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Tawlet restaurant showcases traditional food and supports women
9-5-2017
A special feature appeared in Al Akhbar today highlighting Tawlet authentic eatery in the Mar Mkhail neighborhood of Beirut. What distinguishes the restaurant, Al Akhbar wrote, is its effortlessness, particularly in its down-to-earth interior design, according to food entrepreneur and architect of Souk el Tayyib venture, Kamal Mozawak. The farmers’ market was set up back in 2004 with the aim to help small scale producers and rural farmers in selling their goods directly to consumers by bringing them to urban areas. The idea gradually developed in 2007 with the launch of Beirut’s Food and Feast summer events, Mozawak expounded. “While sustaining Souk el Tayyib, we sought to invite people to the countryside to savor the culinary native heritage of each area,” he told Al Akhbar reporter. Tawlet, he added, is a blend of both ventures aimed to give the benefit of the experience and delight in a sustainable manner through the establishment of a permanent restaurant that serves traditional Lebanese menus every day prepared by women cooks from their homes in the different regions. Mozawak said he did not intend to literally set up a diner but rather create a location that communicates his appreciation for local customs through food. He stressed the social objectives of Tawlet in terms of empowering “housewives” and assisting them to become active and productive in the labor market. Instead of being a mere entertainment or duty towards her family, the “housewife” has now a substantial source of income generated by cooking. Every woman who cooks at Tawlet, Mozawak told Al Akhbar, is paid USD 100 for her day’s work, plus USD 50 for transportation costs. She prepares one third of the dishes at her home, one third at Tawlet and the remaining is taken care of by the restaurant, Mozawak boasted, pointing that the woman cook is also reimbursed for the ingredients she used at her home as if “we are buying from her” . In conclusion, Mozawak pointed out that Tawlet gives women the opportunity to meet potential customers who could be interested in contracting them for special occasions, which has happened many times. (Al Akhbar, May 9, 2017)
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- العربية
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