Picture
251x197mm, 264 pages, Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-908531-97-1
Price: £27.50
Available: September 2022
MAYYLU!
Discovering Lebanon’s Hidden Culinary Heritage
By Hana El-Hibri
with a foreword by Professor Tom Fletcher CMG
Mayylu | ميلوا | meilü     (verb intransitive)
Literal translation: to divert from your course
An invitation to passers-by to pop in for a visit, frequently heard in mountain villages of Lebanon
No visitor will travel far through the Lebanese mountains without hearing Mayylu!, that warm invitation - a prelude to making new friends and to sharing good food and company. This ancient invocation of welcome captures the very essence of life in this rugged terrain.

The spirit of Mayylu lies at the centre of this heart-warming food book which is, in many ways, the embodiment of that shared experience. Lovingly told, with close step-by-step visuals of the preparation processes, a great many of these secrets of Lebanon’s ancient culinary heritage are published here for the first time. The ingredients are frequently garnered wild from the mountain slopes nearby, following bygone values of sustainability and love of the environment that enjoy a renaissance in the modern world. The wisdom in these rich personal accounts has been handed down from generation to generation, part of an oral tradition that, if not recorded here in this book, runs the risk of one day being lost to us forever.

Mayylu! is far more than a cookbook – it is a window into a vanishing world and a celebration of a whole way of life. “Mayylu! Come and join us!”​
From the Foreword

"..This book invites us to go further, and experience the hidden culinary treasures of Lebanon’s mountains... - an extraordinary window into the lives of the communities that have lived in these distant and beautiful areas for generations. By experiencing their cuisine, we not only remember a way of life. We preserve it for future generations to enjoy. The Lebanese are the world’s greatest cooks, and this book reminds us why."
​
Professor Tom Fletcher CMG
Former UK Ambassador to Lebanon
Acclaim for Mayylu!

“A gorgeous immersion into the heart of rural and authentic Lebanon. Here, with her engaging charm and warm storytelling, Hana El-Hibri delicately reveals unknown layers of our Lebanese history, adding a new perspective especially to the silent everyday work of women across the country. Mouthwatering pictures and recipes, paired with unforgettable portraits, demonstrate once more that food is about culture and civilisation.Through her eyes it becomes a banquet to remember.”
Noha BAZ MD
Pediatrician, Author and Food Writer

“Hana has shed wonderful light on Lebanese food through her extensive travels in the Lebanese mountains, unearthing delightful gems. From mountain hideaways she has unearthed ancient ingredients that need to be rediscovered - vital in sustaining our beautiful Lebanese culinary heritage, so much at risk if it is not maintained and passed on to the next generation.”
Hussein HADID
Lebanese-Iraqi Chef

"Hana is a tireless champion of rural Lebanon, quite literally blazing a trail into the hearts of local communities. Mayylu! documents culinary traditions and recipes that have been born out of necessity and an acute understanding of the land. This is Lebanese cuisine ‘unplugged’."
Michael KARAM
Author of Tears of Bacchus
About the Author
Hana El-Hibri was born in Alexandria in 1958 and, being a Lebanese diplomat’s daughter, was raised variously in Egypt, Italy, Australia, Ghana and Algeria. Frustrated by the often-stereotypical view of Lebanon by the rest of the world, she set out to change perceptions. A Million Steps (2010) was a pictorial diary of her trek through Lebanon from north to south, highlighting the country’s natural beauty. Now in its third print run, the book has subsequently lent its name to preserving Lebanon’s hiking trails.
 
Mayylu! has been inspired by a similar wish to showcase a rural way of life and the ingredients that feed it. It is, she says,“a mosaic of fragments that piece together the beautiful tableau that is Lebanon’s culinary heritage”. Hana lives in Beirut with her husband Bassem. They have three grown boys.