Tony Kitous - Comptoir Libanais

Look, I am not a chef and I dont want to pretend that I am. Im a self-taught, passionate home cook who adores Lebanese food. My love of Lebanese food is very simple. I enjoy sharing good food: food thats healthy, delicious and, above all, simple and honest. And thats what this book is about. I wanted to share my passion, and I honestly believe that once you get close to Lebanese food, youll want to share it with your family and friends, and youll get hooked on it too.

YOU DONT NEED TO BE A CHEF TO cook Comptoir Libanais dishes. This is food to enjoy: its simple, its fun and its easy to make yourself. Its a way of eating that I hope youll want to embrace and make part of your lifestyle. Its friendly, its often vegetarian, and above all its affordable.

If I go back to when I was about 14 or 15, I didnt really have dreams for the future. I was a street boy. I was the type of boy who would go and hitch-hike, taking myself to the seaside, which was an hour away from where I grew up. Id wake up and tell my dad I was going to visit my neighbours family. My father naively believed me, so Id hitch-hike to the seaside, then call him and say that my neighbours had asked me to stay for a week or two. Sometimes Id stay a month and just call my dad and say, they want me to stay longer, while I was really squatting in lots of different friends houses at the seaside.

My holidays were my adventure time, and I had always been a boy who wanted to experience life. My father came from a very humble family and I couldnt rely on him giving me pocket money, as that sort of money was almost non-existent when I was growing up. I grew up living next to one of the biggest football stadiums in Algeria and at that time my city had one of the best football teams in the country, and whenever they played it was a sell-out. So, when I woke up in the morning during match time, Id buy 50 or 60 tickets, then Id sell them back and make some money. I was brought up on the street and I wanted to survive. I used to make street food, like sandwiches with merguez and fries and a little harissa, and I would go and sell them at the football matches. My mother was my accomplice, she used to help me out making the sandwiches, and obviously my father didnt know- that as he didnt want people to think that his son sold things on the street. I was always independent and someone who had summer jobs. That has always been my life. I was never dependent on my father because it wasnt an option.

I arrived in London when I was 18 years old, and I came here on holiday. Yet 25 years later it still feels like Im on holiday. I just love what I do so for me its been one long holiday and Ive just been working from day one.

People ask me if I was shocked by British food when I first arrived. But right from the start I appreciated whatever home cooking I found in front of me. I was on holiday, enjoying myself, and like any student I was trying to find myself, eating different kinds of foods, travelling around London trying to explore it and find my place. At first I lived everywhere, staying in north then south London, until I eventually settled in the west.

I came to London with 70 in my pocket, and with that money I managed to find work and start my career. At no stage did I feel it was difficult. I came here with no expectations, it was simply a holiday. I remember the day I arrived, and my first night sleeping at Victoria station. I remember it very well because there was a promotion for chocolate bars which they were handing out for free in the station. Thats something we definitely didnt have back home: we dont give out free chocolates in the street. And I remember my friend and I getting two huge bags of the chocolates and we lived on them for a couple of weeks. And then for the following few weeks I was living on kebabs from the Turkish restaurants in north London. Looking back, it sounds crazy but thats where my fascination with food and restaurants began. Sometimes the food you try isnt all that good, but I ate everything, and a voice in my head says, I can make this better. Perhaps it was my mothers influence, letting me think that with hard work and really good-tasting food you can excite customers. Thats what Ive always strived for. And from those early days in London it has been work, work, work. But delicious work.

With this book Tony Kitous brings his fast-paced and simple approach to the home cook, using evocative flavours and delicate textures inspired by the best food of the region.

To my dearest Dad, Haj Chabane Kitous Allah Yarhamak. Rest in peace. Just hoping you are next to me todayMissing you so much. This book is for you. Your son. TK

THERE ARE TWO THINGS ABOUT me that everyone knows. I love food and enjoy making food, and I love people too. Im the type of guy who just loves meeting people, talking to people wherever I am. Looking back at my childhood, selling those sandwiches outside the stadium gates was a sort of hospitality and that interaction with people was just as important as the product itself. You cant just say, heres a sandwich, give me your money. You have to challenge people with flavours and textures, open their minds to new tastes, and serve it with charm. Even if youre on the street you have to greet them as if youre in your own restaurant or your own home.