chef Tarek Fallous issued this book with many ideas, thoughts, and interpretations of what Lebanese cuisine is about.from home style cooking to restaurant quality recipes.he actually proposed the idea of what pairs with what, actually he wrote menus for different holidays and get togethers. he did not stop there, he actually gave a temperature fluctuation between Fahrenheit and Celsius, he actually gave some secrets unbeknownst to most Lebanese of what goes into some of the spicing such as the seven spice mix. he went as far as actually having a complete index afterminology that is used in Lebanese kitchens. but much like any other country around the world the cuisine / kitchen is regional than northern parts cook slightly different than the southern parts then the western and or the Eastern, now his style is not necessarily wrong yet in fact I would argue that he made it extremely simple for some complex dishes which is kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what part of Lebanon is he cooking from, and that is a testament of his innovation, and highlights his knowledge of the Lebanese kitchen as a whole. now the book itself is not perfect, you will find yourself going back and forth through the book looking from one recipe that repeats itself and then you change the sauce and you have to go to a different page altogether, be ready to flip through the pages back and forth throughout the book. however you must keep in mind this is a gold mine of information both in recipe, concept and simplicity. One more reason why you should have it is because you must understand Lebanese cooking, is just the gateway to regional cooking such as Syria, Palestine, and Jordan and some parts of Iraq. if you're interested in the Oriental Mesopotamian region then this book is definitely the very best to have.here's a tip, now at times this book has the miscalculated recipes. for example : it is suggested that one should use one cup of basmati rice to two and a quarter cups of water. in addition it wasn't really mentioned as to why you should wash or rinse the rice prior to cooking it. The proper way to cook basmati rice is to wash or rinse thoroughlyfor every one cup of basmati rice add 1.5 cups of water.but that's the only flaw or mistake I saw in the book. why should you have this book I bought three copies for three different friends that I've gifted, and they all came back with very good results. I for one a proud owner of a copy of my own. in short, you must have this book if you are collecting and or cooking Middle Eastern food especially Lebanese, The chef honestly and truthfully passed on his knowledge in good details. unfortunately I think he should go and do a second version of it a part two if you will, there are a lot more recipes that he left out. now did he do that because they are complex or did he do it for reasons of what may appeal to a Western person. however you must have this book, if you're shopping for a Middle Eastern cuisine book, most likely you're not afraid of trying new things. kudos to him, can't wait for part two.