While Lebanon may be far from adept at making governments, food is another matter: on Sunday Lebanese chefs came together to break a third Guinness record for food this year -- this
Lebanon may not be good at some things; getting a stable government is a case in point. But they sure are great at a lot of other stuff, and the best is probably their table's pleasures!
The tabbouleh record came only a day after Lebanon broke a Guinness record with a two-tonne serving of the chickpea-based dip hummus.
The tiny Mediterranean country -- which has yet to see a government formed over four months after a general election -- also set a record in August for the largest ever kebbe, a dish of minced meat and cracked wheat.
National songs blared from loudspeakers as the white-clad cooks mixed the tabbouleh into a mega-sized pottery dish on Sunday cheered on by thousands of onlookers, some waving Lebanese flags.
"Hummus comes from where? Tabbouleh comes from where?" asked the event host on a microphone.
"From here, from Lebanon," screamed the crowds in response. "One hundred percent Lebanese!"
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Both hummus and tabbouleh, as well as other treats such as baba ghannouj, an eggplant dip, are widely popular in Lebanon, Israel and around the globe.
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"It's pretty much common knowledge that I don't back down," said Fadi Abboud, who heads the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, just before the results were announced.
"And this time, I'm not stepping down."
Lebanese industrialists have said their case was similar to the one over feta cheese in which a European Union court ruled in 2002 that feta is exclusively Greek.
They argue that just as France and Scotland have succeeded in protecting their geographical appelation rights for sparkling wine from Champagne and Scotch whisky, so should Lebanon for some of its dishes.
Source-AFP
TAN