Wow. It’s been 7 months since we came back from Rio and we’re still trying to edit down the stuff we filmed there. This one is a real special one for me as it features the first man I ever saw cooking – my dad – Dr. Nadir Farah.

Kibe (or Quibe or Kibeh) is a great meal/snack. This recipe was passed down from my grandmother Inês, who came from Lebanon to a small town in countryside São Paulo in the 20s and joined a large Arab/Lebanese community which dominated that area. I never actually saw her making this recipe (or was too young to remember) but we prepared it at home many many times. In fact I remember always joining my dad and 2 brothers in the kitchen whenever Brazil was playing the world cup and we had friends coming round to watch the game.

Incidentally, Brazil couldn’t give a damn about the tensions in the Middle East. For us, anything past Greece is ‘Arab’. So Kibe usually falls within bracket of ‘Arab food’. And there are many ‘Arab food restaurants’ in Rio and São Paulo. Kibe itself is sold in practically every street bar in Rio as well as on the beaches. It’s a simple and wholesome snack and it can come with a variety of fillings.

Music:
The tracks in the clip are from Bottletop’s Sound Affects – Brazil. Bottletop is wonderful charity who use fashion and music to fund projects which have a positive impact on the health and well-being of young people world-wide. To find out more about their work, where to buy the CD and how to make a donation visit www.bottletop.org

The ‘chorinho’ track is by ‘Choro na Feira’ (www.choronafeira.com), who will be featured in another of our clips. I will post full details later.