Bayrut: The Cookbook

Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, is an exhilarating, chaotic city with a tumultuous past yet a thriving, vibrant foodie reputation Perfectly poised between the Middle East and the Mediterranean, Lebanese cuisine is hugely popular famed for its varied and flavourful regional dishes that emphasise whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood.

Beirut’s ever-changing, often turbulent, heritage means that its food has evolved an exciting character of its own. In this book, Hisham Assaad shows you the best the city has to offer, with accessible, delicious recipes, ranging from the classics to more modern fare. He tells the story of a city with energy and diversity, of multiple cultures and traditions, with ever-popular street food, a thriving restaurant and café scene, and traditional family favourites handed down through generations. Learn to create lavish breakfast spreads, traditional Sunday feasts, fresh and vibrant salads, easy and nutritious suppers, or even a delectable afternoon tea with tempting perfumed sweets and delicacies.

With stunning food and travel photography, this book will transport you to the cultural melting pot that is Beirut a city that excels at mouth-watering food.

About the Author

Hisham Assaad is a Lebanese chef, food stylist, graphic designer and photographer who regularly shares recipes and stories on his blog, cookin5m2 (which focuses on the challenges of cooking good food in a tiny home kitchen in Beirut). Raised in a food-loving family that came to Lebanon from Palestine in the 1940s, Hisham learned about Levantine food by watching his mother (a talented home cook) and father (a family butcher) in the kitchen from a young age.

They bestowed the basics on him and he took it from there, building a culinary repertoire to satisfy his avid appetite for the food of his homeland.
His work has featured in print and online magazines such as CulinaryBackstreets.com, Cuiz'in, Communicate, one8one and The Carton ; he has cooked live on Lebanese television and featured on MBS Radio. He also works as a guide on boutique food tours of Beirut and the surrounding countryside for Taste Lebanon and is a frequent guest chef at local restaurants and festivals.

He lives in Dbayeh on the outskirts of Beirut. This is his first book.