"It's more than food tasting, it's about a cause. It's a cause about the food that connects us in the best country in the world… It's about that gathering, the coffee, our drinks, and much more."
With these words, award-winning food vlogger and photographer Anthony Rahayel summarise his journey with food.
"From Lebanon, I went to Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt in a quest to re-connect our Arabic culture that has so much in common. We share the same values of hospitality, generosity, rich flavours, and much more," says Rahayel.
With his hand-held camera, Rahayel is a one-man show. He walks into a restaurant and straight to the kitchen to meet who's behind the "bench".
Rahayel continues to document his love of za'atar, manoushe and labneh. "Maybe people are bored of some stuff that I keep repeating, and I apologise for that," he says.
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"I do add labneh to everything I eat. I eat one manoushe every day. Some people actually call me the manoushe guy. This is one nickname amongst many others... that I think sometimes people don't know my real name!" His favourite nickname is 'Lebanon's lover'.
More than food tasting
Rahayel loves sharing how Lebanese food has evolved. "Our kitchen presented vegan dishes thousands of years ago. We were ahead of our times," he says. "However, it's a cuisine that kept on evolving through learning from the different civilisations that came to our country throughout history."
The way dishes are presented has changed too. "The fattoush is still one dish that combines all these incredible vegetables, but generations added fancy touches by a crispier bread and different shapes for the vegetables."
No Garlic No Onions
Although garlic and onion are the base of almost every Lebanese dish, they're not in Rahayel's cooking. "No garlic, no onions" was a dietary requirement whenever Rahayel visited family and friends.
What started off as a food allergy evolved into a brand name, turning him into a passionately followed food influencer. Rahayel's Instagram account, , has more than 350k followers who tune in to his food stories, and just as importantly, to see his homeland.
It's more than food tasting, it's about a cause.
"With all due respect to teta [grandma] who said, 'son, you have to eat toom [garlic] because it's good for your health,' I don't think she knew that it didn't need to be added to the dishes I enjoy."
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Manakish three ways
Rahayel is not a trained chef (he's actually a dental surgeon), and though some don't agree with his view on garlic, his show continues to grow in popularity and his family are big supporters as well.
He still brings smiles to the faces of thousands without a dental drill. His website, , has over 7,000 food and travel reviews because "every meal is a culinary journey and a tale that needs to be told".
So what does this seasoned traveller and food blogger think of Australian Lebanese cuisine? "I was so surprised how tasty the saj manoushe is here – wow".
