Rebecca Shoufany Amoury

On This Week’s Podcast, Marvels Of Mediterranean Cuisine Featuring Oakville’s NEW Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine.

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Marvels Of Mediterranean Cuisine
Marvels of Mediterranean Cuisine

Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine

We’ve got the travel bug and no place to go!
And with so many folks out there having travel plans being foiled due to Covid 19, we thought well…for today’s show our topic is “if you can’t get to the Mediterranean, we’ll bring the Mediterranean to you!

And introduce you to some of the marvels of Mediterranean cuisine, from countries including the likes of the well traveled Spain and France, but also those less well known for their cuisine such as Israel, Egypt and Syria. Each celebrating a few of their very own and unique specialties.

We’ll also touch upon on some of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Studies have shown folks that follow this style of eating are also more likely to enjoy a longer life than people in other regions.

So joining us today, we bring the Mediterranean to you via the journeys of our guests Rebecca Shoufany Amoury .Rebecca and her husband Jad are the proud owners of Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine, a fabulous restaurant, located in Oakville, Ontario that offers you, the diner a delectably diverse and mouth-watering menu.
Rebecca and Jad each have their own journey that began just north of Israel, knowing and living the traditions of Mediterranean culture first hand for many years. Their journeys eventually led them here to our beautiful country and our beautiful town of Oakville.
We will welcome Rebecca CEO of Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine first, she will fill us in on her story and learn more about the story behind Montfort.

Jad and Rebecca, Husband and wife team and owners of Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine.
Rebecca Shoufany Amoury and husband Dr. Jad Amoury
Raphael Pommier of Domaine Ogier
Raphael Pommier of Domaine Ogier

For our second perspective on rosés made in France we turn our attention to the Rhone Valley. Our focus is more specifically the appellation of Ventoux. The Ventoux vineyards actually developed and expanded during the Avignon papacy. This papacy was 1309 -1376. The kings of France drank these wines over the centuries.

Our producer Ogier founded in 1859 is situated in the southern Rhone in the famous Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This literally translates to “new castle of the Pope”. Ventoux is enjoying a positive affect of climate change now due to the warmer climes. They are producing wines of deeper colour and body.

Yvonne Robinson

And to close off the show, Yvonne Robinson will join us. Montfort just recently relocated and under the guidance of Yvonne, an Interior Design Consultant for over 25 years, with a love herself of the Mediterranean, Yvonne designed and decorated the new Montfort. Yvonne will share with us the nuances that speak to the Med in her design, truly a job beautifully done.

Georgia and Susanne enjoying dinner at Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine.
Montfort App

About The Wine Ladies Podcast

Our podcast “Taking Life One Sip at a Time” is an radio audio podcast on which we share with the audience our passion and sense of adventure for delectable and fascinating foods, wine, spirits and lifestyle discoveries. Our motto “everything in life somehow comes back to the vine and to live life large and with integrity is intertwined with a variety of guests from around the globe… Chatting with celebrity chefs, celebrity winemakers, exotic food purveyors, artists, musicians, sports personalities, lifestyle advocates and fashion icons be sure to tune in for an hour of lively topical and educational conversation.

Olives

Mesmerizing Marvels of Mediterranean Cuisine

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Rebecca Amoury Rebecca sits above Montfort Castle in the high Galilee, Israel where the Montfort name came.

Mesmerizing Marvels of Mediterranean Cuisine

With so many folks out there having travel plans being foiled due to Covid 19, we thought well… if you can’t get to your planned destination maybe you can bring the destination to you! What do they say, when life gives you lemons make lemonade? For us… a hopeful visit to the Mediterranean was not to be, so since we couldn’t get to the Med, why not bring a little of the Med to us! Starting with one of the Mediterranean’s star features, food glorious Food! Here we’ll introduce you to a brand-new restaurant embracing the delectable, mouth-watering and healthy cuisine of the Mediterranean. We’ll touch upon the incredible diversity the region has to offer. With Twenty-three countries bordering the Med one can only imagine the possibilities for the foodie, from a country’s signature dish to a unique spice, indigenous herb and/or traditional recipes handed down over generations.

Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine, located in Oakville, ON, is a quintessential Mediterranean restaurant with some of the best authentic dishes you can imagine.

