The focus of the second day of the workshop was on a specific ingredient,tahini. Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds. Our sponsor, Al Kanater, offered tahini and halawa to all those passing by. Our first guest was no other than Top Chef host Chef Joe Barza.Joe presented the making of fish kafta. The dish consists of ground fish mixed with spices, parsley, coriander (fresh and dry), diced onions, and salt. The mix was spread on a platter filled with fresh tomato sauce. Slices of potatoes were spread on the fish layer.The whole was topped with a tarrator sauce made with tahini, lemon juice, water, and salt. About 20 minutes later, everyone had a taste of this delicious creation signed Joe Barza.
The second guest was Charles Azar, Lebanon's top pastry chef. He baked "Chocolate Macaroon with Halawa". The taste was out of this world and inspired me a lot. The halawa was mixed in the hot chocolate, melting into a thick paste. With a little imagination, one can do so much to introduce local ingredients to all kinds of recipes. I was certainly impressed.
Next to the Culinary Heritage workshop stand, Horeca introduced this year Librairie Gourmande. I was able to meet Chef Andrew, a Canadian-Egyptian chef, who is redheaded like me and speaks Arabic like me too!!! He signed his new book that day. So funny... I'm sure you all have seen him on Fatafeat.
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| Two great Lebanese chefs |
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| Chef Andrew |
