in English] I got the truck towed
to a cold storage warehouse.
-Yo, where are we? -Moorhead.
Moorhead. Uh, where's Moorhead?
-Moorhead? -[in Somali]
[in English] I got you a sweet deal, okay?
[in Somali]
[in English] ...your truck broke down. You pay for the sweet deal.
[in Somali]
[in English] I get the ayuuto in, like, three months. I will pay you back then.
[groans]
[panting]
Hi. Geesi, what's up, man?
[in Somali]
[in English] To what?
[Geesi] To what? The semi-finals.
Am I the only one who cares about this football team?
I have to prep, okay?
[Geesi] For what?
The fair. That you work at?
I have no meat. I have no sauce, man. I have nothing.
[in Somali]
Farah.
Farah? Farah. Brilliant.
-[Geesi] But then who will play defense? -[phone beeping]
Hold on, I gotta take this call.
Hello?
Hi. So, I talked to the truck driver.
Idiot forgot his phone charger at his girlfriend's.
[Jibril] Sammy, what is your point? Do you have an update?
He just passed Bismarck, so he'll be there in like six hours.
-Bye. -I told you... [in Somali]
-[in English] I got you. -Bye.
[line beeps]
-[Jibril] Hello? -[in Somali]
[in English] Geesi, I gotta go.
[in Somali]
[in English] Hey, big shot.
You still owe me 500 for ayuuto this month.
Already?
Okay, just give me a few days, all right?
[in Somali]
[in English]
[in Somali]
[in English] I know.
[in Somali]
[in English] That was social suicide.
Every last cent went into the fair.
Twenty-seven thousand for the camel meat,
2000 for the refrigerator, all this extra stuff.
-What am I supposed to give you? -[in Somali]
[in English] I'm okay.
[in Somali]
[in English] It's not a gamble if I know it's gonna work.
That's what I'm trying to tell you.
I'm gonna put it into my franchise, Boqor Express.
[Jibril] Imagine that.
[in Somali]
[in English] Idris, you don't think I know this?
[in Somali]
[in English] You smell like camel.
[sniffs]
Idris, I'm gonna make you proud one day.
[in Somali]
[in English] Yeah.
[in Somali]
[Jibril's mother]
[chuckles]
[Jibril's mother] Ah.
[speaks Somali]
[in English] Yeah?
[in Somali]
[children giggling]
[speaks Somali]
-[whistle toots] -[grunts, cheering]
[Geesi]
[Jibril]
[crowd cheering]
[players chattering, cheering]
-[chattering] -[grunts]
-[players cheering] -[whistle toots]
-[applause, cheering] -[phone ringing]
[in English] Sammy? Hey, Sam, what's up? What's happening?
[Sammy, in Somali]
[in English] Hey!
[Jibril] I'm getting it from Geesi right now.
[in Somali]
-[in English] Come on, man! -[cheering]
[Jibril] I'll be there.
[worker] Whoa, you're rich.
All right. Let's do this.
You're gonna make all this meat by tomorrow?
-[Jibril] Sure will. -Mm-hmm.
-[worker] Uh, you need help? -Thank you, Noah. Yeah.
-[chuckles] -[Noah] All right.
You're crazy.
Yeah, so, um, I'm gonna need $36 for gas and snacks.
[Viraj] If we don't respect the music wheel, we have anarchy.
[Jibril] Spin the wheel. Who's up?
-[Viraj cheers] -[all] Noah!
[Viraj] Come on, Noah. Let's see what you got!
-[Hani laughs] -[Noah] I got this.
["Wang Dang Doodle" playing]
[Jibril] Go.
[Jibril] Let's get this thing done. All right, guys?
All right.
Oh, yeah. Come on.
["Break" playing]
[chuckles]
[sighs]
[chattering]
[sighs]
[Hani] Whoo! I need a break.
-I'm about to fall over. -[Jibril] No, no, we can't stop.
If we don't cook all night, we won't make it, okay?
[Hani] Jibril, I can't even see straight.
We've literally been working since yesterday.
We have to push through. This is just... [grunts] ...the first batch.
Oh! Oh! [coughing]
No, no, no.
[Boqor workers coughing]
My camel meat.
-Open the door! -[cook 2] Get it out!
-[Hani] Fan it! -[cook 2] Hani, grab the...
-[Hani] Shit! Shit! -[fire alarm rings]
[Viraj] Jibril, the sprinklers!
Ah! Go, go, go.
Shit, shit, shit. You got that?
Shit! Cover my meat! Cover my meat!
[Jibril] I'll get to the sprinklers. We can shut them off.
-[Hani] Cover the meat! -[Viraj] Grab some.
-[Hani] All of it! -[Viraj] Here's a blanket.
-[Viraj] I got this side! -[Jibril groans]
[Viraj] Noah, get that one open!
[Jibril] Turn the sprinklers off!
How do I turn these off?
-God, come on! -[Viraj] I'm gonna lose the meat.
[groans]
Oh! Ah!
[Hani gasps] Jibril. Jibril. Are you all right?
-[groaning] -[Hani grunts] Oh, my God.
Just cover the damn meat.
Okay. Okay. [sighs]
[Hani coughs] Come on, let's get these covered!
[Viraj] Help me get the meat out.
[Hani] Get towels, towels, cover it!
[Noah] You guys cover that side.
