Fadi Kattan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bethlehem, Palestine |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
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| Website | www |
Fadi Kattan is a Palestinian and French chef, restauranteur, and hotelier from Bethlehem. He founded the local restaurant Fawda, boutique hotels Hosh Al-Syrian and Kassa, as well as Akub in Notting Hill, London. His debut cookbook Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food was published in 2024.
Early life
editKattan was born to "one of the oldest Christian families in Bethlehem".[1] His maternal grandmother founded the local Arab Women's Union in 1947, spoke five languages, and had an interest in cooking, while his grandfather, a doctor, was French-speaking and would take Kattan to Paris. On the other side, his Bombay-born father's family were well traveled around India, Japan and Sudan. Prior to the Nakba, the family had 120 dunams (100 acres) of orange groves in Jaffa that were stolen "overnight" while they were traveling in India.[2]
Kattan grew up in Bethlehem and went to school in Jerusalem.[3] He completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Business Administration in Paris.[4] He then pursued a Master of Arts (MA) and studied Hotel Management at the Institut Vatel in Paris.[5]
Career
editUpon returning to Bethlehem in 2000, Kattan worked at the InterContinental Hotel before it shut down, forcing him to find work at his father's kitchen business.[6]
In 2016, Kattan founded the restaurant Fawda in Bethlehem. The restaurant's menu would change depending on what local farmers had in season.[1]
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Kattan started the YouTube series Teta's Kitchen, in which he sought recipes from various mothers and grandmothers around historic Palestine.[7][3] He hosted a radio segment and podcast titled Ramblings of a Chef for Radio Alhara.[8]
In 2023, Kattan co-founded two establishments: the Notting Hill-based restaurant Akub with Rasha Khouri and Bethlehem's Kassa Boutique Hotel within the historic Sabagh house.[9] The former creates modern Palestinian dishes using only local British produce.[3]
Kattan's debut book Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food, comprised of 60 recipes, was published in May 2024. Nourie Flayhan provided illustrations for the book. In an interview with The Guardian, Kattan spoke about how the destruction of Gaza's agricultural fields affected businesses in the West Bank, and how increasing violent settlements and surveillance hampered Bethlehem's economy, particularly its tourism sector.[10]
Personal life
editKattan is an atheist and secularist.[11] "I don't see the world based on people's faiths... That's my French bit of my identity", he said.[2]
Bibliography
edit- Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food (2024)
References
edit- ^ a b La Corte, Michelle (21 July 2024). "Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan on food waste, sustainability and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict". Salon. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ a b Lin-Sommer, Sam (3 July 2024). "This Palestinian chef loves Bethlehem's delicious, seasonal cuisine. He's afraid it could soon be destroyed". Forward. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Leach, Frances (24 January 2023). "The pioneering chef bringing a taste of Palestine to London". Huck. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ Kleiman, Evan (31 May 2024). "Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan dreams of a world where he can share his food with everyone". KCRW. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ Kattan, Karim (26 August 2020). "Cooking Palestinian Food: on indigenous herbs, craft, and community". The Funambulist. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Miari, Anastasia (27 April 2024). "In His New Cookbook, Palestinian Chef Fadi Kattan Honors the Flavors of the West Bank". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Saleh, Heba (25 September 2021). "Postcard from Bethlehem: culinary delights in the ancient city". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ Chacar, Henriette (27 March 2020). "Live from quarantined Palestine, it's Radio Alhara". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ Davidson, Lisa (4 May 2023). "Kassa Hotel, Bethlehem". We Heart. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Michaelson, Ruth; Kierszenbaum, Quique (4 May 2024). "'We are disappearing': chef Fadi Kattan aims to keep Palestinian heritage alive through food". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "A chat with Bethlehem's top chef – Fadi Kattan". Fiona Dunlop Food & Travel. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
Category:Hoteliers
Category:Palestinian atheists
Category:Palestinian chefs
Category:Palestinian Internet celebrities
Category:People from Bethlehem
Category:Restaurateurs