Hello & Welcome to The Urban Apron, I am starting this food blog to share all my culinary connaissance. I am not a graduated chef by any means, everything is self taught and the result of one intensive month in a catering company in Beirut.

My food journey started back in my hometown Beirut, coming from a traditional lebanese family Sundays are synonym of family reunions and homemade dishes! my favorite part was the tabbouleh preparation, especially the sauce mixing. Finding the perfect lemon-oil balance was a difficult task for a 15 years old but being the first to taste it in a lettuce wrap was all that mattered. oh my! (I can live on just eating Tabbouleh)

Years later, I was recreating international restaurant dishes in my mom’s kitchen and making a hell of a mess. My tagliatelle Alfredo, Potato Dauphinois, Béarnaise sauce, etc.. came out divinely good after several failed attempts and googling! Then came up the cupcake and macaron trends which were a drastic musts in my culinary experimentations because I am a trend seeker wether it relates to fashion, furniture or even FOOD!

Living by myself in Dubai had a major impact on my food curriculum. I was working for a French multinational beauty company and my food diet was obscene: long working hours, average cantine food and no delivery service reached the location. I had to do something about it… Bringing my own food was the ideal solution but the hard part was to manage the cooking as well as the working and the sleeping mode. At that time, Jamie Oliver’s books and my friend the Freezer were life saviors! I gained tips and succeeded 10-minutes meal creation especially when friends and family dropped by unexpectedly.

Most of my dishes were inspired from renown French Chefs such as Cyril Lignac (I have all his book set) for his simple and yet tasty cuisine, Alain Ducasse for his traditional French cuisine, Pierre Herme for his pastry guidance. Some of my dishes are inspired from the TV reality shows: Master Chef U.S. (Gordon Ramsey is just an amazing food personality), Top Chef, Le Meilleur Patissier de France (Cyril Lignac & Mercotte are the perfect exemple of modern-traditional).

Today inspiration comes from all my surroundings, whether it is on my Pinterest board, on a page of magazine or even a restaurant. Clearly traveling has a major impact on my tastebuds, it always amaze me how some discoveries can modernise my traditional dish!

I am currently based in Jeddah with my husband and I am loving the experience! I juggle between the household task and a full time job (now I am working with a Spanish multinational perfume company) and the struggle to maintain a healthy diet is still there. Clearly I am no dietician but I believe that moderation builds a healthy diet and homemade food brings better taste! My perfect weekly routine: 2 days fish/ 3 days grains/ 2 days meats, no specific order and no restrictions on the weekends.

This blog combines easy and tasty, modern and traditional, tips and tricks for a perfect homemade food experience!

Sincerely,
The Urban Apron

 

P.S.: all pictures are taken with an Iphone 6 or a Canon G12.