Heritage & Solidarity: From Bethlehem to Amsterdam

This dinner is more than a culinary experience; it is a celebration of heritage and solidarity. With your ticket, you not only enjoy a five-course menu and exclusive Palestinian wines, but you also provide urgent medical aid for children in Gaza through the Ghassan Abu Sitta Children’s Fund.

More details about the ticket options and charity contributions can be found below.

THE DINNER:

“Food is about the story of the land, food is about the story of my grandmothers, food is about the story of my life. It’s about the richness and the diversity of Palestine. I'd like to take anyone who asks me about Palestinian food by the hand and take them on a visit to Bethlehem through its recipes and through its people.” ¹ Chef Fadi Kattan

For the first time in Amsterdam, we are honored to host the renowned Franco-Palestinian Chef Fadi Kattan for an exclusive dinner on November 30th at A Beautiful Mess Oosterdok. Fadi is the celebrated author of Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food, nominated as the Los Angeles Times Best Cookbook of 2024. Fadi is also the visionary behind Louf, Toronto, making it to Toronto Life's prestigious 2025 best new restaurants list, and Akub, one of London’s top modern Palestinian restaurants.

Join us for a one-of-a-kind evening, where chef Fadi Kattan will present a thoughtfully designed five-course menu using Dutch local ingredients, inspired by his nominated book and his restaurant's adventurous and contemporary take on traditional Palestinian dishes.

This special menu offers a unique culinary experience - from slow-cooked tender lamb with the flavors of fenugreek, cumin, and allspice, to beloved classics like Dagga Ghazawiyeh, a refreshing and aromatic addition to your meal. For this and much more, our full menu with wine pairing will follow soon.

This dinner will include a special wine pairing created by Anna Patrowicz, a sommelier and beverage designer inspired by Palestinian flavors. Drawing from her experience in the wine world and her collaboration with the growers, she brings a deep sensitivity to pairing and taste. For Anna, wine is a journey through emotions, love, and respect for craftsmanship.

We’re delighted to present a limited edition selection of exclusive wines shipped in especially for this evening. We'll be serving the Ashkar Winery Bayad 2024, a beautifully aromatic white blend from the Galilee Highlands, the Taybeh Winery Nadim Rosé 2022 from Taybeh, Palestine, crafted from Syrah, Grenache, and the local Bitouni grape, as well as the Jascala Winery Cabernet Franc 2016 from the Upper Galilee.

Fadi was encouraged from an early age to be bold with flavor combinations, inspired by his grandmother Emilie’s adventurous spirit. Her travels brought a treasure of spices and recipes, inheriting wisdom on how to blend them harmoniously with the local ingredients of Palestine, where food is at the center of family life. This invaluable wisdom forms the heart of our menu’s distinctiveness, where each dish is a vibrant expression of creativity and tradition, promising a memorable dining experience.

The evening will also feature a special storytelling moment where our guest storyteller will take us deeper into the heritage of Bethlehem. And through the evening, we invite you to carry a piece of this experience with you.

To make the evening even more special, HummusAcademy will host a Christmas market featuring a carefully curated selection of Palestinian flavors and crafts. Explore our exclusive wine collection, spices, and olive oil from the region. Discover handmade soaps, accessories, and beautiful ceramics by MaryAnn Jaraisy. You'll also have the chance to purchase a signed copy of Fadi Kattan’s cookbook, a culinary journey through his hometown, where food tells the story of the land, family, and joy.

Why A Beautiful Mess is hosting such a dinner. Our mission has always been to create a place where people who have been displaced can find dignity, purpose, and belonging. Food is not only nourishment, but also identity. At A Beautiful Mess, we see daily how people who seek safety bring with them rich cultural traditions, flavors, and ways of welcoming others. Too often, the refugee story is told only in terms of loss and suffering. Through this dinner, we want to highlight the other side: the richness, resilience, and joy that displaced people carry with them and share with their new communities.

December and January are months when people pause, reflect, and hope for peace in the world. For many, Bethlehem is a name that resonates deeply, not only for those who follow the news, but also for every Dutch person who grew up with the story of Christmas. To sit at a Bethlehem dinner table in Amsterdam, in these dark days, is to connect across time and place: from the birthplace of Christ to our city today, from traditions of hospitality to acts of solidarity.

¹Interview done by Anastasia Miari on Matriarch Eats

Tickets overview:

Standard Ticket €155 - Five-course dinner curated by Chef Fadi Kattan with exclusive Palestinian wine pairing.

Solidarity Ticket €195 - Includes the above + signed cookbook. €20 will be donated to the Ghassan Abu Sitta Children’s Fund.

Heritage Ticket €245 - Includes the above + a bottle of exclusive Palestinian wine to take home. €25 will be donated to the Ghassan Abu Sitta Children’s Fund.

Friend of Bethlehem Ticket €295 - Includes everything above. €50 will be donated to the Ghassan Abu Sitta Children’s Fund.

Additional Donation (open amount) - If you would like to contribute further, you can add an open donation of your choice. 100% of these donations go directly to the Ghassan Abu Sitta Children’s Fund, providing urgent medical aid for children in Gaza.

Ghassan Abu Sitta Children’s Fund - website

The Ghassan Abu Sitta Children’s Fund provides urgent medical aid and support to children in Gaza who are victims of war and violence. Founded to honor the lifelong work of Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a renowned Palestinian-British surgeon dedicated to serving communities in crisis, the fund ensures that children receive critical treatment, rehabilitation, and care. By donating, we help give hope and essential support to the youngest and most vulnerable in Gaza.