An Artistic Passion For Food
When Hani was a kid, he would go into the kitchen, stand on his tiptoe and try to get a better look at what hid in plain sight, on the counter. By the time he was tall enough to see it all from a new angle, he could tell you, with just one sniff, without having to look, which spices rested in his proximity. He was hooked, from an early age. He started experimenting in the kitchen when he was around seven years old. Whenever his family had guests over at their house in Ras-Beirut, Hani would insist on serving his specialty. He had a signature drink.
He would pour water into a long glass, carefully so not to spill or have any droplets running down the edges. Then, he would add some ice cubes, fresh out of the freezer. He would proudly make his entrance into the salon where all the adults were sitting, with his tray of water. The colorful straws he added would jiggle around the ice cubes while the wedge of lemons he neatly cut would sit firmly on the glass rind. The adults were in awe and would congratulate his parents on having such a wonderful meticulous young boy.
It didn’t end there. It was barely the beginning.
The Taha’s were (and still are) passionate about food. They were also very supportive which led Hani to continue his experiments in the kitchen. He looked up recipes and tested his own. Whoever ventured into the kitchen while he was stirring casseroles or gesticulating around the chopping board would earn the right to a generous spoonful of the dish in progress. He served his meals to his loved ones and reveled in their comments. Is there a better conversation to have than one about food? He thought that his spices and ingredients were storytellers and each concoction brought them together in a unique way, forcing them to agree on one version of a story to share with taste buds.
Hani and his older brother, Kamel, ended up being guest chefs at Makan, a restaurant in Mar Mkhael that adopts the interesting philosophy of “pay what you think is fair”. Both brothers regularly prepared meals for their family but the challenge that awaited them was of a new kind. Cooking at Makan would require more logistics, more discipline, more energy, a week of scavenging supermarkets and an overnight to overtake an underestimated task. They agreed on a theme on the event; something interesting and audacious. The artichoke! They wanted to present it under its many different textures and forms. Together, they served artichoke chips, potato and artichoke hears salad with rocket pesto, artichoke soup, whole boiled artichoke with a Thai dressing, and a slow-braised lamb ravioli on an artichoke-cauliflower mousseline. Together, they fed forty hungry people and learned many lessons.
They pulled it off again at Gramm, a restaurant-boutique in Pasteur St which specialized in gathering local produce, spices, mouneh and traditional ingredients all over the country. This was the change to put Hani’s all-time favorite ingredient in the spotlight: the Lebanese liquid gold, olive oil! The brothers devised a menu mostly rooted in Lebanese and Mediteranean gastronomy, dipped in olive oil. Kammounet banadoura (a mix of wi herbs, ripe tomato juice and bulgur), fasoulya b thineh (similar to hummus but prepared with white beans), grilled zucchini with yogurt and garlic. For le plan de resistance, they made an octopus-olive stew. For dessert, a thyme-olive oil cake and an olive oil panna cotta.
It doesn’t end here. It’s barely the beginning..
From Hani:
As a Lebanese foodie living abroad, my cupboard is full of carefully selected produce from Lebanon. Dried Labne mka’zale, kechek, kawarma, rosewater, orange blossom water, verjuice, pomegranate molasses and all the spices you can think off. The friends who visit me tease me saying that my house smells like a spice market. To celebrate Mouneh and the winter season, my next guest-chef meal I’ll be in Tawlet, Mar Mkhael this upcoming Christmas vacation.
