I had such a great time with Joseph and his family! They are one of a kind and I wish them all the happiness. I was very touched by their generosity. The story of Joseph and his jam is included in the Mouneh book.
Text taken from Mouneh - Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry (2010 edition):
In spring time, it is an enriching experience to walk through a grove of orange trees blossoming with white flowers and bursting with fragrance. I’ve had many occasions to experience this romantic stroll throughout my journey. When you see, touch and smell these flowers you have the impression that they are declaring the coming of spring.
Magdousheh, a small town about 50 km (31 mi) south of Beirut, is reputed for its orange groves and its annual orange blossom water production. It is situated at an altitude of about 300 m (984 ft) above sea level. The town overlooks the Mediterranean Sea with its prominent pilgrimage site—home of the church of Our Lady of Mantara. On one of my visits I was accompanied by Oussama Amioun, a local resident and producer. We walked through the whole town meeting with people and discussing the year’s orange blossom yield. During the season, villagers scatter through the groves and private gardens working simultaneously to harvest their prized orange blossom flowers. A faint perfume accompanies you as you walk through the streets. There is a certain ambiance unseen elsewhere in Lebanon at that particular moment. The tiny white flowers are laid out, scattered on empty large white bags. Distillers of different sizes and shapes are washed and set up carefully to ensure a proper yearly production. Farmers and producers of Magdousheh pride themselves on a superior quality of distilled orange blossom water. They insist that the trees should not be irrigated during the hot summer months. In fact, it is this hearty resistance which makes the flowers superior, thereby resulting in a higher quality product.
Traditionally, most households in Lebanon made their annual production of orange blossom water at home using a family alembic. Today, it is not unusual to find families gathered at a town center where the communal karakeh is set up with large bags of orange blossom flowers. Production is mainly reserved to villagers who keep the traditional distillation process alive.
A great evening hosted by the Lebanese Academy of Gastronomy at Chez Sophie.
Here enclosed was the Menu (in French):
Apertitif Bellini a la pèche blanche En Amuse Bouche
Fritos de grenouille / Spuma de pomme de terre / Jus corsé Vin blanc de Bourgogne Domaine Chevrot, 2008, Chardonnay, Bio En Entrées
Salade d'asperges vertes et blanches / Copeaux de manchego / Jambon Bellot
Vinaigrette à la truffe noire
Ou
Emietté de tourteau aux agrumes / Carpaccio de Saint Jacques
En Primi Piatti
Raviole de joue de boeuf / Foie gras Vin rouge du Languedoc Puech Noble, Domaine Puech Noble Producteur R. Rostaing 2007, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Bio En Poisson
Filet de daurade à la vapeur / Pousses d'épinards / Mousseline de topinambours
Crème de palourdes
Ou
En Viande
Souris d'agneau confit / Mousseline de purée de pomme de terre
En Dessert
Café gourmand
Best part of life is sharing happiness with the one you love
Ok, so I have to admit that this was my favorite day! I was so excited that I spoke during the whole evening (in a microphone, in Arabic). Today's guests were Souk el Tayeb's food producers from all over Lebanon. It was amazing because each producer prepared Kebbeh according to the their region. Georgina El Bayeh, from Kferdleos in the North, prepared Kebbeh Erras. They were excellent. She stuffed them with a bit of fat mixed with chopped green pepper, and dried mint. Zeinab Kashmar, from Hallousiyeh, prepared Frakeh which is Kebbeh prepared on a piece of marble. This is raw kebbeh with burghul mixed with Southern spices including cumin, rose petals, marjoram, etc ...(I will develop this story later on my TV show). She beat the raw meat for one hour constantly to show how the Kebbeh was made in yesterdays. It was amazing! And the taste... Sona Takijian, from Borj Hammoud Beirut, prepared Vospov Kefteh. This is Kebbeh made with boiled lentil mixed with burghul. Suzanne Doueihy, from Zgharta in the North, made us her famous Kebbeh Nayeh bil Jorn. I've never tasted a better Kebbeh in my life! She also brought trays of Kebbeh bil Saniyeh: Kebbeh Basaliyeh, Kebbeh bi Zeit, and Kebbeh bi Labneh. Last but not least, Nada Saber, from Kherbet Anafar in the Bekaa made us Kebbet Batata. She also brought with her Kebbet Raheb and Kebbet Lakteen.She gave me some to take home after the show to share with my family. We fed hundreds of people and that is what it's all about. Sharing, feeding, teaching, and making others happy! I was glad that the workshop was a success this year.
Sona feeding everyone her delicious lentil kebbeh.
On the third day, I arrived a bit late because of traffic. It was really exasperating. Our first guest was to be Chef Karim Haidar, apparently he stormed out of the stand because he was not satisfied with the organization. I never got to meet him !!! I was disappointed because I would have liked to hear about his stories concerning the introduction of Lebanese foods and flavors in Parisian restaurants. Maybe one day!
The day was not a total disappointment, on the contrary. I met a lovely woman, who is a US-trained chef. Her name is Reem Azoury. She owns a small restaurant in Washington DC. She presented the audience with a conference based on adapting Lebanese Cuisine to International Tastes, mostly American. The presentation was really interesting and made a lot of sense. It brought me back to our family restaurant and how we introduced Lebanese flavors to South Florida. I've asked Reem to send me a copy of her presentation. I will post the highlights when I get it.
