Loading ...Hussein Dekmak’s Lebanese cookbook is the voice of experience
Hussien Dekmak’s London restaurant, Le Mignon, looks like the kind of inviting neighborhood spot that turns out great Lebanese dishes and fosters a loyal local following. Dekmak counts among his fans Patricia Wells, the former International Herald Tribune restaurant critic, who called his cooking “some of the finest Lebanese food I have ever tasted.” Wells is one of many well-known chefs and food writers who have made their way through Le Mignon’s unassuming dining room since it opened in 1997 and helped establish Dekmak’s reputation as one of London’s best Middle Eastern chefs.
Dekmak, 48, was born in Beirut and moved to London in 1988. He has worked in some of the city’s top Lebanese restaurants and owned Le Mignon with his late brother. He is in the process of selling Mignon and starting a new venture. At the urging of a publisher, who is also a fan of the restaurant, Dekmak collected more than 100 traditional recipes in “The Lebanese Cookbook: Delicious and Authentic Recipes from a Top Lebanese Chef.”
Q. What food did you eat growing up in Lebanon?
A. I’m one of 10 children. We have five boys and five girls. We ate normal, traditional food: salads, stews, stuffed courgette [zucchini], fish. We call it mezze, a selection of small dishes. Then we do barbecue stuff, chicken, lamb, shrimp. My mother used to do one main dish for everyone. Then we had small bits — salads, cucumber, yogurt, baba ghanouj. She would do stuffed vine leaves. We would have meat and rice cooked in tomato sauce. We would share the salad and things.
Q. Is this variety typical of Lebanese cuisine?
A. All Mediterranean countries have similar food. But Lebanese cuisine, we have a very big menu, lots of choices. If you go to a proper Lebanese restaurant, the menu would have 85 to 100 choices. The main courses, you have grilled stuff. Four people coming to dinner could order about 25 different dishes.
Q. Was Lebanese food popular when you started cooking in London?
‘I chose very short and simple recipes and ingredients that are easy to find. There are some Lebanese recipes that are very complicated to make. Hummus looks likes it should be very easy and simple. Believe me, it’s one of the most complicated dishes you can make.’ Hussien Dekmak
A. When I came over to London, I worked at one place in Mayfair called Al Hamra for 11 years. It’s one of the famous Lebanese restaurants in London. When I used to have my place, it was mostly for English people. In England, Lebanese food is now one of the famous cuisines. English people like to eat out a lot. They like to try something different.
Q. Did you have to change the restaurant dishes for home cooks?
A. I didn’t want them to be complicated for American people or European people. That’s why I chose very short and simple recipes and ingredients that are easy to find. There are some Lebanese recipes that are very complicated to make. Hummus looks likes it should be very easy and simple. Believe me, it’s one of the most complicated dishes you can make. You have to boil the chickpeas and that takes, like, two hours; the whole thing takes three or four hours. But it seems like a very simple dish to have. I chose lots of the salads and starters to be very easy to make. I don’t want people to buy the book and be frustrated.
Q. What made you want to try your hand at cookbook writing?
A. My publisher was based next to the restaurant. She used to get very famous cooks to come and eat the food. She had lots of meetings and would come three or four times a week with people. When she asked me to write a book, I said at the beginning that it would be very difficult for me. I’m busy and you have to write down all the recipes. She was after me for seven years. After that I said I had to do it. She came back to me again and said, “What do you think now?” And I said OK, now I’ll do it.
Q. It was fortunate to have a publisher as a fan of your restaurant.
A. My editor said, “Every day I hear from, like, 25 authors. It’s not easy to do that. The publisher has to trust you that you’re a very good chef.”
Q. Why is Mediterranean food is so popular right now?
A. To be honest with you, America I know nothing about. I’ve never been to the States before. My thinking is that Lebanon is a very small country and not many people have heard about it unless from the news. We had the war for a long time, 35 years. People know that. Now in England, Lebanese food is very, very popular. The Lebanese, we eat too much. We like good food.
Interview has been edited and condensed. Michael Floreak can be reached at michael.floreak@gmail.com.
Source: www.bostonglobe.com