It’s been a crazy last few years for the founder of Reem’s California, who spent the pandemic feeding the needy and working on a cookbook — and is now a James Beard finalist for o…
, a Reem’s menu staple. A self-proclaimed bread obsessive, Assil also shares tips for mastering savory and sweet Arab breads and her must-have pantry staples to “host like an Arab.”
There, in the bakeries of Beirut’s bustling Hamra Street, she fell in love with mana’eesh as a vehicle to feed the soul and decided she would enroll in Laney College’s baking and pastry program. There are devastating stories, too, about war dating back to Assil’s grandmother, a woman of grit and determination who grew up in a Jaffa orange-growing family and was one of 700,000 Palestinians expelled from the region in 1948. Assil sees her grandmother in herself.
For folks reading this, I hope I’ve provided inspiration through my story of how making the best of what you have sometimes makes it even better than it was before, whether it’s the food you cook or the path in life you choose.Learning from Arabs, hospitality is not only a good virtue, it is the way we survive as humanity.