Lockdown has made us all secretly believe we could become professional banana bread bakers. But some have been in this cooking business for way longer than most, and they still have a lot to teach us.

In this new series, we’ll be hosting live cooking lessons with some of your favourite professional and amateur Lebanese chefs. Before each session, we’ll send out a list of ingredients to prepare,  which you can cook along while we chat with  the chef and learn all about their culinary journey. The recipes will be varied and all proceeds go to support the amazing work of Matbakh al Balad in Lebanon.

Matbakh Al Balad
The Lebanese community is struggling under the strain of a deteriorating economic crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID19 situation, making it impossible for many families to put food on the table. Many in Lebanon have stepped up to help their community, and one of these groups is Matbakh el Balad. 

Matbakh el Balad started after October 17 when a group of volunteers came together to prepare and distribute food - free of charge - to protestors who were on the street around the clock and in need of sustenance and warmth. Since then, and as the economic situation continues to deteriorate, Matbakh el Balad volunteers today are providing sustenance, daily, free of charge, to anyone in need of a meal. 

Their work has been fueled from the beginning by generous volunteers who donated time, money, items, and meals to keep their efforts going. Together, we can help Matbakh Al Balad continue to provide meals to families in Lebanon. 

Cooking show #1

We’re very excited to launch the series with Lynn Hazim, aka No Soup for You. What started as a small supper club around her dining table turned into an Instagram sensation, complete with thousands of mouth-watering close up shots of food, food and more food.On Saturday the 6th of June, Lynn will be cooking her shawarma tacos with orange tahini and fried onions.

To join, please donate to Matbakh al Balad through the following link

We will then send you all the details you need (the ingredients to prepare and the Zoom link).
If you’d like to share your cooking skills and get a chance to chat with Lynn, a £20 donation will get you one of 10 spots to cook along on camera.

If you’d rather cook in your PJs or maybe just watch along while chowing down a takeaway pizza (no judgment), then donate £10 to a good cause.