Around the World on a Dinner Plate, Lebanese style

Feb 25, 2016

Winter months in Canada's north are the perfect time for locals to brave the cold and get together to share a meal, especially when the proceeds go to a local community cause. At the MERA schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners, that tradition is the popular foodie fundraiser, Around the World on a Dinner Plate, which takes place four times in the winter, twice each in the months of February and March. Local volunteers prepare an exotic meal, usually for about 40 diners, who pay $15 a plate. The meal is often inspired by a far-flung country to which the chefs may have recently traveled.

On February 19, chefs Lyndal and Michael Neelin took the lead in the kitchen, with the help of Jan and Steve Griffiths. The Neelins, who have never been to Lebanon, were inspired by their frequent foodie forays into the city of Ottawa. They are big fans of the many Lebanese restaurants there.

“We love Lebanese food, and eat it all of the time when we are Ottawa doing errands,” Lyndal said on Friday night at MERA, where she and her team were preparing the meal. “It's fast, tasty, healthy and inexpensive.”

The menu included kafta kabobs made with a mixture of ground beef and fresh herbs and spices; grape leaves stuffed with rice, lentils, chick peas, tomato and mint; a tabouleh salad that featured bulgur, parsley, and cilantro; plus ample sides of hummus and baba ghanouj. A green salad known as fatoush, made with lettuce and considerable amounts of fresh mint and parsley, plus red onions and cucumber, and dressed with traditional olive oil, honey and lemon juice, was also served. The meal was accompanied with pita bread known as manakish, which is rubbed with a spice mixture known as za'atar, a blend of dried thyme, sesame seeds and sumac.

Dessert is enjoyed courtesy of the diners, who are asked to contribute a potluck sweet for all to share. While the chef(s) at these events will sometimes dress in costume, or read an appropriate themed story, the Neelins brought with them some Lebanese music for the diners to enjoy.

The first event, which was held earlier this month, was a hearty men's themed dinner and in March the events will continue with German and Irish-themed meals. Past meals have included Japanese, Ethiopian, French Canadian, Australian and more. The usually sold out events continue to bring together food lovers for a hearty evening of exotic food and fundraising.