Hisham Assaad is a Beirut-based Lebanese-Palestinian cookbook author. Hisham’s work is dedicated to eating and to preserving and celebrating culinary heritage of Bilad Al Sham. Drawing from his family’s Palestinian roots, his Lebanese upbringing in a refugee camp, his mother’s cooking, and his father’s butcher lineage, Hisham blends gastronomy, with a dash of humor and joy, to create personal, resonant projects.
Hisham Assaad’s work is recognized for its unique blend of culinary expertise, cultural preservation, and social engagement, reflecting the perseverance and spirit of the Lebanese and Palestinian people in the face of constant appropriation and erasure.
Publications and Features
Hisham is the author of two celebrated cookbooks: Bayrūt The Cookbook (published by Smith Street Books in 2021 and a new edition in 2025) and Taboon – Sweet and Savoury Delights from the Lebanese Bakery (published by Smith Street Books in 2024)
Bayrūt The Cookbook explores traditional Beiruti recipes and recreates classic street recipes and personal family recipes.
Taboon – Sweet and Savoury Delights from the Lebanese Bakery is an homage to the dough-based baked goods and sweets of Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria.
Hisham and his books were featured in stores and publications like Forbes, Nigella Lawson’s Cookbook Corner, Dan Lepard’s website and podcast, Eat Your Books, Milk Street, Olive Magazine, H&M Home, and more. Recently, he was a guest at the Sharjah International Book Fair at the Cookery Corner and flew to Italy to cook Lebanese food and wine tasting and a talk at La Vedette with author Michael Zee and teach and cook recipes from his books in San Miniato, Tuscany at Enoteca Marilu, owned by author Emiko Davies and her husband Marco Lami. He also collaborated on a 4-hand Palestinian brunch in Paris with the winner of 2026 Top Chef Arabia Ruba Khoury.
Since 2020, Hisham has been featuring on a local morning radio show with Zaven Kouyoumdjian, a pioneer in Lebanese media with a weekly cooking segment. He is also a contributor to printed and online publications like The Carton, Vittles, Afikra’s Daftar, and AlRawiya to name a few.
Beginnings and other talents
In 2013 Hisham founded his food blog Cookin5m², named after the small kitchen he used to cook in, which was his official entry into the food world. He independently manages all aspects of content creation, including recipe development, food styling, photography, writing, and digital engagement but he shares his cooking with his family and friends.
Hisham worked as a culinary guide with Taste Lebanon, the top rated culinary tour company in Lebanon at the time. He also conducted many cooking classes and workshops in Lebanon and abroad.
As a photographer, Hisham is credited for all the lifestyle (non-recipe) shots from both his books. Commercially, he has collaborated with prominent food brands in Lebanon as well as taking portraits for local theater campaigns and celebrities. His personal photography work has been featured in solo exhibitions and artist residencies. Beyond his culinary and artistic pursuits, he is also active as a humanitarian clown, using creativity and humor to support communities in need.
Travels
To promote the culture of his home countries, Hisham has traveled to Europe and Arab countries, where he was hosted as a guest speaker or guest cook, as well as leading cooking workshops, hosting supper clubs, and brunches in places like Paris, Montpellier, Marseille, Barcelona, Tuscany, Piemonte, Amman, Sharjah, and, of course, Beirut.
