Chef Edy Massih on How to 'Keep It Zesty' in the Kitchen

Summary

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Podcast Summary: All Of It – Chef Edy Massih on How to 'Keep It Zesty' in the Kitchen

Episode Date: May 22, 2024
Host: Koosha Navadar (WNYC)
Guest: Edy Massih – Chef, Owner of Edy’s Grocer, and Author of Keep It Zesty
Episode Theme: Celebrating Lebanese flavors, the influence of family and culture, and making home cooking “zesty” through tradition and inventive spins.

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Episode Overview

This episode shines a spotlight on Chef Edy Massih, whose culinary journey took him from Lebanon to Boston to Brooklyn. With roots deeply entrenched in his grandmothers’ kitchens, Edy champions Lebanese cuisine as a vessel for both flavor and culture. The discussion covers his inspirations, the founding of Edy’s Grocer, the community that made it possible, and the stories behind his debut cookbook, Keep It Zesty: A Celebration of Lebanese Flavors and Culture from Edy’s Grocer. Throughout, Edy emphasizes how food is a joyful, communal, and ever-adaptable connector—and reveals how anyone can "keep it zesty" in their own kitchen.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. “Keeping It Zesty” — What It Means (03:28–03:53)

• Definition of “Zesty”: For Edy, zest is both literal (lemon/citrus) and metaphorical (fun, energy, brightness).
  • “You keep it zesty by having fun in the kitchen or with your life. Always bright, you know, bright colors, bright flavors... just having fun.”
    — Edy Massih (03:36)
• Lemon’s Role in Lebanese Cooking: Citrus is essential; its absence is deeply felt.
  • “A chicken soup without lemon is not a chicken soup to me. Or like, fish without lemon is not fish... that’s what home cooking is for me.”
    — Edy Massih (03:53)

2. The Origins & Vision of Edy’s Grocer (04:55–05:43)

• Pandemic Pivot: Edy pivoted from catering to home-based meal sales when COVID hit, eventually realizing North Brooklyn lacked a Middle Eastern grocer.
• Community Built: Friends from the hospitality world—out of work due to pandemic closures—helped launch the store.
  • “It was difficult, but funny enough... it was easier than I thought it would be because all my friends had no job, so they came and helped.”
    — Edy Massih (05:45)

3. Signature Dishes & Store Offerings (06:26–06:54)

• Popular Items:

  • Brown Paper Boards (grazing tables with mezze, dips, pickled goods)
  • Shawarma bowls and sandwiches
  • 33 types of homemade dips and pickled goods
  • Mezze happy hour (“5 for 35” deal)
  • Chocolate tahini brownies

• Location Mention: Edy’s Grocer is at 136 Meserole Ave., Brooklyn (06:58).

4. The Role of Family—Especially Grandmothers (07:04–08:02)

• Culinary Legacy: Both grandmothers played vital roles in Edy’s culinary education, blending Lebanese, Syrian, and French flavors.
  • “In Lebanon, a grandmother’s full-time job is to cook for the family in a way... All their foods combined is how this book came together.”
    — Edy Massih (07:16)

5. Favorite Ingredients & Nostalgic Flavors (08:02–09:13)

• Listener Texts: Pomegranate is a celebrated ingredient for its zest and brightness.
• Edy’s Picks: Tahini stands out for him—versatile for both sweets and savories.

6. Edy’s Journey: From Cooking Club to Public Access TV (09:13–10:36)

• Cooking Club: Started in high school after moving to the U.S.
• Cooking with Edy (Public-Access TV): Began with an Oprah-inspired pitch, resulted in a local cable cooking show.
  • “If you go on schooltube.com, you’ll find the episodes on there.”
    — Edy Massih (10:32)
• Recipes then: More American classics; Lebanese pride and focus grew later.

7. Cookbook Favorites & Home-Cook Inspiration (10:57–11:24)

• Standout Dish: Rasa J (Lebanese dirty rice)—a family and customer favorite, adapted to be a one-pot home-cook meal.