On This Week’s Podcast, Marvels Of Mediterranean Cuisine Featuring Oakville’s NEW Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine.

Olives
A staple of the Mediterranean, this mural of delectable olives hangs above the open kitchen OLIVES IN DISH The moment one enters, one is reminded of the primary staple of the Mediterranean diet. This mouthwatering flavour is infused into many of the middle eastern dishes prepared for the healthiest appetites! .

Rebecca, or Rabab as she is affectionately known, grew up in the North Galilee Israel, in a town that overlooks Lebanon which we learned is located just a half hour from where the Last Supper was held. Now that is pretty cool! Rebecca’s roots go back many generations in the area with her grandparents and parents having a passionate connection with the land, harvesting grape leaves, lemon and olives trees, growing a variety of vegetables, different herbs and more. Rabab tells us this is where she has many fond memories of harvesting the trees, grinding falafel, and learning to prepare traditional recipes of the Mediterranean which are still being used today at Montfort. She recalls that everything was always so fresh, so delicious, and prepared with so much love and attention.

Jad and Rebecca, Husband and wife team and owners of Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine.
Rebecca Shoufany Amoury and husband Dr. Jad Amoury

“Growing up, I had the opportunity to be a part of the most incredible experience of what the true meaning of traditional Mediterranean cuisine is! Every October olive harvesting and pressing our own olives at the olive press which was in our village”

We learn that the family time together was most often spent sitting at a large harvest table, enjoying one another’s company over food and drink. This she tells us has a lot to do with her philosophy today.

“The Shoufany Amoury family represents the true foundation of Montfort and we stand behind the belief that “food, family and friends“ are a shared richness that is not only a part of our culture, but a way of life that we have been privileged enough to share here in Canada at our restaurants.

Georgia and Susanne enjoying dinner at Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine.
The Wine Ladies enjoying a Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine spread representing multiple regional specialties.

We had the opportunity to sit down with the Founder Rebecca Shoufany Amoury and, over a glass of wine and a variety of mouth-watering dishes, she began to share her story.

Rebecca founded Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine over 25 years ago with “the grateful assistance of my parents Melad and Georgette”. The name Montfort she says was chosen “because it represents a big part of who my family are; “strong mountain ”She recalls on many occasions sitting far above the Montfort Castle from where the name Montfort came, in Galilee, Israel.

After 25 years in one location, they recently relocated reopening in a space where the atmosphere and environment of Montfort bellow out “welcome to the Mediterranean”! And welcome to our place for friends and family to gather and enjoy fresh, delicious, home-made traditional dishes of the Mediterranean.

In 2013, the Montfort family grew after Rebecca met Dr. Jad Amoury in Israel. Jad had been practicing dentistry for 15 years and since coming to Canada has joined the family business at Montfort.

An astute businessman, Jad runs the business and oversees the kitchen, whilston off hours spending time with two young babies, ages 2 and 8 months. How do they do it all?“It’s about passion” Rebecca tells us. Passion for family, for tradition, for the wonderful flavours and dishes of the Med!

What is the Mediterranean diet?

Twenty-three countries across 3 continents border the Mediterranean Sea. Although all of the Mediterranean diets share common characteristics there are slight variations depending on the region.A typical Mediterranean diet consists of plenty of vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes and fruits. Olive oil is the predominant fat and thank goodness…wine and homemade Arak often accompanies meals!

To our own experience on this day at Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine Although the countries of France, Spain and Italy have garnered much of the “Mediterranean “attention, today as you may have surmised Rebecca and Jad are eager to explore several of the eastern countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt to name a few are represented on a beautiful spread Executive Chef Fouad sets down before us.“Chef Fouad,”Jad informs us “hails from Egypt, studied in France and in Holland. 

Palm Trees
Mediterranean Palm Trees PALM TREES evoke warm climate, calm breezes and relaxing moments...

