Some of James’s earliest memories are the scent of aubergine skin blistering on an open fire; he tells the story of Mounira, the family cook when they lived in Lebanon between the 1960s and early 70s. “Mounira was a Maronite Christian from northern Lebanon, her cultural heritage being a blend of indigenous Phoenician and foreign influences from all the different cultures that have ruled the country over thousands of years. She was, of course, an accomplished cook, and my parents were wise enough to never try to teach her to make a cottage pie! We ate strictly classic Lebanese food; Mounira’s repertoire was broad in the Middle Eastern sense, as the food cultures of Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria are commonly shared. My mother learned from Mounira, and in time-honored fashion, I learned from my mother. One of the joys of old-world cooking is the knowledge that we are eating a timeless dish, possibly unmodified in millennia.”
Much later, James added to his culinary knowledge when he became a tour guide in Morocco, traveling all over the Atlas Mountains, often sharing meals with local tribesmen and their families.
This background, and a love of good food, became key to the creation of the Califa, where he has overseen flavours and recipes from the beginning to ensure authenticity.