8. Innovations: Brown Paper Boards & “Pitadailla” (11:24–13:11)

• Brown Paper Board Meals: Casual, communal, and practical meal platters.
  • “You set it and forget it… when your guests come in, they can just eat throughout the night. It brings people together around a table…”
    — Edy Massih (11:34)
• How-To Tips: Prep ahead, focus on dips and finger foods, fill gaps with crudité, bread, and crackers.
• Pitadailla: Edy’s invention—Armenian string cheese, za’atar paste, tomato jam, lavash, toasted quesadilla style.
  • “It is divine.”
    — Edy Massih (13:11)

9. “Fresh Spins” on Classics (13:11–13:54)

• Example: Kale instead of parsley (for longevity, ease); couscous instead of bulgur in tabbouleh (less watery, more pasta-like).
  • “Nobody has time to chop up all that parsley... kale really has a longer jevity... couscous more of like a pasta to feel in there.”
    — Edy Massih (13:27)

10. Lebanese Diaspora & Iconic Dishes (14:28–15:05)

• Kibbeh: Lebanon’s “meatloaf”—with numerous variations. Brazil’s immense Lebanese community is mentioned.
  • “There’s three different kibbe recipes in the book... it is absolutely delicious.”
    — Edy Massih (14:28)

11. The Meaning of “Home” & Food Memories (15:05–15:42)

• Lebanon & New York: Lebanon always feels like home, but Edy now feels rooted in New York as well (three cities, ten years each).

  • “Every time I touch back… it always feels like, ah, I am back home.”
    — Edy Massih (15:15)

• Most Nostalgic Dish: Kebab laban (kibbeh balls in a mint yogurt broth)—deeply tied to childhood New Years celebrations.

  • “Food is memories… whenever you have a bite of something, you just remember sitting there with your grandmother having it.”
    — Edy Massih (15:42)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “A chicken soup without lemon is not a chicken soup to me. Or like, fish without lemon is not fish.”
  — Edy Massih (03:53)

• “You put everything out on a board... when your guests come in, they can just eat throughout the night... It brings people together around a table.”
  — Edy Massih (11:34)

• “There’s three different kibbe recipes in the book... it is absolutely delicious.”
  — Edy Massih (14:28)

• “Food is memories... whenever you have a bite of something, you just remember sitting there with your grandmother having it.”
  — Edy Massih (15:42)

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Recommended Listen Timestamps

• What “Zesty” Means & Lemon’s Role: 03:28–03:53
• Starting Edy’s Grocer: 04:55–05:43
• Signature Dishes: 06:26–06:54
• Family Culinary Influence: 07:04–08:02
• Pitadailla & Fresh Spins: 12:33–13:54
• Lebanese Diaspora & Kibbeh: 14:28–15:05
• Food, Memory & Home: 15:05–15:42

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Episode Tone & Style

Edy Massih brings warmth, humor, and genuineness, infusing every topic with a sense of communal joy and culinary curiosity. His encouragement for listeners is to be playful, embrace tradition and innovation, and remember that food is a bridge to both memory and community.

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Summary by [Podcast Summarizer].

Transcript

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[Koosha Navadar]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Koosha Navadar. Your grandmother's cooking can make a really big difference in your life. Just ask my next guest, Eddie Massey. Massey spent the first part of his childhood in Lebanon surrounded by the food prepared by his loving grandmothers, Odette and Jacqueline. But when he he was 10, Massey and his family moved to America. And so his culinary journey has brought him from Beirut to Boston to Brooklyn, where he now brings his love of Lebanese flavors to his block and his wider community. If you're ever in Greenpoint, you can walk right into Eddie's Grocer, which Massey opened in 2020. It's a restaurant with Eddie's Fresh spins on his favorite Lebanese dishes, but it's also a caterer and a market full of spices and specific ingredients to Lebanese cooking into your home. And now Massey has written a cookbook. The book is called Keep it zesty. A celebration of Lebanese flavors and culture from Eddie's Grocer. It's out now. You come for the food. You stay for the cute pics of baby Eddie in the book. With me in studio is chef Eddie Massey, who also has a book event tomorrow at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn Heights beginning at 7pm Eddie, hi. Are you keeping it zesty?

[Eddie Massey]

I am always keeping it zesty. Thank you so much for having me on.

[Koosha Navadar]

Such a pleasure to have you here. The phrase keep it zesty, first, great name for a cookbook. Second, how does someone keep it zesty?

[Eddie Massey]

I feel like you keep it zesty by having fun in the kitchen or with your life. Always bright, you know, bright colors, bright flavors. And, yeah, I think just having fun.

[Koosha Navadar]

Is being zesty and how important talking about cooking here is. Zest is citrus to Lebanese cooking.