Let the tasting begin! We begin with an appetizer plate “Maza” which is a selection of four appetizers, (you are free to choose your own) baba ghanoush, humous, kibbeh and falafel. Each of these represent a different birth place including Israel, Lebanon, Greece and Egypt, although all are a key staple around the Mediterranean with slight variations. A delicious starter to be sure. After a plate of delicate, delicious fried calamari, seasoned withMontfort Mediterranean spices and drizzled with a reduced balsamic vinaigrette, the main course, a Mixed Grill featuring their signature dish, Montfort Chicken, Chicken Shawarma, Pork Souvlaki and Kafta arrived. All juicy, flavorful, tender and with fragrant and flavourful herbs and spices… where am I? Could it be the eastern part of the Med? No… alas, we are not permitted to travel, but this is definitely the next best thing! 

Woman picking lemons off the tree Rebecca harvesting lemons in her parent's garden located in the High Galilee, Holy Land

Let the tasting begin! We begin with an appetizer plate “Maza” which is a selection of four appetizers, (you are free to choose your own) baba ghanoush, humous, kibbeh and falafel. Each of these represent a different birth place including Israel, Lebanon, Greece and Egypt, although all are a key staple around the Mediterranean with slight variations. A delicious starter to be sure. After a plate of delicate, delicious fried calamari, seasoned withMontfort Mediterranean spices and drizzled with a reduced balsamic vinaigrette, the main course, a Mixed Grill featuring their signature dish, Montfort Chicken, Chicken Shawarma, Pork Souvlaki and Kafta arrived. All juicy, flavorful, tender and with fragrant and flavourful herbs and spices… where am I? Could it be the eastern part of the Med? No… alas, we are not permitted to travel, but this is definitely the next best thing! 

Marvels Of Mediterranean Cuisine
Marvels of Mediterranean Cuisine

In closing we have to applaud Rebecca and Jad for having the courageto push forward with the launching of the new Montfort Mediterranean Cuisine during these challenging times. Jad, as the operations Manager took a bold and savvy step, by being an early adopter in creating their own apps for Montfort for takeout and delivery. This allows their local customers to order online, earn loyalty points and receive an automatic credit of $5.00 with each download.This has helped the restaurant immeasurably, allowing for greater sales, and pickup and delivery costs to be minimized during Covid 19.Before we part ways Rebecca wants to make it clear that she credits the continued success of Montfort to her loyal customers, many of which have become good friends and are like family.As she maintained throughout our chat “I’ve learned that fresh quality food is just as important as the service, atmosphere and presentation but most importantly Pleasing my guests just like they are family is the key to a successful restaurant.”If you would like to experience the delectable and diverse foods of Montfort MediterraneanCuisine, please visit their website.www.montfortrestaurats.com

Bravo Rebecca and Jad!

Montfort App
Montfort App

Want to dazzle your guests? Book The Wine Ladies to host or emcee your next event!

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Book The Wine Ladies to host or emcee your next event.Book The Wine Ladies to host or emcee your next event.

The Wine Ladies Events, Soirees, Fundraisers and Simply Super parties!

Book The Wine Ladies to host or emcee your next event.

You never know when or where our next event will be…. Life is like a box of chocolates…. But one thing is for sure, it will be filled with joy, laugher, great people and fabulous wine and food! Heck, you might even learn something! Visit this page regularly to not miss out! Whether putting on a gala, wine tasting, practicing yoga in the vineyard, harvesting frozen grapes in the bold cold of January for icewine or stomping grapes in oak barrels, live life large with us! See some of our past events Oh and if you ‘d like us to create an event for you, your company or your brand? We’re here for YOU!

Book The Wine Ladies to host or emcee your next event.

Want more information? Send us an email to thewineladies@gmail.com

The Wine Ladies Georgia and Susanne were honored to emcee the Zonta Celebrates International Women's Day event,
The Wine Ladies Georgia and Susanne were honored to emcee the Zonta Celebrates International Women’s Day event,

The Wine Ladies at Sopra Lounge, Toronto with Celebrities Massimo Capra and Emilio Fina

Patio Launch party at Calamus Estate Winery with Peter Van-Heldingen, Twenty Valley, Niagara,

Eduardo Chadwick the President and Owner of Vina Errazuriz and co-founder of Mondavi of Se

The 10th anniversary of “The Berlin Tasting” The Wine Ladies interview with Eduardo Chadwick

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Recently ( First published Nov 25th, 2014) in Toronto celebrating The 10th anniversary of The Berlin Tasting with featured guest Eduardo Chadwick the President and Owner of Vina Errazuriz and co-founder of Mondavi of Sena.
 
