Jad and Hady Choucair, a perfectly complementary duo. (Credit: Elisabeth Choucair)
“I've bought my ticket. I'll be back on Sept. 18, unless the sky really does fall!” It's with a distinctly Australian accent and a great happiness in his voice that Jad Choucair, at the height of his 36 years and his attachment to his family and country, expresses himself. “I miss what's irritating you at the moment, and I understand that. I also need to get back to my land, my family. It's no longer enough to see my parents grow old on TV screens. I need to see my father's smile in real life.”
This child from Achrafieh, once a pupil at the Zahret Al-Ihsan School, is no longer content with vacations in his homeland. On his Instagram account @mankoushebrinswick, between images of dishes and atmospheric photos, he slipped in an announcement of a temporary closure with photos of our sea or our mountains.
“Since our arrival in Melbourne, we've returned every year or two, depending on circumstances. Our memories of Lebanon are of our walks in the South, where my father is from, picking olives, lemons, bay leaves and flowers for tea, the pleasure of crunching fresh almonds and the big tables around good food with family friends. It was also riding our neighbor's donkey, chasing crickets, going to the beach, fishing in front of AUB, stealing fruit from the neighbor's trees," said Choucair.
It's easy to understand Jad when he says, “I need to breathe in the country. To introduce my children to our culture and our way of life.”
Mankoushe, a piece of Lebanon in Melbourne. (Credit: Elisabeth Choucair)
Homesickness
It's hardly out of desperation that Jad Choucair has taken this astonishing decision in such a tense, even despairing, political and economic context. Quite the contrary... He's even got his head full of projects, and certainly plenty of desire and hope.
With a bakery called Mankoushe, opened with his brother Hady in 2007, then transformed into a restaurant, he leaves behind a business that has trained him, matured him and given him the necessary experience to continue, anywhere in the world.
After studying business management and botany, Jad and his eldest son, who had long loved to get his hands dirty, decided to take the plunge.
Hady tried his hand at local furns, as he had his own in Lebanon before emigrating, and Jad worked in hospitality, “and lots of odd jobs to save money."
"Things weren't easy,” confided the young father. "When we arrived in Australia, we had no money. I did every job I could and learned a lot. Australia was an easy destination because our mother Gisèle's family has lived there for 25 years.”
With their pockets full, the duo set out to make Mankoushe, naming their little bakery after the traditional recipes of the time. “If you want to eat 100 percent Lebanese food, you know where to go: We've chosen to invent, adapt and surprise. The Lebanese clientele is not our main target,” explained the chef.
Caramelized kafta balls with warm tahini and toasted hazelnuts. (Credit: Elisabeth Choucair)
Australian-style
Mankoushe's menu includes traditional Lebanese pizzas cooked over a wood fire, but also with unexpected ingredients and mixes. With more chicken and more meat, the original six recipes have grown to 12.
In this intimate, personalized setting for 15 to 20 people, Jad is in charge of the kitchen and his brother Hady of the wood-fired oven. “We play a lot with the ingredients. I develop them and have fun doing it. Hady kneads the bread and dough in Mankoushe and takes care of the garnish. We only use seasonal produce,” said Jad.
Jad's cooking is sophisticated but unadorned, making the most of local and seasonal ingredients. “We've planted an organic orchard with 200 trees and grow many varieties of vegetables,” he continued, ”as well as keeping several beehives. We try to get close to each product to get the best out of it, and experiment with the varieties of wood used for cooking over the fire.” Their best-sellers at the moment are meatballs, falafel wrap, caramelized kafta dumplings, grilled beet and broccoli and shrimps in sauce. “In traditional dishes from the Arab world, we try to infuse poetry and creativity, offering colorful, delicious, light, refined and harmonious dishes," he added.
"Our philosophy," said the two brothers in chorus, "is to modernize our Lebanese cuisine with new ingredients and a more 'modern' presentation, culturally adapted to Australian tastes.” Thus, the baba ganoush revisited by the chef is whipped and transformed into cream, then served with smoked fish or trout. Chanklish is served with peaches.
Homemade haloumi wrapped in vine leaves, grilled, served with marinated orange peel infused with oregano and olive oil. (Credit: Elisabeth Choucair)
Jad Choucair confirmed his imminent return, subject to the heavens completely falling in on us: “I've made this decision, and I'm convinced of it, for myself and my children. So that they can understand our culture and all the love that exists here and nowhere else. My wife Elisabeth and I have even bought a plot of land in Ras Baalbeck where we have started to plant organic fruit and vegetables. This is my country, I left it when I was 19, as did my brother. I said I'd return in 10 or 15 years, when the business takes off. Well, here we are. I don't feel capable of living here all my life. Deep down, we're pretty much on our own... I'm giving myself until Sept. 3.”
Once again, “if all goes well,” or rather if all doesn't go completely wrong, the young man already has plans for one-off collaborations with restaurant friends, “to see how the Lebanese react to my cooking and test the waters.” Hady, who has the same desires as his brother, is playing it safe by staying “over there.” He continues to knead his Australian-style mankoushe, harvest his produce and wait patiently for a more favorable future.
Mankoushe, 323 Lygon Street, Brunswick East. Melbourne.
Instagram: mankoushebrunswick
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour.