[firefighter radio chatter]
[Hani sniffing, coughing]
[Hani sighs]
We saved most of the meat.
By the time we clean the kitchen-- [sighs]
It doesn't even matter.
It's over.
Just-- Just get some rest.
[chuckles] You never stop.
I-- I haven't even slept in, uh--
I don't even remember when.
Mmm. Or eaten.
[chuckles]
[Hani sighs]
[sighs]
[diners laughing]
[speaks Somali]
[Mohamed, in Somali]
[in English] The one everyone talks about.
[in Somali]
[Mohamed]
[Geesi]
[clears throat]
[Mohamed] Mmm.
[groans]
[Jibril]
[speaks Somali]
[in English] Yo, in your dreams.
[in Somali]
[chuckles]
[laughs]
[Boqor workers chatter]
[camel grunting]
[news anchor 1, in English] Today is the day, folks.
This is a first at the Minnesota State Fair.
Camel-on-a-stick.
Now, we are here with this young man behind me, Jibril Hadi.
The Imagineer behind the Boqor booth, and we are so excited for him.
It took this one great idea,
and that is to serve camel to the folks of Minnesota.
The question is, are people gonna love this?
This is camel-on-a-stick,
and I'm gonna try it for you right here, first time ever.
And, folks, I promise I'm gonna tell you exactly what I think.
[Jibril chuckles]
Okay, here I go. Wish me luck.
[Jibril, Hani chuckle]
Mmm, tastes almost like chicken.
[news anchor 1] This is good. Get in here, folks.
Ooh.
This is going to be a hit.
[Jibril] All right. Come on in. Come on in. Let's do this.
-["Giddy-Up" playing] -[workers chattering]
[Hani] Coming right up.
Thank you. Hi. There you are.
Here. One more.
[workers, patrons chattering, laughing]
[Hani] Thank you.
Shout out. I appreciate it.
Yeah.
[Jibril] Ah! There you go.
[fairgoer] These are great, man.
-[groans] Yeah. -You okay?
-[Hani] Camel-on-a-stick coming up. -[Viraj] Who wants some camel?
[news anchor 1] So what do you think?
-Yeah. It's great. -[news anchor 1 chuckles]
-[Jibril's family ululating] -Ah!
Okay, ow, ow. [inhales sharply] Ow. Okay, okay.
[Jibril sighs, chuckles]
Ah.
[in Somali]
[Jibril sighs]
[Jibril groaning, chuckles]
[Jibril's mother]
Mmm. [chuckles]
[people at fairground chattering]
[Geesi, in Somali]
[Jibril grunts]
[in English] Hey, welcome to the family, Camel Guy.
[Jibril mumbling]
[Geesi] What do you think?
-[Jibril grunts] -[Geesi] Jibril, you okay?
[Geesi] Oh. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
-[fairgoer 1] Call 911. -[Geesi] Jibril?
-[fairgoer 2] He fell right there. -[Geesi] Jibril! Wake up, man.
Jibril. [speaks Somali] Jibril! Wake up, man.
We need a medic by the Ferris wheel. Do you copy that?
-[fairgoer 3] What happened? -[fairgoer 4] Anybody know how to do CPR?
[Geesi speaking Somali]
[Geesi] Jibril.
Jibril.
Wake up, man.
[medic] Jibril.
Can you hear me?
[medic] Do you know where you are?
-[medic] Oh. Easy. -[Geesi] Whoa.
[Jibril breathing heavily]
-[Geesi] Whoa. -[medic] You're gonna need an X-ray.
[Jibril breathing heavily]
I just gotta get to my booth.
I got it.
Bro.
[in Somali]
[chuckles]
[Boqor workers chattering]
-Mmm. -[Hani] Thank you.
[Jibril] That's nice, that's nice.
That's six burgers. Six burgers.
-[Viraj] Six burgers heard? -[Hani] Six burgers, chef.
-Come on. -[Hani] Table three is ready!
-[Viraj] Behind you. -[Hani] We need to get it going.
-No, I haven't dished it. -[Noah] Coming up. We got your plates.
-[Hani] All right. Take it out. -[Jibril] Okay.
Where are my waiters?
-[Viraj] Spice is ready. -Waiter!
[Viraj] Let's get this plating.
[Hani] You're doing great.
-[Hani] Anybody got the herb? -[Jibril] Plates!
[chattering]
[Jibril] Hello. Thank you for coming.
Excuse me.
-Wow. -Ooh. Wow. Thank you.
Enjoy the meal.
Uh, do you think we could take a quick picture with you?
-Of course. -[Idris] I can take it.
[student] Thank you.
Come on.
That's my baby brother.
[Idris speaks Somali]
-[Idris] Hey. -[shutter clicks]
[student] Thank you.
[in Somali]
[Jibril sighs]
[in English] No, I'm okay.
[in Somali]
[in English] It's too loud in here.
[chattering]
[chuckles] Stupid.
[customer 1] Oh!
[customer 2 speaks Somali]
[in English] Check it.
[in Somali]
[Mohamed speaks Somali]
[Idris]
[in English] I try not to forget about the little people.
[Sammy groans]
[both speak Somali]
[speaking Somali]
[in Somali]
-[Sammy] Ooh! [laughing] -[Idris speaks Somali, laughs]
[all laughing, chattering in Somali]
[in English] Amateur hours.
[in Somali]