Lebanon has gone through a number of hurdles, especially in the recent years, which include an economic downfall. Em Ali Karaki and her two kids, Jana and Ali made the best out of the situation and worked together to create Em Ali’s Kitchen — a small food business that offers meal deliveries and private cooking classes in Beirut, Lebanon. Ali Karaki (Em Ali’s son) shares the inspiring story of his mom’s food business and passion for cooking:

How did Em Ali’s Kitchen & Co start?

Em Ali's Kitchen and Co started out of a necessity in light of the economic crisis in Lebanon. It was a way for our family to be self sustainable and for my mother to be productive. My mother has always been a great cook and we thought we'd optimize on that. It started with my fiancee's colleagues who are German. They started ordering office lunches and fell in love with the food. They encouraged us to expand and start cooking for others. We succeeded because most of the dishes we offer cannot be found in restaurants, and the recipes my mom uses span many generations. In addition, the meals were affordable and the portions were generous. We also offer a wide variety of vegan, vegetarian and healthy products so that helped lure many in. Many of those who ordered our meals fell in love with the food and insisted to learn the meals to take a piece of Lebanon back home with them.

What does your mom like most about what she does?

My mom loves cooking, she spends most of the time in her kitchen and loves to experiment. But when asked what she enjoys most, it was definitely the positive feedback she receives from all the people who order and the degree of retention we have whereby most people who order once, tend to order on a weekly basis.

What does cooking mean to your mom?

Cooking is an art and a passion for my mother. As you can see, she puts a lot of effort into the decoration and presentation, not only the taste of the food. She feels lucky that she can make a living through her passion and hobby.

What are some of her popular dishes? What makes them so popular?

That's a hard question as it depends on the person's taste. But the most ordered dishes are Mahashi stew (Stuffed zucchinis, eggplants, potatoes, carrots) and Bazella (Green beans dish stew with vermicelli rice).

What are some key ingredients she regularly uses in Lebanese cooking?

One can't really emphasize certain ingredients used in Lebanese meals as you are well aware that the Lebanese cuisine is one of the richest cuisines in the world. However, Lebanese food uses a lot of bulgur, garlic, coriander, parsley among other things. For instance the most famous Lebanese salad is Tabbuleh, it is made of parsley, tomatoes, mint, green onion, lemon, olive oil and bulgur. Batata Harra dish contains a lot of coriander and garlic. We also pride ourselves with our olive trees, so we use a lot of olive oil.