By Vivian Haddad – aawsat.com

Beirut-Lebanese cooks were not surprised when Beirut ranked in first
place as the Best International Cities for Food, according to statistics
released by Travel + Leisure (T+L) website. They all know that this
achievement is the result of years of efforts to spread the Lebanese
cuisine across the world, which made them excellent ambassadors for the
national cuisine.

The mentioned website carries out an annual survey “The World’s Best
Awards” to ask travelers to weigh in on travel experiences around the
globe to share their opinions and tourism experiences.
This year, Beirut’s gastronomy has beaten European and Asian countries;
Lebanese delicious platters have stolen lights from cities like Paris,
Florence, Bordeaux, Saint Miguel, and Rome despite their excellence in
the field.

Readers of the website shared their opinions on the top cities, islands, cruise lines, spas, airlines, and more. Results showed that Beirut has succeeded in capturing the first place
among ten other countries for serving best platters in its restaurants.
The Lebanese capital was respectively followed by San Sebastian, Paris,
Florence, Bologna, Roma, Saint Miguel, Chiang Mai, Barcelona, and
Bordeaux.

Chef Joe Barza, a Lebanese professional cook, said that over 20
years, a tremendous effort was made to spread the Lebanese food. He
added that organizers of the most important global gastronomy events
have always been fascinated with the savor of Lebanese platters.

Chef Maroun Chedid, another professional Lebanese cook, said that the
result was satisfying and that the Lebanese cuisine has become among
the best cuisines in the Middle East.

Beirut’s excellence in gastronomy is not a coincidence given that the
survey’s report has cited many local restaurants that serve traditional
platters like cooked foul, balilah, Fateh, and many others.

The report also noted that people in western cities like in Manhattan
and New York in the United States visit Lebanese restaurants to taste
these delicious platters.