Mayylu!

Hana El-Hibri was born in Alexandria in 1958 and, being a Lebanese diplomat's daughter, was raised variously in Egypt, Italy, Australia, Ghana, and Algeria. Frustrated by the often-stereotypical view of Lebanon by the rest of the world, she set out to change perceptions. A Million Steps (2010) was a pictorial diary of her trek through Lebanon from north to south, highlighting the country's natural beauty. Now in its third print run, the book has subsequently lent its name to preserving Lebanon's hiking trails. Mayylu! has been inspired by a similar wish to showcase a rural way of life and the ingredients that feed it. It is, she says, "a mosaic of fragments that piece together the beautiful tableau that is Lebanon's culinary heritage." Hana lives in Beirut with her husband Bassem. They have three grown boys.