First round-the-clock Arab food channel hits the satellite
After the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri, Lebanon once again found itself in the midst of an all too familiar internal turmoil. In the many bomb attacks targeting journalists that rocked Beirut following Hariri’s assassination, there was also the strike on Lebanese channel LBC headquarters.
Specifically, it was the studio where the Lebanese Chef Ramzy filmed his popular cooking show. Ramzy had many fans in the region who were dismayed that their favorite chef would now be off the air.
But thanks to Lebanese resilience, Ramzy continued to film from the channel’s garden while his studio was rebuilt.
The demand for – and popularity of – such programming indicated that there was a market for cooking shows.
In a pistachio nutshell, the Arab world loves its food.
Fast forward a few years and chefs have become celebrities through these said shows. Jamie Oliver is the most famous, a man who later set out to change nutrition in English schools.
Now, Western cuisine has assimilated foods, herbs and spices from all over the world.
The influence is extraordinary and the palates have changed. We’re now quite the distance from boiled cabbage and watery pudding.
These shows and others were broadcast in the Middle East on satellite.
Sure there was BBC Food, but it needed a special subscription, and more importantly, it had no subtitles.
And so it was only a matter of time before a 24-hour subscription-free food channel debuted on NileSat to cater to an ever growing interest in the myriad ways in which one can delight in the kitchen.
Fatafeat, which is free to air. Cutely named “crumbs it is a round the clock food channel airing Western cooking shows to suit all tastes with Arabic subtitles.
Interested in Italian food? Giorgio Locatelli’s show has him inviting friends over for an Italian meal. He definitely has a way with fish and his pastas are, of course, superb.
You can also watch Everyday Italian, which sets out to show that Italian food is not just pasta. You can learn how to make classic Italian aperitifs, antipastos and even original espresso. This show is mainly geared towards what one can prepare for dinner parties.
Of course, Jamie Oliver is there too. His series, The Naked Chef, which propelled him to world fame, is here too and you can watch him drench a chicken in salt that he solidifies and cracks before presenting.
Of course the day kicks off with the Martha Stewart show, which also happens to host many celebrities as the Big Mama of How-To shows takes them to task on their culinary skills, or not if you’re Larry King, whom she poked fun at for taking her out on a date in the early 1980s.
Before Rachel Ray had her own show, she was doing Rachel Ray: 40 Dollars a Day, where she travels the globe and eats and drinks on the aforementioned budget. While not a cooking show in the classic sense, the added dimension of traveling and savoring the different foods of each country compensate for this.
Emeril Lagasse, an Italian American also has his show aired on Fatafeat. This is a show with an audience, so the public interaction is a plus, if you can manage to tolerate Lagasse himself that is. If you do, then expect varied dishes – not solely Italian – and desserts.
There is the Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Lawson, who is a classic cook. However, that doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t demonstrate Middle Eastern food for example. She’ll even show you how to make bread. Hers is an old kitchen with new ideas.
Rick Stein takes us through the British countryside, looking for traditional foods that time has passed by. He espouses the merits of traditional British cuisine, and manages to convince that bangers and mash can be palatable. Then he’s off to France to do exactly the same thing.
But it’s not all about the West. Our very own Abbas Fahmy travels the Middle East, searching out rustic restaurants such as koshari places in Sayedda Zeinab and sweetshops in Damascus. He looks at how local dishes are made and then settles down to eat. And of course there is an obligatory picture taken with the shop owner at the end of the show.
The only other Arab show is the Lebanese Samar Khamas Nogoum (Samar Five Stars). The premise is dishes you would find in the best hotels. An interesting addition is that the cuisine is varied. Often one episode would be about Thai food, the next French and so on.
Although it has only been broadcasting for a little over two months Fatafeat has entered the Arab scene. And now we’re all eating cheese stuffed meatballs.
