Ziyad Hermez, New York

Ziyad Hermez was always a picky eater, so it wasn’t very fitting that he would end up specializing in food. But then he moved to the United States in 2002 to go to college and began craving a few things he had always enjoyed, including the manousheh. After he graduated with a degree in information systems technology, he realized that what he had been waiting for over the last 10 years – someone feeding him said manousheh – was never going to happen, unless he tried to bake it himself. He began to learn how to do just that, realizing that the science behind baking was in fact fascinating. He worked with two bakeries in Lebanon, Mouajenet Gardenia and Firin Abou Dawoud, and soon enough opened his own bakery, Manousheh, in Manhattan. His favorite Beirut spot? Sea Sweet, of course.

Q: What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

A: Having to explain to people why they’re paying $5 for a manousheh. Just kidding, that’s actually super easy to explain, and the real answer is human resources.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about New York?

A: Diversity and acceptance. There are so many people here from so many backgrounds that all come together and share the most amazing things about their cultures.

Q: Who’s your favorite Lebanese celebrity and why?

A: Tough question, there are so many doing really great things in the world. Though I have to say, one of the most influential in the past 20 years has to be Tony Fadell for creating the iPod. Oh, and Shannon Elizabeth, for obvious reasons.

Q: What do you miss most about Beirut?

A: Family, beach, mountains, food. In that order.

Q: Would you ever move back to Beirut? Why?

A: It’s complicated. Being born and raised in Kuwait, I’ve never actually lived there. I will always visit Lebanon as much as I can because it’s my favorite place, but I don’t think I could live there until people stop talking in the cinema! So probably never.

PHOTOGRAPHY NOUSHA SALIMI