[Eddie Massey]

I mean, it's everything. I think that's one of the biggest things that was missing from my American diet when I moved here. And then I started adding lemon juice to things, and I was like, wait, that's what it's missing. Like, a chicken soup without lemon is not a chicken soup to me. Or like, fish without lemon is not fish. So when I started adding lemon to things, I was like, wait, this is what makes food food. Like, that's what home cooking is for me. And so it kind of all came together.

[Koosha Navadar]

That's wonderful. And hey, hey, listeners, we want you a part of this conversation, too. We can't take calls right now, but we would love texts. Do you have any favorite Lebanese ingredients or dishes? What are your favorite? Go to Lebanese meals to cook or eat and tell us why. Text us now. We're at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Or you can DM us on social. We're LVITNYC. So, Eddie, the story of this cookbook is also the story of Eddie's Grocer, which you opened and operate in Greenpoint. You've opened it since 2020. What was the original vision for your store?

[Eddie Massey]

Honestly, I had a catering company, and I was like, wait, you know, the pandemic happened? I was like, what am I going to do now? And so I started cooking these, like, I called it quarantine menu. And I was selling the food out of my home. And so I realized that whenever I needed ingredients, I had to go all the way to Atlantic Avenue. And, like, I wasn't getting on the subway. There was really no Ubers at the beginning. So I Was like, wait, there's no Middle Eastern spots or grocers in North Brooklyn. And so I was like, we really need this. And that's kind of how the idea came about. And because I was cooking a lot more at home and it was just so hard to get around the city. So the vision at first was to. And then I was like, wait, we gotta have some food. Obviously part of it. And, you know, with my catering background, I was always known for my dips and everything that I had done there. So I kind of married both worlds together and opened up the grocer.

[Koosha Navadar]

How difficult was that for you during the pandemic?

[Eddie Massey]

It was difficult, but funny enough, at the same time, it was, like, easier than I thought it would be because all my friends had no job, so they came and helped. A lot of places were closing, so I went to different auction sales at different restaurants to get, like, cheaper fridges and ovens and things like that. So actually turned out to be easier than I thought it would be because of all the help, because all my friends were in the hospitality industry, did not have jobs. So they're like, you know what, I'll lend you a hand. And that, like, you know, a few extra hands can really go a long way.

[Koosha Navadar]

That's so special to be able to start something like that during such a time of difficulty through your community. I think that's wonderful. What are some of the most popular orders that you typically get?

[Eddie Massey]

Well, for catering, it's obviously the brown paper boards. That's my signature. That's my grazing table, that I do with all sorts of different mezzes and dips, pickled goods and things like that. But I think at the grocer, people love our shawarma bowls. They love our shawarma sandwiches. We have 33 different homemade dips and pickled goods, which they love to purchase. We have a mezze happy hour. We call it 5 for 35. And I would say also our chocolate tahini brownies are one of our best sellers.

[Koosha Navadar]

And can you just say the. The address if somebody is literally hungry right now and they want to come to space?

[Eddie Massey]

Yes, it's 136 Mezrel Ave.we're on the corner of Mesrell Avenue and Eckford Street.

[Koosha Navadar]

And so let's talk about the cookbook a little bit more. You write in the cookbook about just how important the women of your family have been in your life, specifically your two grandmothers. Tell us a little bit more about them and how they influenced your love of cooking.

[Eddie Massey]

Of course, I mean, you know, in Lebanon, a grandmother's full time job is to cook for the family in a way. So I just grew up with having both grandmothers cooking for us all the time. And Odette is on my dad's side of the family and she is 100% Lebanese and was cooking a lot of Lebanese food. But also, you know, I grew up with her in a small fishing village, so she cooked a lot more fish and a lot more northern Lebanese dishes. And where my grandmother Jacqueline, from my mom's side of the family had a lot of Syrian influence because my grandfather spent half his time in Lebanon, half his time in Syria. So there was a lot more Syrian food in there as well. But she also grew up in Switzerland, so she had a little bit of French in there as well. So all their foods combined is how this book kind of came together.

