Food can serve as a means to bridge culture and conflict. This episode starts our Food Conflict and Unity series, so join us in exploring the power of food with Barbara Massaad, a Lebanese-American cookbook author, photographer, food consultant, and TV host.

Barbara Massaad spent the first 10 years of her life in Lebanon and moved to Florida as a result of war. Her lifelong relationship with food began with Lebanese culture and at 15, she started helping her father in the family-owned Lebanese restaurant. In 1988, her family returned to Lebanon. Flashing forward, after getting an advertising and marketing degree in college and taking 7 years away from work to start a family, Massaad embarked on a new journey in the restaurant business. Determined to pursue this dream, she trained with several renowned chefs at Lebanese, Italian, and French restaurants.

Driven by her love of using cooking and photography to tell stories, Massaad began the journey of creating her first cookbook called Man'oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery. She continues to use her love for cooking to heal and break barriers, whether it was during the Syrian Civil War and today when faced with conflict in Lebanon.

Links From the Episode

Barbara Massaad Website: http://barbaramassaad.com/food/food.html

Barbara Massaad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.massaad

First Book (Man'oushe: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery): https://www.amazon.com/Manoushe-Inside-Street-Corner-Lebanese/dp/1566569281/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KPRSSK0WJS4HYVY4ZHG

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How does an ingredient like rice help better a community? Today we sit down with JJ Johnson, renowned chef on the African diaspora, and founder of the rice bowl restaurant, FIELDTRIP. Growing up in Harlem, surrounded by his grandmother’s cooking and international flavors, food has long formed part of JJ’s DNA. But as we follow his journey of becoming a chef, traveling to Africa, and establishing his own business, JJ’s story teaches us how food can actually break barriers, bring communities together, and celebrate cultural diversity.

findingfounders.co

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How does a girl from SoCal go from making dumplings with her grandmother to co-hosting a TV show with Gordon Ramsey ? Today we sit with Nyesha Arrington, a former Top Chef contestant, professional chef and business owner. Growing up in a Afro-Korean household, surrounded by her grandmother, Nyesha had an early exposure to cooking and a variety of ingredients. As we discover her journey in the world of high class restaurants and TV, Nyesha’s story reminds us of the importance of mentorship and how dedication and attention to detail can take you far.

findingfounders.co

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Before Carla Hall was a Top Chef legend, she was an accountant miserable at accounting. One day she got a chance to move to Paris and pursue modeling full time. Desperate for a change, she said yes, abandoning her dull yet stable career for the notoriously competitive and fickle fashion industry. Despite her lack of language skills and threadbare safety net, she transformed herself into a successful Parisian runway model. During her modeling journey, Carla discovered her passion for cooking. When she returned to the U.S., she dove into the culinary world, first as an executive chef at high-end D.C. restaurants and then as the head of her own catering company. Then Carla said yes to another risky opportunity and joined Top Chef season 5. The chaos and public scrutiny of reality T.V. challenged her culinary skills and business acumen, but it also led her on an adventure with countless possibilities. Saying yes ultimately gave Carla the freedom to express herself across disciplines and mediums as a chef, T.V. Host, actress, children’s book author, and much more.

Links

The Contagious Optimism of Carla Hall- Jessica B. Harris, (August/September 2018): https://gardenandgun.com/articles/carla-hall-interview/

The Untold Truth of Carla Hall -  Brent Furdyk (02/20/2020): https://www.mashed.com/189845/the-untold-truth-of-carla-hall/?utm_campaign=clip

Everything you need to know about Carla Hall, the former Co-Host of ‘The Chew’ - Tess Koman, (06/06/2018):https://www.delish.com/food-news/g21097928/who-is-carla-hall/

Carla Hall - Chicago Gourmet: https://www.chicagogourmet.org/page/CarlaHall

Carla and The Christmas Cornbread -  Simon & Schuster : https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Carla-and-the-Christmas-Cornbread/Carla-Hall/9781534494695

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How do we recover history that has been deliberately erased? And how does that past impact the present? Today we answer those questions in conversation with Mirna Bamieh a Palestinian artist focused on the politics of disappearance. Mirna was born in Ramallah, Palestine in 1983. Throughout her life she expressed and explored her identity through food and art. In 2017 she started the Palestine Hosting Society, to rediscover and share Palestinian recipes and cultural identity as a way of reclaiming Palestinian identity in the form of performance art.

https://palestinehostingsociety.com/

https://findingfounders.co/

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In times of persecution, how do the persecuted keep their culture alive? We speak with Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan who enlightens us on what it is like to run his boutique Hosh Al Syrain and its Fawda Cafe in the heart of Bethlehem. As part of one of the “oldest Christian families in Bethlehem,” Fadi provides us with a unique perspective on his experiences as a Palestinian chef and how he wishes to revitalize Palestinian cuisine by returning it to its roots.

