The Queen of Kibbeh – Suzanne Douaihy

Suzanne is a very friendly woman, who I met at Souk el Tayeb many years ago. She would come every Saturday to showcase all her kibbeh varieties with her husband, Sarkis. Of course, I had to taste them all, as she generously gave me bites of each of them. I grew very fond of her. The soul of a cook is the amount of love one puts in food preparations. She has plenty of that going on...

While shooting my cooking segments, years ago on LBC, I ran a show with her in her native village. We had so much fun. I am sharing a few pics of that moment together. Anthony Bourdain, when he came to Lebanon, called her "The Queen of Kibbeh", thus Nay Aoun, the film producer and director of this new short document thought it would be the perfect title for this video. 

I am so lucky to have met good people in Lebanon who give the true values of Lebanese generosity. 

Suzanne El Douaihy is the Queen of Kibbeh. Kibbeh is a traditional Lebanese dish made of bulgur, minced onions and finely ground beef, lamb or goat mixed with local spices and herbs. It is famous and very much appreciated across the country. Suzanne is from a town north of Lebanon called Zgharta, the second biggest city in the North of Lebanon, after Tripoli. This region is famed for its kibbeh. For thirteen years, Suzanne has been making kibbeh, and has become famous across Lebanon selling her food in local farmer’s markets and catering to customers upon demand. She proudly continues to spread her knowledge and recipes to all.

Lebanese Cuisine 101

Are you seriously interested in learning about Lebanese cuisine?

Hummus © BM

I will take you through the process as I go through the repertoire one recipe at a time...

Why? because I intend to do a book on the subject one day. I want to share the ingredients, methods of preparations, and tips as you cook, bake, or mix a fresh salad. I believe we can all go through recipes collections through the internet or by simply buying a cookbook. Yet, we miss out on a very important step — the process and how we feel when we are doing the actual recipe, what we taste, and how we express these happenings. My aim: Out-of-the-box notions to learn a new cuisine, like a new language. You have to live the experience.

A few years ago, I fell in love with the Italian language. Obviously you know why this happened... You don't! Well all my trips to Italy with Slow Food events, meeting so many Italians and falling in love with the food culture of Italy was what triggered my desire. I took a course through a program given by the Italian embassy in Beirut and I can tell you that I failed miserably.  The teacher treated us like kinder garden children, screaming out grammar rules. She completely set my brain into neutral. I am giving you this experience as an example of how learning should not be undertaken if you have a passion for a certain subject.

Conclusion: You have to live the learning process with all your senses. Capiche?

I will try to give you that experience and let you do the rest....

Will also tell you about the wines of Lebanon, as I pair the food with the wine, including Arak of course... I will discuss the ingredients, where I got them, who makes them, etc... Will simultaneously feed the Slow Food Beirut website as I am undertaking this challenge. Oh yes, and the wine tour continues with 209lebanesewine.com to meet these extraordinary people who put Lebanese wine on the wine world map.

Are you ready?

Maktoob - Destiny

olives cracked one by one with a stone

Serendipity "is the effect by which one accidentally stumbles upon something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated." You may say it is written “maktoob”, it is destiny. This is my story, the one I fell upon, the one I am still writing, the one I am struggling each day to produce, to invent, to fabricate, and most of all create. My life should have a sense. I always felt this from the very beginning. I should leave a trace — One that is significant to me, to my family, to my community, to this place we call "earth". This trace should make some kind of difference. Someone or something must be better because of my doing — of my continuous efforts. It should be like a faraway scent that produces a memory — a memory of the past, a memory of better days, a memory of the senses, a memory of man's fading goodness.

It began in my father's restaurant at the age of fifteen. Those were difficult years, but the base of my culinary education. Times passed since those days — I married, had three children and still in the back of my mind, the recurring dreams of food related journeys and adventures. A woman's role in a family is maternal. What better way to show your innermost maternal instinct than by feeding your children. Isn't it the first instinct that a child initiates when he suckles on his mother's breast? Feeding your children with your knowledge and wisdom of life's experiences is essential, but also feeding them with real wholesome food made with the most important ingredient: LOVE is imperative and sets THE example.
  
It was written that I would leave the USA and go searching for my roots in Lebanon, my country of origin. It was destiny, some call her fate that knocked on my door and showed me the way. It was she that led me to visit all corners of the country in search of food related subjects and matters. It was she that gave me the chance to understand this diversified group of people who have all welcomed me as one of their own. It was she that gave me the perseverance to learn a new trade to capture these moments through the use of my camera. It is she that gives me the strength to carry on to fulfill my assignment — to preserve my country's culinary traditions, to defend its authenticity, to ensure its survival.