Joe Barza: From battlefield to kitchen

BEIRUT: Chef Joe Barza developed his passion for food the hard way: peeling lots of shrimp.

This was after being a bodyguard during the Civil War. But his mind was made up, and it was cooking that he was most passionate about.

He left soldiering, aiming to prove to himself that he could follow his dream of becoming a chef, but it was not an easy ride.

His first job was as an apprentice chef at a Chinese restaurant in Lebanon. It was a rough start, he told Annahar.

“On my first day, I had to sit on an empty tin of milk peeling more than 10 kg of shrimp; I actually started crying out of misery. I didn’t find any joy following other people’s recipes. However, when I started creating my own recipes I found a supreme pleasure and it became my passion,” he said.

Barza’s favourite dish is one of his signature recipes: marinated tuna with Shawarma spices on a bed of mille feuille of stuffed chards. 

He enlisted at the Hotel School of Arts in Lebanon at a time when cooking schools had very little budget. He remembers that a chicken used to be demonstrated “without it being present.”

Often during the Civil War, the school was used as a shelter for residents.

After graduating in 1982, he immigrated to South Africa to work as a chef there. Though abroad, he kept his vision of enhancing Lebanese cuisine and taking it to another level.

He explained his passion for his country’s food.

“There was a time when Lebanese people ate meat only on special occasions due to financial difficulties. It was then that some of Lebanon’s signature healthy vegetarian dishes were invented,” Barza said, adding that “dishes such as stuffed grape leaves and the hummus bi tahini formed our special cuisine.”

In the early 90s, Barza’s longing for homeland brought him back to Lebanon and took him to the next step in his career, where he found success as head chef at a number of restaurants such as “Century park hotel” and “The Chase.”

Based on his growing experience and popularity, Barza opened his own culinary consultant company.

As a culinary consultant, he advises rising chefs to seek experience instead of money at the beginning. As a beginner, he used to work two shifts per day: one paid and the other for free.

But it doesn’t end there.

Barza also co-hosted the first version “Top Chef” on LBC and was invited as a guest in its second version on MBC. Barza has also made the rounds of such international media as CNN and The New York Times.

Among other occupations, Barza is the executive chef at Bioland, a restaurant that only uses organic ingredients.

Gilbert Khoury, the general manager at Bioland noticed Barza’s creativity when visiting Bioland’s farms. He mentioned that he jumps into the farm, gathers some vegetables and within minutes makes a dazzling dish “out of almost nothing.”

Barza mused on his culinary vision.

“I’ve always aimed to improve the level of both food and the chefs in Lebanon,” he said, adding that “a necessary element in the cooking process is loving the people you’re cooking for. Why do children think their mother is the best cook? It’s because the food is made with love.” he told Annahar.