Food Broken Promises A Table For Two

In today’s episode, Antoine Abou-Samra welcomes Anissa Helou, chef, food writer, journalist, and photographer (Italy & UK)

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Anissa Helou (www.anissas.com) is a chef, food writer, journalist, broadcaster, and consultant focusing on the cuisines and culinary heritage of the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa, and most recently the Islamic world. Born and raised between Beirut, Lebanon, and Mashta el-Helou, Syria, she knows the Mediterranean as only a well-traveled native can. Ms. Helou is the author of numerous award-winning cookbooks including Feast, Food of the Islamic World; Sweet Middle East, Levant, The Fifth Quarter, An Offal Cookbook; Modern Mezze; Savory Baking from the Mediterranean; Mediterranean Street Food; Café Morocco; and Lebanese Cuisine, which was a finalist for the prestigious Andre Simon awards and chosen as one of the Los Angeles Times’ favorite books in 1998. Lebanese Cuisine remains the classic and most comprehensive work on this increasingly popular cuisine. The Fifth Quarter, An Offal Cookbook; Modern Mezze; and Mediterranean Street Food have received Gourmand World Cookbook awards. The latter was included in Food & Wine magazine’s selection of the Best of the Best for 2002. Mediterranean Street Food was chosen by Cooking Light magazine as one of the top 100 cookbooks of the last 25 years. Savory Baking from the Mediterranean, was chosen by NPR, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Food & Wine as one of the best cookbooks for 2007 and Levant was chosen as best of the year by several publications including the Observer Food Monthly and Australian Gourmet Traveller.

Her new book, Feast: The Food of the Islamic World, was published to great acclaim by Ecco in May 2018 (also published in the UK and Germany) has been short-listed for the very prestigious Art of Eating award. It has also won the James Beard Foundation award in the International category and was short-listed for the IACP awards in the General and International categories. It was also chosen by the New Yorker as one of the 10 best cookbooks of the century so far.

She was also the winner of the Foodics Icon Award for Middle East and North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023.

An accomplished photographer and intrepid traveler, Anissa runs culinary tours to various Mediterranean countries, Iran and Central Asia. She also teaches cooking classes. She was the featured chef in the travel/cooking Show, Al Chef Yaktachef (meaning the chef discovers), that was shown on Abu Dhabi TV in 2010. She has also featured as one of the judges/mentors to a team of chefs in Taste Arabia, which aired on Al Nahar TV in Egypt and OSN all over the Arab world and was one of the guest judges in the final of one of the series of Top Chef Arabia. She also recently gave a masterclass and was a guest judge on Masterchef Italia. She was also listed in 2013 in the Arabian Business Magazine as one of the “100 Most Powerful Arab Women” and on the “500 Most Influential Arabs”.

Ms. Helou is fluent in French, Arabic, and English and soon to be fluent in Italian as well. (Trapani, Sicily & London, UK)


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In today’s episode, Antoine Abou-Samra welcomes Gemma Bell, Founder - Gemma Bell and Company | Trustee - Rare Charity, Amos Trust, London (UK)



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Gemma Bell set up her agency Gemma Bell and Company in 2011 after a decade working front of house and back of house in restaurants and hotels - from Marco Pierre White’s notable Mayfair restaurant Mirabelle to Ian Schrager’s St Martins Lane and Sanderson hotels.



The London agency now offers a range of services including PR, Marketing and Creative, Partnerships and Projects, while clients include St. JOHN, Fortnum & Mason, Dishoom, Padella, The Peninsula London and Angela Hartnett, to name just a few.



Gemma is co-founder of #CookForSyria, #CookForIran and #CookForPalestine, is contributor to AHotelLife.com, was included in the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 most influential Londoners of 2019 and has been included in Code Hospitality’s 100 Most Influential Women for the last four years. Gemma is on the board of trustees for two charities, Amos Trust and Rare Charity.



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In today’s episode, Antoine Abou-Samra welcomes Henrietta Lovell, founder and master-blender of the Rare Tea Company (London, UK)


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Henrietta Lovell is known around the world as the Rare Tea Lady. She is founder and master-blender of the award-winning, global brand, Rare Tea Company.
Since 2000 Henrietta has been traveling the world, working directly with small independent tea gardens, from the Shire Highlands of Malawi to the foothills of the Himalayas. By sourcing direct from the farms, she is able to secure unique harvests and ensure that they are crafted using sustainable practices to benefit both the land and the people who live on it.

Lovell is at the forefront of the tea revolution - replacing industrial grade bags with the highest quality, sustainably farmed leaves.  She works with chefs and sommeliers to pair flavours and created bespoke blends for some of the best restaurants and hotels in the world from Claridges and KOL in London, Noma in Copenhagen, The Modern at MoMa and Momofuku in New York; Meadowood in Napa to The Four Seasons in Tokyo.

Her vision encompasses more than excellent tea.  Her ambition is to source and supply tea that not only enriches the lives of those who drink it, but the land and those who grow and craft it.  The tea trade has historically been synonymous with exploitation and sadly this is still too often the reality. It is her ambition to help tea gardens flourish like vineyards, and for her customers to appreciate tea like fine wine.

In 2016 she founded Rare Charity returning a percentage of the revenue of Rare Tea to their partner farms, supporting tertiary education scholarships.

In 2019 Faber & Faber Published her first book – Infused- Adventures in Tea in the UK, USA and with Audible (read by Henrietta)
Named a New York Times book of the year.
2020 Awarded the Fortnum & Masons best drinks book.
2023 published in China and Taiwan.

As an advocate for flavour and a champion of tea-communities, Henrietta is ceaselessly adventuring and collaborating.

She is currently working on a documentary series with Oscar winning producer Laurie David.
“Henrietta is the chef’s tea guru” Food and Wine Magazine.




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In today’s episode, Antoine Abou-Samra welcomes Sarah Betcher - Documentary Filmmaker, Owner Farthest North Films and Wisdom Keeper Media.



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Sarah Betcher is a documentary filmmaker that specializes in showcasing indigenous knowledge and ways of life and also helps bridge communication with western scientists and local indigenous communities and Elders participating in collaborative projects. She has been producing films across Alaska in some of the most remote locations on earth for the last decade. Sarah has produced over 80 films and are available to view online, various TV networks, Hawaiian Airlines, and international and state museums including American Museum of Natural History, British Museum, Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum, Anchorage Museum and Museum of the North. Sarah owns Farthest North Films and Wisdom Keeper Media and she provides services such as directing, filming, scripting, editing, narration writing and recording in English and other languages, captioning, dubbing, research and co-writing grants. Her films can be seen on her website at www.farthestnorthfilms.com.


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Listen to the "The World in a Wineglass" by Ray Isle review. I gave the book a 5-star rating.

You can read the review here. (https://tablefortwo.co/2023/11/30/the-world-in-a-wineglass-ray-isle-review/)

You can listen to the full interview with Ray Isle here. (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0AvlMFCHHu1l7mhh5JVroa?si=7e9ca2cdb38945bc)

In today’s episode, Antoine Abou-Samra welcomes Ray Isle, Executive Wine Editor, Food & Wine, and Wine & Spirits Editor, Travel + Leisure.

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Ray Isle is the longtime executive wine editor for Food & Wine, as well as the wine and spirits editor for Travel + Leisure. His writing has also appeared in Departures, Wine & Spirits, Time, the Washington Post, and many other publications. He has won the IACP Award for Narrative Beverage Writing three times, the American Food Journalists Award for Beverage Writing, and the North American Travel Journalists Association Gold Award, and has been nominated three times for a James Beard Award in Beverage Writing. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.



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