[Koosha Navadar]

And listeners, if you're just joining us, we're talking to Eddie Massey, the chef and owner of Eddie's Grocer, Greenpoint. His new cookbook is called Keep It Zesty, A Celebration of Lebanese Flavors and Culture from Eddie's Grocer. It's out now. He also has a book event tomorrow at the Books Are Magic in Brooklyn heights starting at 7pm we got a text that I want to read. Pomegranate, exclamation point. Pomegranate, molasses, pomegranate seeds tossed in salads, pomegranate, everything. It gives such a delightful fruity zest to savory dishes. I have to say, as somebody who was born in Iran and moved here, pomegranates are also very near and dear to my heart. Can you talk a little bit about some of the most enjoy, like the parts of Lebanese cooking that you felt most drawn to while you were writing this book?

[Eddie Massey]

I mean, pomegranates are probably one of my favorite things, like growing up, just having a bowl of them and eating it with a spoon. Like, I love pomegranates and adding it all over and so many different things. But I think one of my favorite is tahini. I mean, of course that's like, of course tahini, you know, Lebanese. But I just, I love tahini. I love that sesame taste. I love that it adds so much lusciousness to different foods. And you can have so much fun with it. You can add it to baking, you can add it to savory things. It's. You can have so much fun with it.

[Koosha Navadar]

Yeah. And I want to bring that back to your own story because my understanding is that you moved to America when you're in high school, you got more into cooking, and in fact, you even started an after school cooking club. Yes. And am I right that you even had your own cooking series on the public access TV channel in Boston?

[Eddie Massey]

Yes, I did.

[Koosha Navadar]

I did. What was that? What was the show called? What was it about?

[Eddie Massey]

It was called Cooking with Eddie. And. All right, I'll tell you a really fast version of this. So basically, the Oprah Winfrey show ended. Huge Oprah fan. The Oprah Winfrey show ended in 2011. And on her last season when it was ending, she kind of came out with saying that she's coming out with own Oprah Winfrey Network. And for the Oprah Winfrey Network, she was gonna give away one show to a, to one of the viewers. So she said, you know, send in a 60 second, like, submit a show idea. So I went to my TV class at school and I was like, can I borrow a camera to record this? And so the professor was like, you know what? He looked into it and he was like, you're not gonna be able to do this because you're not 18 years old. And I was like, all right. Like, I just. And he was like, well, why don't we do a show for you at the Canton tv, at the cable tv. And I was like, all right. And so that's kind of how it came together. And it's called Cooking with Eddie. And if you go on schooltube.com, because back in the days, we couldn't put anything on YouTube. If you go on schooltube.com, you'll find the episodes on there.

[Koosha Navadar]

Wow. Do you have any dishes that from there that have made it into this book?

[Eddie Massey]

No. No, no, no. It's so funny because back then I feel like I wasn't as proud of being Lebanese as I am now. And so I look back at those recipes and it's a lot of like. And a nest. I think I made, like, chicken Alfredo, like, things that were definitely not Lebanese. So I'm really happy that I was able to really dig into my culture after graduating from high school.

[Koosha Navadar]

Is there a dish in this book that you're especially proud of that you grew to love even more and you were really excited to put in there?

[Eddie Massey]

Yes. I think the Rasa J, which is a Lebanese dirty rice, is one of my absolute favorite dishes that my grandmother used to make me. And I have adapted that recipe so many times to make it easy for a home cook, but also, like, more of a one Pot meal instead of a three pot meal. That is absolutely one of my favorites. And also people that come into the grocer love it as well.

[Koosha Navadar]

Speaking of the grocer, at Eddie's Grocer, you're known for, you mentioned the brown paper board meals. Someone might say, what? Eating on paper. Explain your original idea for brown paper board meals and why it works.

[Eddie Massey]

Yes. So brown paper boards is for easy entertaining. It's just fast, simple and easy. You put everything out on a board. Less platters for easy cleanup. You kind of set it and forget it, and you kind of put it all out. So when your guests come in, they can just eat throughout the night. It kind of brings people together around a table, makes it very communal, and again, easy cleanup. And you just don't have to worry about it during the event. I think hosting is all about enjoying the company and not worrying about the food. And when you are worrying about the food and cooking, people like, can I help you? Can I do this? Can I do that? So when you get it all out on a board and people just eat off of it, it's simple and yet delicious.

[Koosha Navadar]

So if somebody listening right now wants to do a brown paper board meals, how should they think about preparing it? Any. Any tips? How do you approach it?

[Eddie Massey]

Yeah, so kind of doing everything ahead of time. A lot of dips, a lot of colder stuff, but you can have hot stuff on there and kind of having, like, finger foods. Finger foods. And then you just warm it up and put everything out on the board. Bites, dips, and then you do crudite bread and crackers to fill in the rest of the board, and people just dig in.

