Television Helwi Beirut | Website barbaramassaad.com | |
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Born March 15, 1970 (age 46) ( 1970-03-15 ) Beirut, Lebanon Occupation Author, photographer, food consultant, TV host Spouse(s) Serge Albert Massaad (married 1995) Children Albert (1997), Maria (1999), Sarah (2000) Books Man'oushé: Inside the Lebanese Street Corner Bakery, Manʾoushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery | ||
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Barbara Abdeni Massaad (born March 15, 1970, Beirut, Lebanon) is a Lebanese / American cookbook author, photographer, food consultant, TV host. She is the author of several books, including the award winning books:Man’oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery (Alarm 2005/Massaad 2009) and Mouneh: Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry (Massaad 2010). Man’oushé has been translated into French and Mouneh into Arabic.
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Early life
Massaad was born in Beirut, Lebanon. She moved to Florida, United States at a young age and gained culinary experience while helping her father , a professional photographer, in the family owned Lebanese restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After moving back to Lebanon in 1988, she entered university and gained a BA degree in Advertising-Marketing.
Career
Massaad worked for several institutions, and then trained with chefs at Lebanese, Italian, and French restaurants.
In 2006, Massaad joined the Slow Food Movement, an organization which promotes the preservation of local food traditions, biodiversity, and small-scale food production around the world. She is one of the founding members of Slow Food Beirut and a delegate of the international Terra Madre Community. She represented Lebanon in 2007 in the biannual Slow Food Worldwide Congress] in Puebla, Mexico.
In 2012, Massaad wrote her first book, Man’oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery, about the creation of man’oushé. It contains about 70 recipes, for these Lebanese pies, including typical varieties found in street corner bakeries, but which can also be made at home. The book also includes photographs and stories about her journey in Lebanon. The book was created in collaboration with Raymond Yazbeck.
Massaad's second book Mouneh: Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry is about the traditional Lebanese way of preserving fruit, vegetable, herbs, and animal products, and includes a selection of recipes, photos and accompanying stories.
Next Massaad wrote Mezze: A Labor of Love, which includes recipes for the creation of the traditional Lebanese dish mezze. It is illustrated by Pascale Hares, and showcases Lebanese culinary heritage.
Massaad hosted a weekly TV segment on Lebanese / International channel LBCI on Helwi Beirut, featuring culinary tours around Lebanon, focusing on local foods, interviewing and cooking with local chefs, producers, housewives and farmers.
After visiting a refugee camp in Syria, in 2016 Massaad published another cookbook, Soup for Syria, and has designated the profits from sales to support refugees. As well as her own recipes, the book contains soup recipes donated by a number of well-known chefs.
Massad has created an extensive portfolio of children’s portraiture. Her portraits have been printed in local press and international magazines.
Personal life
Massaad lives in Beirut with her husband Serge Massaad, her three children: Albert, Maria, and Sarah. She is fluent in English, French, and spoken Arabic.