What inspires your menu?
I am influenced by nature, and I tend to plate my dishes in nature-inspired handmade pottery and ceramic plates. I always try to showcase the ingredients without too many additions. Simple yet complicated defines the menu. All the plates were selectively chosen for each dish, making each meal memorable for the eye as well as for the palate.
What is the correlation between nature and food?
What we eat defines the nature around us; that’s why growing our own vegetables, grains and fruits helps the environment, makes us sustainable and definitely adds to the freshness of what we are eating. One cannot properly work without the other.
Why did you choose to locate brût in Hrajel?
Hrajel is my hometown, and brût’s kitchen is installed in a room built by my grandfather, which I’m proud to showcase to the world. Also, I’m lucky that the building is located in an exceptional area that’s surrounded by greenery. There’s even a river close by.
Are there any new projects you can tell us about?
There are always new opportunities. I’m still working with the UN on several projects, and I have some consultancies in KSA, Qatar and the UAE. I also still have a lot of hope and belief in Beirut, so who knows, maybe something is cooking there as well.
About author
Rita Ghantous
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector. Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC). She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book. She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter. Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler. It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