History Shows What’s Wrong With the Idea That War Is ‘Normal’ in the Middle East.  Stephanie Mulder. January 20, 2020. https://time.com/5764119/middle-east-war-history/

Ussama Makdisi, Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World.  Ussama Makdisi. December 20, 2019. https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/40355

In Blind Pursuit of Racial Equality?  Evan P. Apfelbaum, Kristin Pauker, Samuel R. Sommers, Nalini Ambady. September 28, 2010. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610384741

Israel-Gaza violence: The conflict explained. June 16, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396

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When asking people what they put in their coffee, butter probably wouldn’t seem like the most popular response. For health aficionados like Dave Asprey, however, it’s the key ingredient.

Founder and CEO of the multi-million dollar Bulletproof empire, Dave Asprey is creator of revolutionary energy drink, Bulletproof Coffee, and 5-time New York Times bestselling author of the Bulletproof health-book series. He is renowned as the Father of Biohacking, which uses science and technology to devise dietary and lifestyle changes for improved physical and cognitive functions.

Today, Dave will map out the story of his Bulletproof Empire, starting from the roots of his family’s scientific legacy, all the way to his life-changing journey to Tibet, where the concept for  Bulletproof Coffee was born. Since its inception, Bulletproof Coffee has taken the world by storm, publicly endorsed by celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, Shailene Woodley, Ed Sheeran, and Maya Rudolph.

Dave currently awaits the release of his new book, Fast This Way: Burn Fat, Heal Inflammation, and Eat Like the High-Performing Human You Were Meant to Be, which will be released on January 19th, 2021 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

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Today we talk to Duff Goldman. He is the founder and executive chef of Charm City Cakes which has been featured on the Food Network, Iron Chef America, Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and a whole bunch more. And this business is successful because Duff is a rebel.  Starting from his graffiti days, he has defied the normal path and found a success that's uniquely him.

Duff.com

Charm City Cakes

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Today we sit down with Amanda Slavin, co-founder of CatalystCreativ; a platform where people and brands become connected through meaningful experiences.

Amanda grew up in a small town where she knew everyone, she tried to optimize for popularity. Although the initial need to be popular was misguided, it led her to focus more on human connection, something she continued to pursue throughout her life. She kept this interest through a broken education system, night life, a psychedelic experience, yoga in India, her current work with CatalystCreativ, and her book “The Seventh Level.”

Links From the Episode

Amanda's Website

CatalystCreativ Website

Summit Series Website

Seventh Level Website:

Tony Hsieh

Richard Branson

Gary Vaynerchuk

Good Teaching Is Not Just About the Right Practices - Sarah Gonser, 11/17/2020

Evaluating ‘No Child Left Behind’ - Linda Darling-Hammond

Why It’s Harder For Women To Say ‘No’ To Extra Work - Jenna Goudreau, 12/17/2014

Do Work That Matters - Ramsey Solutions, 02/25/2021

How to Learn to Be Alone and Happy About It - Jacqueline T. Hill, 01/25/2021

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The Donut Princess of Los Angeles, Mayly Tao was born with entrepreneurial spirit in her DNA. Born to Cambodian immigrants who fled after surviving the Khmer Rouge, family has always been the most important thing in her life. And family was also the thing that got her started. Her great-uncle is Ted Ngoy, known as the ‘Donut King.’ He helped Cambodian refugees survive and prosper in America by creating donut shops all over Southern California. This would eventually lead through generations to Mayly's innovative work at her family donut shop, DK’s Donut Bakery. Mayly and her donut shop have been an influential and transformative force in LA’s food scene, creating incredible trends and culinary creations.

https://www.dksdonuts.com/

findingfounders.co

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