Denise "DedeMed" Hazime

I am a Mediterranean cuisine specialist, having written 2 Mediterranean Food Cookbooks. I acquired a love of cooking at a very young age. Growing up in a large Lebanese family steeped in culinary tradition, I was exposed early on to a wide range of cooking techniques by my mother, who taught me the essentials for preparing all types of Mediterranean dishes. As a child, if I wasn’t in the kitchen helping my mom cook, I was in front of the TV watching Julia Child and Jeff Smith on The Frugal Gourmet.

But having parents from Lebanon meant we traveled to Lebanon almost every summer. And luckily we got to stop and do some exploring in many countries on the way there. This planted the seed for my love of travel.  Thankfully I found a husband who likes to do the same since he lived abroad as a child. I love to explore other cultures and countries to learn their history and taste their food. And so this blog was born to help capture all my experiences and share them with you and hopefully encourage you to take that step.