Saturday, June 13 — Lunch experience

(part of the BEAN THERE (done that) BEANS & BLOOM bean festival)

The Hummus Academy
with Umayya Abu Hanna & Mary Ann Jaraisy

A narrative dining experience where you’ll mold, roll, smell, listen, and taste. You’ll not only enjoy inspiring dishes, but also stories that span generations.
A meal that brings people together, where beans get the makeover they deserve: with za’atar, pomegranate, eggplant, sumac, and a whole lot of love.

Language: English
Saturday, June 13, 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM
€52.50

The Hummus Academy presents:

Four workshops, a garden and Hakura tour, a four-course lunch, and non-alcoholic beverages—all included

Our Saturday begins with a series of workshops that conclude with lunch.

First Station: We begin at the altar of Baal —Palestine’s ancient Canaanite god of fertility, rain, dew, and fertile soil. We hear how Baal’s sister, Anat, the goddess of love and war, saved her brother from death. Myth, drama, and resurrection.

What we do: We make tiny clay vessels and press beans and seeds, along with our fingerprints, into the body of the vessel. We burn frankincense and myrrh—ancient tree saps that arrived via the Spice and Silk Roads—as an offering at the altar.

Second stop: Zaatar Remix: Make your own Zaatar

Wild herbs, resilience, flavor bombs. Za’atar isn’t just a seasoning—it’s memory, land, survival.

Baal is the god of all wild and foraged plants. Palestinians still refer to all foraged plants as “Baali.” Zaatar belongs to the family of thyme and oregano and is an iconic Palestinian staple. “We only had zaatar to eat” means we had the bare minimum to survive. Israel has criminalized Palestinians for picking wild zaatar, among other things.

Israel is fighting a 4,500-year-old God. We take sides. We are on the side of the one who provides us with food. 

What we do: Create your own Za’atar blend from a wide variety of herbs, spices, and unexpected extras. Stick to the classics or get creative. Discover and experiment. Add roasted chickpeas, or think outside the box, tweak the ratios, and make it your own.

Third station: Dye your balls

Labneh—ancient, creamy, iconic—is getting a makeover.

Labneh is as old as Baal. During the Agricultural Revolution, the transition from hunter-gatherers to settled farmers was accompanied by the domestication of animals, which in turn led to the development of dairy products. Linen cloth had already been developed and was in use during the Canaanite period, and so the “Hangop”—the process of making fresh cheese from yogurt, known as Labneh—was invented. 

What we do: Roll up your sleeves and start thinking about spices, petals, and edible flowers.

Then feel the silky labneh rolled into soft clouds, then coated in bold spices and herbs:

greens, purples, reds, yellows, black, and pink. Zaatar, sumac, sesame, nigella, and poppy seeds, lavender, dried mint, fresh dill, petals—you name it. Freshly made cheese.

Fourth Stop: Stuff & Roll

Leaves are the natural wrapping and make a cozy home for fillings. There are more edible leaves than you can imagine. Did you know that Palestinians used to roll the leaves of our wild cyclamen? This is part cooking, part art, part a spectacle of colors, scents, and flavors.

What we do: Chooseyour greens: grape leaves, fig leaves, kale, mallow, romaine lettuce, currant leaves, zucchini leaves, wild greens

chard. 

Then choose your filling and custom blend: freekeh, bulgur, couscous, or rice

Herbs: parsley, mint, basil, cilantro, dill, and others

Spices: black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili pepper, salt, seven-spice blend, allspice, cumin, white pepper, seeds, and more

Beans, lentils, and other vegetables

Various oils, pressed molasses, and other

Join and combine your elements and add leaves of your choice.

While the leaves are cooking and we’re getting ready for lunch, step outside. Join the birds and the bees in the Silent Garden with a Palestinian Hakura.

Here, Sylvia Avontuur, a permaculture designer, takes you on a tour of the Silent Garden she has created.

Now we’re treating ourselves to a 4-course lunch featuring Palestinian cuisine:

Appetizer:

Tabouleh Gazpacho Shot, summer in a glass

Appetizer:

“Stuff and roll” leaves, eat what you’ve made

Main course:

Rummaniyeh with a twist, from Gaza

Dessert by Berlin-based food designer Inés Lauber

About the Hummus Academy:

Mary Ann Jaraisy is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of design and ceramics. With a Dutch mother and a Palestinian father, she grew up in Nazareth and has lived in Amsterdam for the past ten years. She is the co-founder of the iconic Sudfeh restaurant and cultural center, located in Nazareth’s oldest building.

Umayya Abu-Hanna is a Palestinian writer and cultural mediator, born in Haifa. Umayya lived in Helsinki for 30 years and has now lived in Amsterdam for 16 years. Together with Dutch designer Anouk Jansen, she created the book *A Palestinian Dinner* in 2025.

They are the founders of the Hummus Academy, and you have the chance to experience their unique “Palestine Beans & Blooms” lunch on Saturday, June 13. On Sunday, they’ll be hosting a makeover workshop, where beans get a glow-up with your very own homemade za’atar. You’ll leave with part food, part memory, and take your spruced-up, shiny, fragrant, and transformed Beans home with you.