The 10th anniversary of a ground breaking tasting that sent a little bit of tremor through our world of wine… it was called The Berlin Tasting. And boy did it ever make a statement and an impact in the perception of this country’s wine
 

And the country, a long and skinny one with wine regions that span from the north to the south, over 4000 kilometers. Is… ready for this.. Chile. Now at this historic tasting, these wines truly came out on top! Beating out some of the worlds iconic wines including established French classics such as Chateau Lafite, Chateau Margaux and and Italian cult wines including Sassicaia and Tignanello.

Today all the way from Chile, to share with us how this tasting went down that historic January day in 2004,  to the surprise of the panel of 36 international judges, no-one really expected this outcome… except possibly our guest… Eduardo Chadwick, the President and Owner of Vina Errazuriz and co-founder with Mondavi of Sena, who’s two wines won top honours! We’ll also explore with Mr. Chadwick how these wines are faring today and the long lasting impact this legendary tasting has had on the wines of Chile today.

And not only is Chile a premier  wine growing region, but the country itself is also  stunning with natural landscapes, dramatically varied from desert to forest, volcanoes, glaciers and beaches.. So much to do and see from the mysterious  and most isolated place in the world, Easter Island to the Atacama Desert, the highest and driest desert on earth, likened in places to the surface of Mars…to fill us in on some of the bucket list places to visit in Chile, we
will be welcoming Juan Antonio Figueroa, the Trade Commissioner of Chile here in Toronto 
 
 
 
The Berlin Tasting 10th Anniversary
The Cambridge Wine and Food Society
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Get Your Own Branded Restaurant APP for Apple and Android

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Make More Money With Your Own App! Your own food ordering App plus web ordering. Send messages directly to your customers(push, email & more) Offer loyalty rewards to draw your customers back. Deposit payments directly into your bank account. GPS tracking of deliveries. Very low commission rates. 

Please email us directly for more info. thewineladies@gmail.com

Ranee's Roti & Caribbean Cuisine
Ranee's Roti & Caribbean Cuisine. Download our APP and save $$$ and earn loyalty points.
One Five One Social App Poster
One Five One Social App Poster
Zucchinis Cucina Web Ordering and Apps
Chef Giuseppe Ferraro

Celebrate Thanksgiving For A Good Cause.Join Us, Oct 6th At Zucchinis Cucina, Kerr Street Village, Oakville. Another Fabulous Find For Foodies!

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Please join us Oct 6th at Zucchinis Cucina to celebrate the Thanksgiving season with family and friends as we give back to those less fortunate.
Introducing the culinary skills of Chef Giuseppe Ferraro who will showcase the amazing ways Turkey can be enjoyed all paired with a selection of wines.
The evening is a dedicated fundraiser* to The Good Shepherd Centres. 

Food & Wine Tasting Menu
 

Turkey Chorizo Sausage Bites

Polenta Fries With Truffle-Alioli

Turkey Sliders With Cranberry Chutney, Stuffing And Gravy

Turkey & Potato Croquettes With Spiced Cranberry & Chilli Gel

Cavatelli With Shredded Turkey & Zucchini, Sun-Dried Tomato, Grilled Red Onion And Simmer Peas. Light Cream And Lemon Sauce.

Lemon And Pumpkin Tarts.

 

ALL INCLUSIVE** $50.00 PER PERSON

Date: Tuesday, Oct 6th, 2020
Time: 6pm-10pm
Place: Zucchinis Cucina
Address: 438 Kerr Street, Oakville, ON
L6K 2A6

Please book early as seating is limited to 50 guests.

R.S.V.P. at 905-808-8374


All precautions are in place to ensure employees and our esteemed customers are safe.

Looking forward to spending some quality time, good food and wine while expressing our thanks for all of our blessings in these challenging times.

See you there.


Georgia and Susanne
The Wine Ladies
 

* Partial proceeds from the evening will be donated to The Good Shepherd Centres.
** Food, wine tasting menu includes hst. Gratuities are welcome.

Zucchinis Cucina Oct 6th, 2020 Thanksgiving Event
Zucchinis Cucina Thanksgiving Oct 6th, 2020 event.

 

Chef Giuseppe Ferraro
Giuseppe Ferraro, Executive Chef Zucchinis Cucina