Cuisine

Lebanese & Middle Eastern Personal Chef: Beyond the Corner Esfiharia

Q: "How much does a Lebanese personal chef cost in Brazil?"

"Full mezze dinners on myChef generally run from R$ 140 to R$ 260 per person. The range depends on how many mezze plates you want and whether the centerpiece is charcoal-grilled kafta or a slow-roasted lamb, which sits at the top of the range. Ingredients are included in the quote."

Q: "How many mezze dishes do I get, and does it work for small groups?"

"A typical mezze spread runs 8 to 12 plates for groups of six or more. For an intimate dinner of 2 to 4 guests, chefs scale to 5 or 6 well-chosen mezze plus one main so nothing goes to waste — the abundance stays, the leftovers stay reasonable."

Q: "Is kibe cru safe to serve at home?"

"Yes, when handled professionally. Chefs buy fresh-ground or hand-minced beef from trusted butchers on the day of the event, keep it strictly chilled and season it just before serving — exactly how diaspora families have served kibe cru for generations."

Q: "Can the menu be fully vegetarian?"

"Easily. Levantine cuisine has one of the deepest vegetarian repertoires anywhere: homus, baba ghanoush, tabule, falafel, mujadara, charutos stuffed with rice and herbs, cheese esfihas and grilled halloumi make a complete feast with no meat on the table."

Q: "My family is of Lebanese descent — can the chef cook our specific family dishes?"

"This is one of the most common and most loved requests. Share your family's dishes — a particular kibe recipe, mloukhieh, kafta the way your grandmother made it — and the chef will prepare them, or even cook alongside a family member to learn the house version."

Brazil knows esfiha and kibe from every street corner — but the sprawling home-style mezze, the hand-rolled charutos and the lamb that roasted for hours are a different world. A private Levantine chef brings that world to your table.

The Home Cooking Behind Brazil's Favorite Arab Food

Brazil hosts one of the largest Lebanese and Syrian communities on the planet — centered in São Paulo, where esfiha, kibe and homus long ago became everyday Brazilian food. But what sells at the corner esfiharia is only the doorway. The real treasure is the home cooking that diaspora families guard: coalhada seca made the slow way, kibe cru seasoned by hand the day it is served, grape leaves rolled one by one around spiced rice, lamb cooked until it falls off the bone.

That food is built for hosting. A Levantine table is a mezze — a dozen hot and cold plates arriving in waves, everything shared, everyone reaching. It is generous, social and naturally healthy, resting on olive oil, legumes, fresh herbs and grilled meats. Sahtein, the toast that accompanies it, means double health: eating well and eating together.

A Lebanese and Middle Eastern personal chef recreates that abundance at your home — whether you come from an Arab family and miss the flavors of your grandmother's kitchen, or you have only ever known esfiha and want to discover what sits behind it.

A Levantine Feast, Dish by Dish

Homus and Baba Ghanoush

beginner

Silky chickpea purée with tahini and lemon, alongside smoky flame-roasted eggplant — the two dips that anchor every mezze, finished with good olive oil and warm pita.

Best for: Opening the mezze and vegetarian guests

Tabule

beginner

The real Lebanese version — overwhelmingly parsley and mint with fine bulgur, tomato and a bright lemon dressing, nothing like the grain-heavy imitations.

Best for: Fresh counterpoint to grilled meats and fried mezze

Kibe Cru and Kibe Frito

advanced

The test of any Levantine cook: raw kibe of hand-minced beef, fine bulgur and spices served with olive oil and mint, plus the crisp fried torpedoes stuffed with meat and pine nuts.

Best for: Families from the diaspora and adventurous eaters

Esfiha Aberta and Fechada

intermediate

Soft, thin dough baked around spiced meat, cheese or zaatar — open Armenian-style or folded into triangles, straight from the oven instead of a delivery box.

Best for: Crowd-pleasing starters and casual gatherings

Charuto de Folha de Uva

advanced

Grape leaves rolled one by one around rice, herbs and meat, braised slowly in lemony broth — labor-intensive home cooking that almost no restaurant does properly.

Best for: Impressing guests who know Arab food well

Coalhada Seca and Labneh

intermediate

Strained yogurt turned thick and tangy, swirled with olive oil and zaatar — the breakfast and mezze staple of every Lebanese-Brazilian household, made the traditional slow way.

