“So I’d encourage new young chefs to open up their minds and experiment with the same techniques they’ve been taught, but use them to enhance, optimise and upgrade the dish to something that is really Arabic.
“And I don’t mean to destroy tradition,” Husseini added.
“I am a great believer in tradition too; a lot of dishes stand the test of time because they are great.
“But there’s nothing wrong with presenting something differently. There are new ways, you just have to be creative.”
Husseini is about to start filming for two new cooking shows — one to be shown in Arabic, one in English — geared towards “demystifying” Arabic cusine.
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“Who knows why [Arabic food] hasn’t taken off in the way that other cuisines have, but I really believe that it could be as big as French or Italian, because there is enough great food in our culture to appeal to a variety of consumers,’ she said.
“So far, all international cuisines seem to be represented and championed by all sorts of chefs on television; but our cuisine is really under-represented. And I want to help push Arabic cuisine so it gets the recognition it deserves.”
According to Husseini, TV chefs and food-related programmes have done “a great job in introducing the general public to different flavours and ideas”.
“They’ve made it fashionable to be interested in food, new ingredients, home cooking, international flavours, seasonal produce and so on — and have as a result done the industry a great service,” she said.
For more from Suzanne Husseini, see the next issue of Caterer Middle East.
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Mar 24, 2010 , Egypt
You re doing a great job with a great goal, you re talented, Keep on your way. Your recipes are wonderful , I ve tried many of them, it s really delicious, or as we say in Egypt, nafasek yeganen fi alakl, and believe me it's shown on TV. Ones who really can taste food, could smell it well. My fav...