I Opened A Restaurant At 50
(Photo: Chinedu Edward Chiazor. Illustrations: Sacha Stephan)
I loved Palestinian food even before I met my Palestinian partner. In 1997, I was living in the U.K., and one of my housemates was Palestinian. We were celebrating Eid and he made mansaf [lamb cooked in yogurt] using laban jameed—a stone-hard piece of fermented dried yogurt that creates a rich, creamy, tangy sauce when dissolved in water.
The mansaf was the first Palestinian dish I’d ever eaten, and I fell in love with the flavours. There was also a beautiful story behind it: the laban jameed came from his grandmother, and his parents had pieces of it, too. He was creating the dish again and passing it through the generations.
In 2009, my partner and I relocated to Toronto from Beirut, and by 2015, we had five children. It was difficult for him to leave Lebanon. His way of adapting was to eat food from back home. When my youngest started kindergarten, I began researching Palestinian dishes and trying new recipes. That’s when I learned about chef Fadi Kattan. I messaged him for his hilbeh cake recipe [a fenu-greek dessert] and we struck up a conversation.
At the time, Fadi was opening a restaurant called Akub in London and it made me realize that we didn’t have any Palestinian restaurants in Toronto. Instead, we have a lot of Palestinian-owned restaurants that are called Middle Eastern or Levantine or some other moniker, which struck me as odd. I thought that Fadi should open a Palestinian restaurant here.
After six months of exchanging emails, Fadi told me he was doing a lecture at Cornell University and would pop up to Toronto afterward. It was September 2023, and to welcome Fadi to the city, I asked local chef Bashir Munye to help me host a Palestinian luncheon. We invited 35 people across industries and ethnicities—mostly friends and colleagues, as well as foodies, food photographers and other Torontonians in the food world, anyone we thought would appreciate the opportunity to have an afternoon with Fadi and learn more about Palestinian food. It was a beautiful day that highlighted how hungry people are for this kind of communion.
After that luncheon, Fadi understood how much Torontonians love Palestinian cuisine. So, he agreed to partner with me to open a restaurant. Fadi and I decided to split the responsibilities: We’re both involved in then daily operations and creative direction of the restaurant, but I oversee building local relationships. Meanwhile, Fadi is the executive chef and the main front-facing storyteller.
At the time, conversations about Palestine were fraught as everybody watched the war in Gaza unfold. It was hard to fathom the idea of opening a Palestinian restaurant in the middle of a genocide. There was a part of us that wondered if it was frivolous—is this something we should do when people in Gaza are being starved? Are we honouring Palestine by doing this? But it also felt important to be loud. We had to represent and make waves. People should know that Palestine and Palestinians exist.
It has been beautiful to see diners from all walks of life be curious and try Chef Fadi’s cuisine at Louf. It’s meaningful to provide such an emotional experience for those in the Palestinian community and to honour my partner’s family and heritage.
I have spent 50 years on this planet, and I likely have less than that left on it. I want to make sure I spend that time not just authentically but in a way that leaves an impact. It’s a gift that I’m able to go through the second half of my life continuing to build a legacy and living with intention. —As told to Rebecca Gao