Best for: Mezze tables and lighter, brighter menus

Cordeiro com Arroz e Castanhas

advanced

Lamb slow-roasted for hours until fork-tender, served over cinnamon-scented rice showered with toasted almonds, pine nuts and cashews — the celebratory centerpiece of the Levant.

Best for: Sunday feasts and special-occasion dinners

Baklava and Doces Árabes

intermediate

Layers of crisp filo, nuts and fragrant syrup, alongside classics like ninho de noiva and maamoul, paired with Arabic coffee scented with cardamom.

Best for: Sweet finales and gifts for the host

Why Hire a Personal Chef for Lebanese & Middle Eastern Food

The dishes worth eating are the ones that take all day

Anyone can buy a frozen esfiha. But charutos rolled by hand, kibe cru seasoned and served within hours, and lamb that needed a full afternoon in the oven are labors of love no restaurant kitchen scales. A personal chef gives those dishes the time they demand — in your kitchen.

A mezze is a production, not a recipe

Twelve plates, hot and cold, arriving in the right order at the right temperature — that is event logistics as much as cooking. Your chef orchestrates the whole wave so the table never has an empty spot and you never leave your guests.

Technique you can taste in every bite

Getting kibe to the right texture, balancing tahini against lemon, keeping grape leaves intact through a long braise — these are skills passed down through generations. Chefs source ingredients from the Arab emporiums around São Paulo's Rua 25 de Março and Mercado Municipal, where the diaspora has shopped for a century.

Naturally generous to every diet at the table

Between homus, tabule, falafel, grilled vegetables and labneh, a Levantine menu feeds vegetarians, vegans and gluten-conscious guests lavishly without a single awkward substitution — while the meat eaters get their lamb and kibe.

An Evening of Levantine Hospitality, Step by Step

Before the event

You and your chef design the mezze — how many cold and hot plates, which mains, any family favorites. The chef sources bulgur, tahini, grape leaves and spices from trusted Arab markets and starts slow preparations like coalhada a day ahead.

The cold mezze

The table opens with homus, baba ghanoush, tabule, labneh and olives, with warm pita arriving in baskets. Arak or a Lebanese wine pairing can open the toasts — sahtein!

The hot mezze

Waves of kibe frito, esfihas from the oven, falafel and sfihas keep landing while conversation builds — the Levantine rhythm where the meal is the entertainment.

The centerpiece

The main arrives: slow-roasted lamb over nut-strewn rice, or a mixed charcoal grill of kafta and shish taouk. The chef carves and serves at the table, telling the story behind each dish.

Coffee, sweets and a clean kitchen

Baklava and Arab sweets close the night with cardamom-scented coffee. While you linger, the chef cleans everything and boxes generous leftovers — mezze is famously even better the next day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Lebanese personal chef cost in Brazil?

Full mezze dinners on myChef generally run from R$ 140 to R$ 260 per person. The range depends on how many mezze plates you want and whether the centerpiece is charcoal-grilled kafta or a slow-roasted lamb, which sits at the top of the range. Ingredients are included in the quote.

How many mezze dishes do I get, and does it work for small groups?

A typical mezze spread runs 8 to 12 plates for groups of six or more. For an intimate dinner of 2 to 4 guests, chefs scale to 5 or 6 well-chosen mezze plus one main so nothing goes to waste — the abundance stays, the leftovers stay reasonable.

Is kibe cru safe to serve at home?

Yes, when handled professionally. Chefs buy fresh-ground or hand-minced beef from trusted butchers on the day of the event, keep it strictly chilled and season it just before serving — exactly how diaspora families have served kibe cru for generations.

Can the menu be fully vegetarian?

Easily. Levantine cuisine has one of the deepest vegetarian repertoires anywhere: homus, baba ghanoush, tabule, falafel, mujadara, charutos stuffed with rice and herbs, cheese esfihas and grilled halloumi make a complete feast with no meat on the table.

My family is of Lebanese descent — can the chef cook our specific family dishes?

This is one of the most common and most loved requests. Share your family's dishes — a particular kibe recipe, mloukhieh, kafta the way your grandmother made it — and the chef will prepare them, or even cook alongside a family member to learn the house version.

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