Rising food star releases first cookbook

Chef and business owner Edy Massih has written his first cookbook, Keep It Zesty: A Celebration of Lebanese Flavors & Culture from Edy’s Grocer. The 2012 Canton High School graduate includes over 120 recipes, plenty of photos, and his personal life story in the HarperCollins publication, which was released earlier this week.

Chef and business owner Edy Massih

Massih, who is originally from Lebanon, learned a lot about cooking from his grandmothers, Odette and Jacqueline, but especially from his paternal grandmother, Odette, when he was a child. Odette taught her young grandson how to prepare rice and to make chicken shawarma and baba ganoush, as well as other dishes. Massih moved with his family to Canton when he was in fifth grade. Since his parents were working, he would make dinner each day after classes finished at the Hansen School. Later on, as a student at Canton High, he created a cooking program and later studied at the Culinary Institute of America.

“Writing a cookbook has always been a goal of mine,” Massih said. “When I moved to the U.S., I was always wanting my grandmother’s recipes and she never had anything written down.”

When his parents would take him to Copley Square while they shopped, Massih would go through the cookbooks in the Barnes and Noble in the Prudential Center. He was obsessed with the Food Network and famous cooks like Rachel Ray, Paula Dean, Ina Garten, and Sandra Lee, who were all writing cookbooks.

He also went to the Canton Public Library quite often after school and regularly checked out books, which was something he had not had a chance to do in Lebanon. His new experiences with books impacted him greatly. “I think those were all things that ignited a fire within me,” he said.

HarperCollins approached Massih about writing a cookbook, but he was not ready to do it at that time. He had opened Edy’s Grocer, which sells groceries, Lebanese prepared foods, and sandwiches, in August of 2020, but did not have his recipes for foods he prepared there in written form. His business coach advised him to do just that, and 18 months later, he had a binder of recipes. HarperCollins again approached him, and this time he was ready.

Massih liked that his editor had followed his career since the days when he had his catering business and had not yet created Edy’s Grocer. “I think there was something really special about them knowing where I had started and where I am now,” he said.

The title of the book, Keep It Zesty, is a phrase that Massih uses often with friends. “I think there’s something flirty, fun, young about saying zesty,” he said. “I think it’s a word that’s not used enough. Just that word on its own adds flavor to something.”

Joe Khoury, a friend of Massih’s and a 2013 CHS graduate, went to New York to visit him in October of 2020 after he had opened Edy’s Grocer. Massih said Khoury, who he described as a “great artist,” wanted to paint something for the store, so Massih suggested that he draw and paint a lemon on the wooden plank that closed the coffee window, along with the expression “Keep it Zesty.”

Later, when Massih wrote the proposal for his cookbook, he called it Keep It Zesty and stayed with that title.

The cover photo of the new cookbook features a variety of colorful foods and the hands of people reaching over the table to serve themselves. “I think that’s what I’m all about,” Massih said. “That’s what my catering is all about. That’s what Middle Eastern and Lebanese food is all about — sharing and community around the table.”

Fattoush Salad from ‘Keep It Zesty’

The colors of Edy’s Grocer are green and pink, both of which are featured on the cover of the book. Massih said he has been obsessed with pink his entire life. When he posted a poll on social media asking what an accent color for pink could be, someone suggested green, noting its association with healthful foods. Massih liked the suggestion and chose that as the accent color for his business.

The titles of the recipe sections in the book’s table of contents reflect Massih’s creative energies. “Taste the Rainbow” features dips, pickles and all the fixings; “Easy, Breezy, Lemon Squeeze” includes ideas for fast and simple weeknight meals; and “Helou ya Helou” highlights “sweets for my sweeties.”

He also included a section called “Ignite Childhood Memories,” which features recipes for quintessential Lebanese staples, some of which are dedicated to his grandmothers.

Massih is known as the Dip Yeti for his dip and sauce recipes, and the first chapter of the book, “Taste the Rainbow,” is the largest one, with 55 recipes that combine his meal experiences in Lebanon with flavors he has tasted and added to his recipes throughout his life.

One that he really loves is for marinated feta. “That’s a great, delicious dip,” he said. “I think that enhances the food experience a lot — by starting with these really bright, zesty, delicious dips.”

Massih has also been busy expanding and renovating Edy’s Grocer. In the last year, he has added a bar and dinner service with indoor seating for 17 diners. “I think as a young entrepreneur, you’re always hungry to do more and keep things going,” he said.

He calls the dinner service The Mezze Bar, which includes different mezzes, small bites, and beer and wine.

Massih’s catering business is doing extremely well following the pandemic and he handles several events each week. “It’s what I love to do,” he said.

Hailed by Food Network and Epicurious as one of the most anticipated cookbooks of 2024, Keep It Zesty officially hit bookstores on Tuesday, May 21. Massih will do a book signing at the Canton Public Library on Tuesday, May 28, from 2-4 p.m., and copies will be available for purchase. He also has book signings lined up at Beacon Hill Books and EBO and Co. on May 28 and 29, as well as dinner event at Chickadee in the Seaport on May 29 starting at 6 p.m.

For more information, including a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit edysgrocer.com.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on May 23 2024. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.