Palestinian Farm-to-Table Cuisine Is Still Alive Under Occupation

I picked one hell of a week to visit the West Bank for a food trip. Having arrived in the region on the very day that the three Israeli teens were kidnapped and later killed, I watched “Operation Brother’s Keeper” escalate around me as I traveled from city to city sampling Palestine’s diverse and wonderful cuisine. As of today, the situation continues to spiral out of control and Palestine is once again in the news, looking to the outside world as nothing but a deeply violent and inhospitable place. But the food of Palestine is at both an escape from and a direct mainline into the heart of the conflict.

One place I kept coming back to was Hosh Jasmin, an organic farm and restaurant set on a hillside in the Bethlehem-area town of Beit Jala that’s remarkable for its truly fantastic food, hospitable people, and beautiful setting. Think Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, but under occupation.

Mazen Saadeh, who describes himself chiefly as a writer and filmmaker, started Hosh Jasmin (known as “Hosh al-Yasmine” in Arabic) in 2012 after a successful stint in Birzeit, near Ramallah, with a restaurant-cum-exhibition space called Hosh al-Elleeya. He originally got the idea for a farm and restaurant while living in Portland with his American ex-wife, but returned to Palestine when the opportunity arose in Birzeit. Hosh al-Elleeya didn’t have a farm—what Saadeh desired the most—so a friend alerted him to his family’s available land in Beit Jala. After extensive renovations of the farmhouse, which dates back to 1944, the restaurant opened its doors to an enthusiastic response from locals as well as expats, including Jerusalem-based foreign government workers. In addition to the restaurant, Mazen and his staff run movie nights, yoga nights, and welcome overnight campers.

Original article:

Palestinian Farm-to-Table Cuisine Is Still Alive Under Occupation