Showing posts with label avital levy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label avital levy. Show all posts

Saturday, July 27, 2013

HUMMUS COMPETITION STORY ON KCRW BLOGS

Sometimes life just moves too fast and some things don't get the attention they deserve. 
But better late than never - so we're posting a bit late - the blog from KCRW of the Hummus competition that was conducted here in LA.
Yours truly was one of the judges in a Hummus competition and sat on the same panel as Evan Kleinman - one of the most respected food critics in California who's honesty, and exquisite taste has helped educate Angelenos and make LA one of the food capitals of the nation.  

In the first LA Hummus competition  Egyptian Nancy Boules of Cafe Dahab won.   

Egypt as mentioned in the past in our Hummus blog had been the birth place of Hummus - so there was something historic in this win. 

Do check out Cafe Dahab: 
http://www.cafedahab.com/

It is so wonderful that Hummus is slowly making it's way into mainstream culture - cause it is a food that is both healthy, nutritious and so tasty.

Enjoy the article and hope it makes you want to eat an entire bowl of Hummus.




http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2012/06/hummus-competition-aka-continuing-food-education/

Hummus Competition – aka Continuing Food Education

Posted June 5, 2012 by  | Comments Off | 3,357 views]

I don’t judge many food competitions, but when I was asked to judge a Hummus Competition I was intrigued. I eat hummus. I make hummus. But I’m not an expert on the addicting puree.
I’ve never been to Israel or Lebanon or Egypt so I have no frame of reference for what is considered correct and delicious in situ.  I have no idea of regional variations.  The contest, organized by filmmaker Avital Levy, and billed as a fundraiser for her documentary “Hummus Wars” would feature “5-7 contestants – all very different – a couple Israelis, a few Americans, 1 or 2 who never made hummus before, a chef for Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks studios and one for an Egyptian restaurant.

I don’t judge many food competitions, but when I was asked to judge a Hummus Competition I was intrigued. I eat hummus. I make hummus. But I’m not an expert on the addicting puree.
I’ve never been to Israel or Lebanon or Egypt so I have no frame of reference for what is considered correct and delicious in situ.  I have no idea of regional variations.  The contest, organized by filmmaker Avital Levy, and billed as a fundraiser for her documentary “Hummus Wars” would feature “5-7 contestants – all very different – a couple Israelis, a few Americans, 1 or 2 who never made hummus before, a chef for Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks studios and one for an Egyptian restaurant.
Since 2007 Israel and Lebanon have battled with chickpeas and tahini over the Guinness World Record for the largest bowl of hummus.  As the years go by the competition has pushed the size from a paltry 900 lbs to the current Lebanese behemoth bowl at 23,042 lbs (see photo above).  The title has gone back and forth across the border over the years.
The competition at a private home in the Hollywood Hills featured American, Israeli and Egyptian competitors.  How could I turn down such an excellent opportunity to further my hummus education?  My fellow judges were Dudi Caspi, writer for Shavua Israel and hummus lover and Dan Katzir, filmmaker and hummus blogger.  The MC started the evening off with the comment, “The moon is rising over the trees like a big bowl of hummus.”
Entries ranged from a lemony, super smooth Egyptian puree to a rough mash made in the pre-blender/food processor style.  There was an assertive SoCal version made with Jalapenos and a New York entry that was dense and sweetened with caramelized onions.  Cumin was omnipresent in some and nearly absent in others.  A couple could have used a little salt.  I learned a lot, laughed even more and learned that democracy is a powerful thing.  Turns out that we judges came to the same conclusion as the audience “tasters” who were texting their faves.
The winner for 2012  was the super smooth lemony hummus made by Egyptian Nancy Boules of Cafe Dahab. Runner up was 70 year old Jerusalemite Ram Alkaly, represented by his son Ben.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

HUMMUS WARS - NOW THE MOVIE!






Awhile back we reported to all of you about the Hummus Wars between Israel and Lebanon.
We even followed up on that funny story that kept developing like a true Middle Eastern Soap opera.
(For all those who forgot -

Click here for the AP story reported by the NYPOST




Well, like all real life soap operas - Hollywood eventually comes knocking - and this story is now being made into a film by gifted Los Angeles director - Avital Levy.

The project already has a trailer that can be seen and they're raising money for it on Jewcer.com - A Jewish kickstarter.
And for those who have been living under a rock for the last six month and have never heard the name Kickstarter -
Kickstarter.com has become the premiere destination for many filmmakers and all other visionaries to raise funding for their various projects.
But while Kickstarter has endless projects and thus it's easy for fund seekers to get lost in the shuffle -
Jewcer aims at catering to a more specific crowd and for more focused projets and hopes that will make it easier for those interested in Jewish themes to find the right project they'd like to fund.
Here's what I found on them online:

"Jewcer is a crowdfunding platform for projects, ideas and causes benefiting the global Jewish community and Israel. Jewcer innovators and funders make a positive impact on the world by sparking innovations and turning ideas into reality."

Here's the link to the Hummus War's Jewcer page
Their goal is to raise $8000 and they've already raised $345

Here's what they write about the project:


"Hummus Wars is a documentary about national pride through food and by breaking a world record. Each country has the intention of winning and remaining steadfast about their superiority, ownership and historical connections to hummus. The goal of the documentary is to shoot the battle from the perspective of each country - Israel and Lebanon while capturing the events and points of view from within these countries which have been neck to neck to win since 2007. Ultimately, this is the story of people, community and two little countries attempting to reach a form of self-determination through their status with hummus."

Directed by Avital Levy
Cinematography by Aner Moss + Avital Levy
Edited by Orly Shuber + Avital Levy

So for all you Hummus lovers - I hope you help them out, cause I think the world needs more Hummus themed films.

Good luck to the filmmakers and we can't wait to see your Hummus film.

If you want more info here are the links both to Jewcer and to the Hummus War's page:


And for those wanting to pursue their own project on Jewcer, Click here for Jewcer