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Apr 23, 2026 30 min

Jad Youssef: Lebnani

from Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith

This week, we’re off to Lebanon via Reigate with the man behind Comptoir Libanais and Yalla Yalla, Jad Youssef. Lebnani is Jad’s debut cookbook that's all about the Lebanon of his childhood, the rituals and traditions of the food from his homeland that he's brought to the menus of restaurants all over the world. His fear is that Lebanese food is losing its identity, not just through war, displacement and massive food insecurity at home, but through social media influencers and their chocolate hummus and sweet potato falafel. Gilly finds a man deliberately trying to keep a food culture alive in the Uk that's already moved on in the homeland, who tells her why it matters. And if you like what you hear on this ad and sponsor free podcast, you can give a little back by clicking here to contribute a little something, or here to become a paid subscriber on Substack.

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This episode was published on April 23, 2026.

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