Aida's Mediterranean Bistro

Acclaimed for her fresh, flavourful Lebanese cuisine, Aida Abboud, says she couldn’t even fry an egg when she got married. The chef and owner of the popular Aida’s Bistro barely set foot in a kitchen while growing up in what she calls a pampered, affluent home in Lebanon. It was after moving to Calgary in 1974 that she began to learn how to cook. And once she started, she couldn’t stop. “It’s the love of food —I enjoy eating good food,” says Abboud. “It became kind of an obsession. You keep on testing and trying until you get the perfect taste.”

Although she’s completely self-taught, having learned entirely from cookbooks and trial and error, her food is a clear hit. “I’ve been told by Lebanese people that this is as good or even better than some of the places they’ve tried back in the Middle East,” says Abboud. “Oh my gosh, it feels great to hear that.” She and her then husband ran Lebanese restaurant, Café Med for 10 years before they divorced and closed shop. Abboud ended up doing other jobs but realized she wanted to cook again.