About
CONTACT: blanchetv@hotmail.com
Welcome to Feast in the Middle East! Blanche Shaheen is an Arab American and former network television host and reporter in both entertainment and news. She reported live daily on the ABC entertainment program called “View from the Bay,” hosted the independent film show “Video I” for PBS for 10 years, reported live news daily for the Tech TV show called “Tech Live” and hosted numerous news and political programs for Link Media. In 2010 Blanche made the switch to hosting her own cooking show, sharing 100s of years old recipes preserved by her mother and grandmother. These were heirloom recipes handed word of mouth from one generation to the next, recipes that even culinary schools lacked–however, there were no written measurements. With her journalism background, she decided to document the recipes in an ongoing cookbook, and Feast in the Middle East was born. Now you can see this series on YouTube, on Curious.com, and on Virgin America Airlines, where it has an estimated audience of 1 million people per month! She has now gained recognition in the press, featured in KQED’s “Check Please” program, NPR radio, the Palo Alto Weekly, the Los Altos Crier, and the Rumi Awards show that she hosted for an international audience.
Given her background in television, and the realization that no shows based on Middle Eastern food were on any networks, she decided to bring the recipes to life through videos on YouTube. She made her first cooking series in 2011 based on a unique regional dish called Mussakhan. When Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network was scouting talent for their new reality show based on cooking and other lifestyle genres, Blanche entered her online program. Within two days she got a call from Mark Burnett Productions, expressing interest in her personality and show. She ranked in the top 35 out of 10,000 entries. That gave her the impetus to keep going with the project. Today you can see her cooking videos on any Virgin America flight as part of the in-flight entertainment!
The more she experimented with recipes, the more she realized she could combine eastern and western influences to make old recipes modernized. For instance, she got a massive response from viewers when she posted her Machos (Middle Eastern Nachos) Ma’Moul Cake, Arabic Coffee Ice Cream, Baklava Granola, and Labneh Cheesecake recipes. Taking classic Arabic ingredients like labneh cheese, Arabic coffee, and baklava to transform them into Americanized dishes is one of her specialties. She discovered that people were less afraid to try her recipes when they had a familiar American ring to them, even if they had exotic ingredients.
Other than Virgin America, Feast in the Middle East has been in partnerships with several networks, including Tastemade and Curious. Her show has also been featured on Roku boxes under the program title “World Eats,” and she also has a popular ongoing Feast in the Middle East newspaper column. The feedback has been tremendous, with thousands of visitors every day from around the world visiting and commenting on her blog, YouTube page, articles, and Facebook pages. Check this blog regularly for updated recipes, cooking tips, information about exotic ingredients, family stories, and videos of Blanche’s cooking journey.
Here is the Feast in the Middle East Trailer:
Blanche is available for recipe development, travel/press events, product reviews, brand promotion, and sponsored posts and videos. If you are interested in having your product featured in any of her videos or wish to do collaborative work with Blanche, please send an e-mail to Blanchetv@hotmail.com
Blanche is a journalist/food blogger based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She got her Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy of Industrial Societies at U.C. Berkeley, followed by a broadcast journalism Master’s Degree (Magna Cum Laude) She speaks Spanish and Arabic, is a certified Zumba Fitness and bootcamp instructor, and a fervent abolitionist, supporting Not for Sale and the International Justice Movements against human trafficking and slavery. She is also a Compassion Project sponsor for a kindergartner in Colombia.
Blanche in the Press–Newspaper article samples:
https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2017/03/30/feast-in-the-middle-east
St. Patrick’s Day Twist on Cabbage
Smells, Tastes of Traditional Holiday Meal Transports Family Back to Homeland
Machos, Middle Eastern Nachos Ideal for Super Bowl
DIY Shawarma Wraps Up Streetside Classic
All recipes here are trademarked and copywritten under the Writers Guild of America and are a part of the Feast in the Middle East trademark. So while they are for your enjoyment in the kitchen, you may not copy, transmit, use, modify, duplicate, reproduce, distribute, or republish written material or photos without crediting this site. If you wish to share recipes, all content on http://www.feastinthemiddleeast.com is licensed and is the original creation and property of Feast in the Middle East (unless otherwise noted).
