This episode of Matbakh features Annabel "Nibal" and Sam Rabiyah, the sibling duo behind The Awafi Kitchen: a Boston-based pop-up culinary space dedicated to sharing Iraqi-Jewish food culture. This conversation looks at using food as a platform for holding onto culture, heritage and histories. The duo talks to us about Iraqi-Jewish recipes, the erasure of their community's history, and how they use food as an invitation for deeper conversations about cultural heritage and identity. They describe — in tantalizing detail — the contours of Iraqi-Jewish cuisine, listing their favorite dishes ..read more

To kick off the new season of Matbakh, we sat down with iconic and award-winning food historian, researcher and educator Nawal Nasrallah. We travel back in time to Medieval Iraq and talk about inherited food traditions, social histories, and 10th century understandings of cuisine and cooking. Nawal delves into her book "Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of Iraqi Cuisine", recounts her experience translating Kitab al-Tabikh, details the influence and trade of certain ingredients, and describes what a kitchen looked like in Mesopotamia. Finally, we discuss the surprising ..read more

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Charles Perry about his career as a translator of several medieval cookbooks from Arabic to English and published widely on the history of food. In 2005 Perry translated from Arabic A Baghdad Cookery Book, also known as Al-Baghdadi’s Kitab al-Tabikh, the only medieval Arabic cookbook known to the English-speaking world. Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra  Hosted by Antonio Tahhan Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Matbakh: Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the ..read more

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Tarek Alameddine about his experiences in the culinary field between Copenhagen, Egypt, and Lebanon. Tarek believes that Levantine flavors and seasonal produce should be celebrated in the fine dining scene. In the process of creating dishes and designing menus, the ingredients he uses should be in season, wildly foraged, and in synchronization with the time and place. Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra  Hosted by Salma Serry Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Matbakh: Matbakh is a conversatio ..read more

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Kamal Mouzawak about how he founded the first farmers market in Lebanon, leading a social and environmental change and transformation. Kamal, through Souk El Tayeb, had the vision of celebrating food and traditions that unite communities and promoting small-scale farmers and producers and the culture of sustainable agriculture.  Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Matbakh: Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of t ..read more

In this episode of Matbakh, we’re joined by Viven Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. This was a really compelling conversation about the politics of environmentalism, her work through the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, and the link between anxiety and agriculture.  We spoke about the importance of indigenous wisdom in farming, changing landscapes in the Middle East, and Vivien’s work in preserving bio-cultural heritage.  Vivien Sansour is an artist, storyteller, food historian, researcher and conservationist. Vivien is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom See ..read more

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Fadi Kattan about how his cuisine and savoir-faire combine worldly influences, a desire for perfection and a passion for the local terroir. When Fadi started his Fawda Restaurant in 2016, he created a cuisine honoring Palestine’s best produce with a modern twist, raising to the challenge of rendering this traditional kitchen into a gourmet dining experience. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Matbakh: Matbakh is a conversation series that focus ..read more

In this episode of Matbakh, The VoiceNote Chef tells us about about transforming childhood memories into viral recipes, capturing his mom’s unique voice in voicenote form, and cooking to ease homesick hearts around the world. We discover how the account took off, how its changed his relationship with his mom, and his favourite videos to date. We also discuss the importance of authenticity, the various aspects of content creation, and how Kareem stays true to no-frills and simple cooking. Kareem, better known as The VoiceNote Chef, is a New York based Lebanese-Kuwaiti content creator. Kareem la ..read more

Ramzi Ghosn talks about the profession of wine and arak-making and its significance in the Levant, notably in Lebanon. From Massaya, he discusses the speaks about how Phoenicians valued viticulture and developed the finest wines that continues to be exported to the world. Massaya is a Lebanese winery and arak distillery owned and operated by the Ghosn brothers Sami and Ramzi. The outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 forced the family to leave the estate and both Sami and Ramzi Ghosn left Lebanon to study abroad. In the early 1990s Sami and Ramzi returned to Leban ..read more

Haya Bishouty talks about her techniques in recreating traditional Palestinian food through Haya's Kitchen. She speaks about her favorite dishes and desserts such as Christmas Kaak, Rummaniyeh, Shush Barak Bel Laban and more. Haya Bishouty is the founder of Haya's Kitchen, a supper club that she started in order to revive the tradition of Palestinian grandmothers opening their homes and inviting people to feast communally. While she began with friends, word began to spread and eventually she would have strangers join her traditional Palestinian feasts where she would share the c ..read more