University of New Orleans student Samira Bechara grew up near Seattle, Washington but spent many summers visiting extended family in Beirut, Lebanon.
When an explosion ripped through the city of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, killing more than 200 people and destroying thousands of homes and buildings, Bechara was devastated.
The coronavirus pandemic had caused the cancelation of Bechara鈥檚 summer plans to study French at the American University in Beirut; otherwise she would have been there.
鈥淚 was already feeling very nostalgic and missing Lebanon a lot and then the explosion happened,鈥 Bechara said. 鈥淚 kind of had a meltdown and felt like I just needed to help in some way.鈥
Her father had immigrated to the U.S. as a young man and brought with him the knowledge to create flavorful Lebanese dishes, Bechara said. Having worked in the restaurant industry since she was a teenager, Bechara knows her way around the kitchen.
鈥淚 always hung out with my dad in the kitchen and whenever we鈥檇 go to Lebanon for the summer, I鈥檇 hang out with my grandmother,鈥 Bechara said. 鈥淪o I have a lot of experience in cooking Lebanese food.鈥
Bechara decided to put her skills to work and created a charity project called Le Beirut. The name comes from a popular song by Lebanese singer Fairuz called 鈥淟i Beirut.鈥
鈥淚t is just a really beautiful, sorrowful song,鈥 Bechara said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always been an important song, especially so after the blast, so that鈥檚 why I chose that name.鈥
With the help of the owners of Turkey and the Wolf鈥攖he celebrated Irish Channel sandwich shop鈥擝echara hosted her first pop-up gourmet brunch a week after the explosion.
鈥淚 actually posted on Instagram 鈥楧oes anyone have a restaurant to host a fundraiser?鈥 And Turkey and the Wolf reached out to me,鈥 Bechara said. 鈥淲e raised $4,000, which was amazing.鈥
She donated the proceeds to a nonprofit in Lebanon that focus of helping elderly residents and rebuilding homes destroyed in the explosion, Bechara said.
Another charity event followed with a local ice cream maker.
鈥淚 did two ice cream events, that was really fun,鈥 Bechara said. 鈥淲e sort of did nostalgic Lebanese ice cream flavors.鈥
In November, Bechara鈥 s charity and pop-up brunches earned her a feature story on Eater New Orleans, a food and dining website.
And while the COVID-19 pandemic has curbed her charity events, Bechara is looking for possible locations to host more brunches.
鈥淚 would like to figure out if I could do a weekly gig,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have the capacity to do more than once a week because of school.鈥
Eventually Bechara sees the project 鈥渕orphing into more of a Lebanese bakery.鈥
鈥淚 like to do meat pies, spinach pies, baklava and other types of baked goods,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 most passionate about.鈥
Bechara鈥檚 charity work has also made her start considering other career paths. When she enrolled at 色色研究所 in 2019, she was looking to explore options in the wine industry in France. She is pursuing dual majors in French and international studies.
The American Journal of French Studies recognized Bechara last year for an essay 鈥淢a Cousine Rima鈥 about her experience as a Lebanese American. It was chosen as one of the top 20 submissions out of more than 1,000 for publication and recognition.
鈥淣ow what I see is working with refugees in Lebanon,鈥 Bechara said. 鈥淪o, if we could shoot for the stars, I鈥檇 love to work for the UN in Beirut.鈥