You may use photos from feastinthemiddleeast.com as long as their usage adheres to the following license criteria: (a) the photo is to be credited to feastinthemiddleeast.com, and such credit is to be placed directly under the photo with the text “photo provided courtesy of feastinthemiddleeast.com,” the photo and the text “feastinthemiddleeast.com” must be linked back to feastinthemiddleeast.com/ (b) you may not use any photos for commercial purposes. (c) You may not alter, transform, or build upon any photos.
you may use recipes from feastinthemiddleeast.com as long as their usage adheres to the following license criteria: (a) the recipe is to be credited to feastinthemiddleeast.com; such credit is to be linked back to the original recipe at feastinthemiddleeast.com/ (b) you may not use any recipes for commercial purposes. Please contact Feast in the Middle East, give a link back to this site, and mention the name of this blog within the credit.
Thanks in advance for your support!
Blanchetv@hotmail.com
Just watched your recipe for Fattoush. Like your other recipes here, it’s exactly like my mom’s! Therefore, you’re now my newest best friend. Question: Beside the color, what’s the difference between zatar and sumack? I have always had both, but never taste a huge difference. BTW: My mom’s kibbe (the kind that’s UFO shaped w/ pine nuts) is absolutely amazing!
I bet your momma is an amazing cook Kell–I learned how to do all the old school stuff from my mother as well 🙂 Love that you described kibbeh as ufo shaped, (too cute) we just call them footballs but I would never throw them cause I would never get em back! 🙂 To answer your question, zatar is a spice primarily made of thyme, with hints of sumac in it sometimes. It has an herbal nutty flavor. Sumac is more lemony in flavor from the sumac berry. As a matter of fact, if you want to add a touch of sourness to food you can add sumac. You can use both to season chicken fish and vegetables. Of course with zatar you can eat plain with bread but with sumac that is not the best idea 😉
Thank you for responding!
I do put zatar on pita, w/ olive oil and tomatoes, but usually use sumac in my summer salads when purslane is growing.
Re: Kibbe – My mom also makes the football ones (kabboush?). The ufo shaped ones are perfect for grilling. Our all-time favorite is nayyeh with melted butter & onions on top.
Now I’m hungry.
Now you are making me hungry too lol!!
Do you ever list your recipes on your site? I do love your vids with all the great instruction (keep em coming) but sometimes just want to refer back to the ingredients and directions. Thanks so much.
Currently you can see my recipes in print form on http://my.ifood.tv/feast-in-the-middle-east but I plan to put all of the recipes in a e-cookbook within a year. Thanks for your interest.:)
I love your recipes. I love your Mom she is the bomb! Please do the Kanafe video.
God bless and hugs!
Lori Jo
Aw thanks Lori! Will pass the message on to her–God bless and thanks for your feedback! 😉
Please Blanche,
Could you do a full You-Tube on how to make real Lebanese Rice with meat, the same kind you see in Lebanese Restaurants as their side dish. Thank you for you’re awesome recipes. Love the videos with your mom. I lost my lovely mom in 2012. She was an amazing cook and my best friend. I have so many memories of her and I cooking together. Your You-Tubes with your mom makes me think of my mom and all the fun times we had together. So I thank you for including your mother. Shalom, Lisa
Hi Lisa! I do have a video for the rice, it’s about as authentic as it can get, and easy too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLiRpUmr8Cg&index=7&list=PLm5-PI4h0s4rITyI6Hd9bn2R328rBe8CB As for the meat do you mean kebab? Thanks for sharing the story of your mother, I am incredibly sorry for your loss, and glad I can bring back good memories for you. Consider us part of your virtual family!
Salam,
Blanche
Habibti Blanche, Love your page and channel. Could you please make a video for Maqlooba. Thank You keep up the good work your making us Palestinians proud.
Thank you so much for your kind words Nidal. I love Maqlooba! The only reason I haven’t done it yet is I am thinking of a less time consuming way to make it for a short video. Once I figure that out I will do a video on it. 🙂 Best regards, Blanche
You are such a sweetie, thank you so much! xoxo