Abdel Hashhoush - Chef of Neyla

Neyla's chef celebrates the good life 

Abdel Hashhoush could be a poster child for the American dream. The Lebanese chef of Neyla, tucked away on N Street just off Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown, is in love with the United States and the opportunities he has found here.

“How beautiful it is!” he enthuses. “We have freedom to work for ourselves. We have education.”

It’s the schooling he has received in America that he believes is his greatest gift. When Hashhoush arrived in Washington 10 years ago, he was unable to read or write.

Growing up in Lebanon with five brothers and four sisters, he didn’t get the chance to go to school, a privilege that went only to his oldest brother. From as early as he can remember, Hashhoush went to work with his father, a chef. And at 15 he went into the army. But for the last four years, he has spent two hours two mornings a week at the Washington Literacy Council on 18th Street, catching up on his missed education. “School! It is the best thing I had in my life!” he says.

His English is sometimes halting, but he is justly proud of his grasp and where he came by it. “First school is here,” he emphasizes. “I learn to read here.” He adores his two teachers, calling one of them “a big gift from God. She took me from the floor to up. Go see my school,” he urges. “You will feel what I am talking about. The first day I was in the class, 12 Americans sit with me at big table. I think, all these Americans, they are teachers. But this is people like me exactly! They speak but don’t read and write.”

Once Hashhoush was demobilized, he followed his father into the culinary world, joining the first and largest catering company in the Middle East. Then he moved on to the Royal Abjar Hotel in Dubai, working on every aspect of food from gourmet cuisine to weddings. He also cooked dishes to be photographed. “Everything I learn, I learn from life,” he says.

Ten years ago a family friend urged him to seek his fortune in the United States. Now, he boasts, “I am D.C. boy.” He went to work for José Andrés, who was opening Zaytinya, and stayed there for four years. Then came his move to Neyla. The cuisine at his restaurant, which calls itself “Neyla, A Mediterranean Grill,” is similar in style to Zaytinya’s, with mezze dishes like hummus, kibbe and tabbouleh, kebabs and soujouk sausages off the grill, and ingredients like Halloumi cheese, labneh yogurt, cilantro and spicy harissa paste.

But Hashhoush likes to take a sideways step from the traditional application of some of them. “I put a little hummus with a little steak — good meat, good sauce. Every country love to mix culture.”

He admires the Middle Eastern approach to food. “Back home, we eat family style together at the same time at the same big table. We need this. What we eat, it depend on what ingredient we have. Fava beans and a little meat one day. Then one day, more vegetables and not so much meat. It’s more important to be healthy than how much we can be rich.”

His mother was always cooking — to eat or to preserve. During the tomato season, she would buy bushels of them to sun dry or turn into tomato paste and sauces. Hashhoush remembers with a wistful smile her stuffed eggs and her walnuts marinated in olive oil.

He says his guests are adventurous eaters. “This is the good thing in America — people like to try. If you don’t try, you don’t know.” He prefers to describe diners as “guests.” “I don’t like to say customers. They are guests when they come to you.” On request, he will give cooking lessons at the restaurant. “I love to teach and I love to learn at the same time.”

Hashhoush’s eldest brother — the one who went to school — is now the captain of a cargo ship, and Hashhoush sees him once a year when he cruises into Baltimore. Otherwise, he’s alone in Washington. His wife is still behind in Lebanon. Hashhoush calls her regularly. “I speak with my wife. I tell her, ‘Everything is easy in America.’ I need my wife to come here.” But she’s waiting for a tourist visa and to finish her schooling.

Apart from wishing he and his wife were together, Hashhoush is happy with his life. But he nurtures another ambition. “I want to do cookbook for my school. I have enough for my life, I only want to do appreciation for my school.”

Neyla (202-333-6353; neyla.com) is located at 3206 N St. NW. Main courses cost $18.95 to $33.50.

This article by Julia Watson first appeared in the Northwest, Dupont, Foggy Bottom and Georgetown Current Newspapers. Photo Bill Petros/The Current.