In this episode of Magical Mornings, we featured Leyla Fathallah, a Celebrity chef who became a presenter on the cooking channel Fatafeat TV in 2009. She has taught classes at numerous restaurants and schools, including the Lebanese International University, and in 2018, she founded the company L Cuisine Catering.
Here's the interview of Leyla with UnitePod.
Q. How did your journey to become a chef begin and what was your first step towards being a chef?
Leyla: My journey began by pure co-incidence. I was giving my husband lunch on a daily basis for him to eat at work. That’s where his colleagues started tasting my food and asked me if it was okay for me to send lunch boxes for them on a daily basis as well. So this is where this all started. Since then I started working on my skills, learning new recipes and watching YouTube videos and googling more recipes information and more techniques of cooking food
Q. Have you have taken any formal training to cook or is it all based on your passion?
Leyla: My cooking started with my passion for it but when I became a chef on TV, I decided that I needed to learn more techniques and skills with a tutor. So, this is when I joined the Le Cordon Blue in Lebanon University in which I took 2 courses there to improve myself.
Q. It is said that great passion can make the impossible happen and you are definitely a living embodiment of that. This brings me to the next question. Why did you decided to become a chef and what were the back of the house position?
Leyla: I just wanted to become a chef because that was my passion. I love cooking and I love exploring different recipes. I love working with dough, baking and many more. So my passion led me to become a chef and I have never worked with anything else in my entire life.
Q. If you can step into my shoes for a moment what you would ask yourself that I haven’t yet.
Leyla: Well, I would have asked myself whether I am satisfied with what I am doing. And my answer will be yes, but I want to do more. I want to work on myself even more and become a better person. I want to help people and influence them because this is what I love to do.
Q. Leyla, you influence a lot of people. Talking about influencing, is there a chef that you admire a lot, who influenced you the most and why?
Leyla: The chef that I admire the most is the legend, Julia Child. She inspires me a lot because when I watched her movie, Julie & Julia, I discovered that we share the same beginning. We started with the same steps. Everything that has happened to her has happened to me. So this is why I admire her the most and I think she is my muse.
Q. What is your favorite cuisine and why?
Leyla: My favorite cuisine is Lebanese cuisine. I enjoy cooking Lebanese recipes because it’s so diverse and rich. In one meal you can have proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables which is why I think it is my favorite. After the Lebanese cuisine, I like Italian food.
Q. What message do you have for our listeners and where can they connect with you?
Leyla: My message is follow your passion, do what you love and you will reach where you want to reach because your passion leads you to success. That’s the only rule. And they can connect with me on my Instagram account @chefleylafathallah and enjoy my recipes which I share on it.
Q. It was such a pleasure talking with you today. We learned a lot of things. I really think our listeners learned a lot too. Thank you so much for being here!
Leyla: It was a pleasure being here with you. Thank you.
That is a wrap of Episode 9 of Magical Mornings featuring Leyla Fathallah who shared her journey about her passion for cooking and how it evolved into her being a successful Chef.
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