Mounira (known to many as ‘Mon’) Saad launched her cookbook, Mon’s Mediterranean Kitchen, at Club Taree on Saturday June 23, and she couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.
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Around 90 people attended the launch, with more people, who hadn’t booked a ticket, being turned away at the door.
“It was fantastic. We had a great crowd of people and everybody was happy. Lots of atmosphere,” Mon said.
The launch was celebrated with afternoon tea, with drummers lending a distinctly Middle Eastern sound to the the event.
Mon held the launch during the Manning Winter Festival to support their work, and also invited Can Assist Manning Valley to attend to fund raise.
Mon’s grandchildren made bookmarks which Mon donated to Can Assist to sell. The bookmarks made more than $200 for the charity, with the raffle of a hamper adding more than $400 to the amount Can Assist raised.
“I gave them my own produce to put in a hamper, and the hamper was made out of Mon’s Mediterranean Kitchen, and there were spices, little biscuits, the book, fig jam, some quince paste,olive oil from my own family orchard, and lovely wine.
“The only thing that wasn’t made by me was the wine!” Mon said.
She estimates that ticket sales came to more than $800, which will be donated to the Manning Winter Festival committee.
Around 70 books were sold at the event. Mon has since received emails and messages from satisfied customers.
“People have cooked some of the dishes already over the last couple of days and they said they turned out beautifully, they were very excited to get the book and start again, and they’ve enjoyed so much reading it. Also that it is local,” Mon said.
She recognises that some ingredients for international cooking can be hard to source in rural areas.
“That’s why I made the book more family orientated and with not too fancy ingredients that people can’t get. Most of the ingredients you can get at the supermarkets, but Car Park Deli keeps a lot of it. And if there is anything they are out of, they will say to you ‘tell us what you want’ and they’ll get it in for you,” Mon explained.
The book can be purchased at Wingham Newsagency and Granty’s Fruit and Veg in Wingham, and the Car Park Deli, Manning Shoes, and Raw Sugar in Taree.
Alternatively you can buy it online at Mon’s website www.monsmk.com.
Mon offers her sincere thanks to the Manning River Times, the Manning Community News, Manning Winter Festival committee, Can Assist, and all of the local businesses for supporting her journey.
