Chickpea Lessons in a Taxicab

By Andrew Hunter

With my travel schedule, I end up in a lot of taxicabs. I’m always curious about the drivers, where they’re from, and if they’re professionals, craftsmen or artists from a faraway place. Since it’s rude to ask such questions directly, I usually engage in conversation and their stories typically come flowing forth.

Meet Kareem, a Palestinian driver in Phoenix. I jumped into his taxi yesterday wearing my chef jacket; Kareem called me “Chef” with a reverence of someone from a fancy hotel background…turns out he once worked for the Ritz-Carlton. I reciprocated by asking respectful questions of him, which evolved into a discussion on mezze platters. I’m working on a mezze concept and so am especially interested.

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