[Koosha Navadar]

I also need to ask you about pitadilla, and I hope that I'm pronouncing that correctly.

[Eddie Massey]

You are?

[Koosha Navadar]

Oh, wonderful.

[Eddie Massey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Koosha Navadar]

It's your own invention. What's a pizzadilla? And how do you prepare it?

[Eddie Massey]

So a pitadilla is kind of a take on a quesadilla, but it's also a take on a grilled cheese that I grew up that my mom would make for us all the time, was not a great chef, so she would just, you know, that's the one thing that she knew how to make. And basically it's Armenian string cheese between two pita. And we've taken that to the next level by adding a za' atar paste to it and some tomato jam, both homemade. And we kind of mix that all up with the Armenian string cheese and throw that in between a lavash bread and toast it off. And it is divine.

[Koosha Navadar]

Wow. The cookbook doesn't just have these classic Lebanese dishes that it has things like the pizzadilla and what you call your own fresh spins. Is there an example of a fresh spin in this cookbook besides that? And also a popular fresh spin order that you get at the grocer.

[Eddie Massey]

I mean, I put a spin on everything, but I would say, like the tabbouleh. You know, a tabbouleh is normally a parsley salad with bulgur, but I've changed it up by making it with kale because, you know, nobody has time to chop up all that parsley. But also it doesn't stay as long with the parsley. So the kale really has a longer jevity for it. And also it's made with couscous instead of bulgur because bulgur kind of spits out too much water. So I think it's nice to have that couscous more of like a pasta to feel in there.

[Koosha Navadar]

Listeners, if you're just joining us, we're talking to Eddie Massey, who is the chef and owner of Eddie's Grocer in Greenpoint. His new cookbook, Keep It Zesty, A Celebration of Lebanese Flavors and Culture from Eddie's Grocer, is out now. He also has a book event tomorrow at the Books Are Magic Brooklyn Heights location that's starting at 7pm We've got another text that I want to read. Says I'm Brazilian and in Sao Paulo, my hometown, we have lots of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants. We miss their food here in New Jersey. Impossible to find and open. Fira and kibe. You wanna talk about those a little bit?

[Eddie Massey]

Oh, kibe is one of my favorite things. So it's funny, Brazil has the highest amount of Lebanese people in the world. Even more than Lebanon, actually. Cause there were so many boats that left Lebanon to Brazil back in the days. I think it was in like the 40s or 50s. But anyways, kibbeh is one of my favorite things. There's a whole kibbeh. There's three different kibbeh recipes in the book. And kibbeh is our meatloaf, basically. So it's ground beef or lamb or just ground beef mixed with bulgur and onion. And baharat, which is our seven pepper spice mix. And you can make it one layer. You can do three layers with it. You can do a ball. You can do all sorts of things with it. And it is absolutely delicious.

[Koosha Navadar]

Wow. As we're looking to wrap up here, Lebanon, you've moved. You've lived many places around the country. Does Lebanon still feel like home to you at this point in your life?

[Eddie Massey]

Yeah, I mean, New York feels like home, I would say. But it's funny, I spent 10 years in Lebanon, 10 years in Boston, and 10 years in New York now. So it's very much divided like that. But I have to say, every time I touch back, in which I go back once a year, it always feels like, ah, I am back home.

[Koosha Navadar]

And I know you have a whole section of the cookbook called Ignite Childhood Memories. How does food help you retain memories of your childhood? Any dishes that fill you with the most nostalgia?

[Eddie Massey]

Of course, I think food is memories. You know, it just whenever you have a bite of something, you just remember sitting there with your grandmother having it. But I would say kebab laban, which is the kabeh balls cooked in a yogurt broth with mint in it. That just takes me back to New Year's every year. That's what my grandmother would make us. And it just brings me back to that table with that white tablecloth, having it with the family.

[Koosha Navadar]

That's wonderful. So, listeners, if you want to learn more about Lebanese cooking, you want to learn more about Eddie's Grocery, you can check out Eddie Massey's new book, Keep It Zesty, A Celebration of Lebanese Flavors and Culture from Eddie's Grocer. It's out now. We've been lucky to talk to Eddie Massey. He has a book event tomorrow at the Books are matching Brooklyn Heights location. It begins at 7pm Eddie, thank you so much.

[Eddie Massey]

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

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