STIR THE POTS

Kamal Mouzawak

Kamal Mouzawak - it's hard to narrowly pinpoint who he is or what he does; guardian of traditional food, social innovator, and market organizer. These are just some of the titles that follow him. I was introduced to him through Anthony Bourdain's  recent return to Beirut. By coincedence (and the surprisingly small boundaries of the food blog world) both my friends Andrea Stewart and Brad Farmerie are co-contributors with Kamal on Poetry Of Food.

I e-mailed Kamal and he told me we could meet while he was attending Bill Clinton's Global Initiative Conference.  After our interview, we spent time at the farmers market, talked to his friends and even had a Shake Shack burger. I met so many people just spending a short bit of time with Kamal and hope to take up his invitation to Beirut soon.

 

 

 

Click to listen

Uprising...mon histoire de pain - or my on going history with bread

It's been sometime since I started baking bread, inspired by a book by Dan Leader. Today, I am the guy who is known (not always happily) for leaving a trail of flour on kitchen counters, or stuffing the refridgerator with my levains. Call it a hobby, passion or just obsession for wild yeast. Lately though I have cut back on my bread baking. But as hard as I try to not buy more bread books and stop purchasing grains and flour... I can't! Call me a bread head, a  natural yeast evangelist, or just a man who can't ignore the power of the genuine dough.

While researching to prepare for an interview recently, I saw a video of the Spanish baker, Iban Yarza. In it he talked about his amazement at the "revolucion of homebakers." Quizás una revolución, pero yo prefiero decir una levantamiento - in English, perhaps a revolution, but I prefer to say an uprising! Funny how bread is so full of symbols, myths and analogies in whatever language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My inspiration, mentors, companions, panophiles in my revolution - it's led by pro bakers like Dan Lepard, Wolfgang Süpke, Richard Bertinet, Graham Prichard, Dieter Buschmann.

 

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of my fellow and first time Bethesdabaker's, which put me in contact with a bevy of bakers and my first bakers conference! They're coming up on a 5th Anniversary in Bethesda next July... sorry Mick, you know my schedule!

 

Then there are micro Bakers; Mick Hartley, Rick of Mair's Bakehouse, David Aplin ...Blog bakers, Susan, Marie Claude, Nils, Hans Joakim, Petra..Javier Marca,and there are more. The list is growing. There are some I have met and some yet to be acquainted with. The world of great bread, it seems to perpetually flower, no pun intended.

As for my own dream? Well it's not yet fully formed. Still in flux, it plays out both in my mind but also in real time - in the kitchen as I bake. Slowly proofing, it's all in my hands ready to shape but still developing!

If I left you off this post, sorry, just burning the candle from both ends, Teresa!