A Restaurant of Naturality

 NATURALITÉ : When a  haute cuisine restaurant, ethically resources the ingredients of each plate delicately and naturally.

NATURALITÉ from Simon Pénochet on Vimeo.

Alain Ducasse's restaurant at the Plaza Athénée has just re-opened. The Chef tells a more personal and radical story, following a path he initiated twenty-five years ago. He introduces a cuisine of naturality, that revolves around three key elements: fish, vegetables and cereals. A healthier,  organic, more sustainable and environmentally-conscious approach.

Watch this soothing video of how the plates were created and the people behind them!

While in Lebanon, people are arguing which restaurant is safe or not.
In the other part of the world, some great minds are going back to the basics of cooking, the natural, the organic, and the fair trade...
Natural is what we need these days. Not the extreme of cleanliness, and not the extreme of contamination.
Hoping we can learn and get inspired from Chef Alain Ducasse and people like him.

Souk Al Ard: Earth Market in Hamra Street

Fresh Organic Produce from the Farms, every Tuesday in Hamra

During my years studying in AUB and living in Bliss street, I discovered Souk Al Ard in Main street of Hamra. It was my escape from the street buzz,  amid the hectic studies and long working hours.
It was my pleasure to meet the local farmers, see their hand made products, and get from their fresh green treasures!! Street Lebanese Heritage food at its best!

Every time I travel back to Beirut, I make sure to visit this farmer's market. It is a blessful experience to smell the saj, and see all these fresh and organic vegetables, and the pickled jars , marmalade...etc
Lebanese heritage food at its best. My last trip in October, I made sure to visit and do some food shopping!

Home Made Food

Dont miss those tasty saj ( saj is a thin focaccia bread) 

Souk El Ard, ( Earth Market), is located in the alley facing Bread Republic.
Organized by Slow food Beirut, the market aims to offer good, clean and fair food.

Elevation Burger

When you enter Elevation Burger, you will read about its particular vision is to be much more than just a burger restaurant. Their aim is to provide an "elevated  burger" that is fresh and flavorful, made of the highest quality and sustainable ingredients. Elevation Ventures are located in Gulf countries (Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Manama) and across 12 states in USA since 2003.

Should we Give Processed Food Another Chance?

This is one of the posts I wrote last year and I forgot to press the " Submit" button :(

The content is still valid and  irrelevant of time though.

“Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.” Michael Pollan.

As extreme as this notion might be, it does hold some truth. The debate about processed and wholesome (natural) food has always been raised. Some scientists claim that processed food offers convenience, saves time money, transportation costs and makes food available all year around over all the globe. While others argue that processed food has been the major cause of diseases due to their low nutrient content, high artificial ingredients, and high caloric value. World health organization states that the increase in obesity levels and chronic diseases (diabetes, heart diseases) are attributed to processed foods. Increased risk of cancer is also due to the amount of chemicals in these types of food. Also hyperactivity and attention deficiency disorder in kids were caused by consuming food loaded with artificial colorants and flavors such as candies and soda drinks.

Tea Gschwendner : Ritzy as Its Name!

"Make things happen, explore distant shores, and most of all, drink tea."

With this philosophy,  Albert Gschwendner and his wife Gwendalina turned their dreams of a teashop into a reality in 1978.

And it was this tea shop that I discovered in the middle of a very dull country. Because if there is anything that can bring me joy in Riyadh, is discovering a new cuisine or an exquisite food shop.

Gschwendner was one of them and it is now on my Top list to see and check every time I am in the Kingdom tower doing some shopping.

Gschwendner. Yep, it is German. And I admit that the name is a bit hard to pronounce and actually google later when I wanted to write this post. But this name turned out to be as lavish as the products inside!

The small shop in the kingdom is in the ground floor, and you can see a teapot boiling outside as if greeting you to come inside and explore a new world of Tea leaves. And this is exactly what happened. The teapot was enough to attract me inside and discover this Tea Haven!

Hundreds of Tin drawers with different types of dried  tea leaves from around the world!

And another thing that caught my attention, was a small stand with brochures. There it was the " Book of Tea". I grabbed it. And asked the salesman if I can take it with me. He welcomely acknowledged that and poured some tea for me and my family.

Reading list for this week!

I will be collecting interesting and important articles about food science and nutrition.Though  I usually share them on my facebook page but it gets overwhelming for my fans who are on facebook for fun.
So, if you are seeking abit of education, you may check my blog frequently ( I will be launching the Reading list section soon  )

• PRESERVED FOOD

Ever wondered why canned food tasted bad? And why it would never be like fresh food? What do you know about Autoclaves and retort machines in food preservation? Here is an article that simply explains why preserved foods' flavors are not that delicious>

• Better Nutrition

In Copenhagen Consensus 2012, researchers and Nobel laureates were looking at the smartest solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. A research paper released on hunger and undernutrition by researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute, proposed that decision-makers prioritize micronutrient interventions. A better nutrition would help the world's biggest problems: Hunger and malnutrition. Read more here How Better Nutrition for Children Helps Solve Two of the World’s Biggest Problems

Picture from Slate.com

• The Organic Dispute

  Why do people still dispute about organic and the "not-organic" farming? What is the major difference  between both? And why do media have discrepancies when it comes to this subject?Here is an interesting read by  the Atlantic about the War between the organic and conventional farming

• Coco Cola Ethics

  After the PR crisis of Coco Cola that unethically treated migrant workers for picking up the oranges in southern Italy, some have demanded that their sponsorship for the London Olympics should be halted.  Read more about this argument from the Ecologist :Should Coca Cola be allowed to sponsor the London Olympics ???

All pictures were attributed to their owners and were searched for from creativecommons.org

Food markets 1 : Ithaca

Here are some photos that i took in the farmer's market, Ithaca, NY , USA almost a year ago.

It was there that I tasted Apple Cider drink for the first time.A great place if you want to buy organic vegetables.It also has an "artistic" side where artists come and sell their paintings,vases, ceramics, jeweleries,leather designs...etc

Farmer's Market-Entrance

Farmer's Market-Leaves

Honey

Even More Herbs!