حمص و تبولة

Heard from my Alia, who I’m sharing the flat with, that there was this big event in Beirut today setting a new world record in making the biggest plate of hummus. An open gesture to the Israelis, who held the previous record, this gigantic plate is more than a piece of food, it’s a political statement. Hummus is an ancient (well, very old anyway) Middle Eastern dish which exact origin is unknown, but Lebanese (as do Egyptians by the way) often claim the dish to be particularly theirs. Fair enough, it’s like the debate about Greek fetta cheese, which ended as a triumph for the Greek now having the sole right on selling cheese under the name fetta.

The extra spice to the hummus quarrel is that the dish is very popular also across the southern Lebanese border, in Israel. The making today of the massive hummus plate was under the slogan “Come fight for your bite, you know you’re right”, and by making it into the Guinness book, Lebanon thus kicked out the former record holder, the Israelis. Hm. Something tells me this is not the end to the story. Also, the cooking class is gonna continue tomorrow, when the gathered chefs plan to set another record by preparing an equally gigantic plate of tabbouleh. Aliya told me they offer everyone a taste, so I’m definitely heading there tomorrow. Yummie!

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