Our mission is to pursue and enjoy unique and memorable gourmet journeys through unveiling the secrets of the land, its people and cuisine. We believe that food travel is experiential and is a five folding impact, where all human senses are incited. Flying for the Château or the terroir, the farm or the Michelin star restaurant, we invite everyone to take part of this new way of travelling, where emotions, empathy and food tourism revitalize altruism and human talent.
Embark with us on culinary and wine journeys of a lifetime and feel the soul of a destination through its cuisine.
Marianne Abou Jaoude, Founder & Managing Director
Marianne is the founder of “Le Passeport Culinaire” or The Culinary Passport. She started six years ago exploring France and other parts of the world, motivated by a passion to embark on unique and memorable culinary experiences. Flying for the Château or the terroir, the farm or the Michelin starred restaurant, she invites everyone to take part in this new way of traveling, where emotions, empathy, and food tourism revitalize altruism and human talent. Marianne holds a CCTP – “Certified Culinary Travel Professional” Certificate from the World Food Travel Association, a Master degree in Culture and Tourism Engineering, a BA in Hospitality Management and more than 20 years of experience in the Hospitality and Culinary Tourism Industry. She was the former Director of Food & Beverage at Hotel Le Bristol in Beirut. Marianne is currently a lecturer at the Lebanese University, the faculty of Tourism & Hospitality Management providing courses to the Hospitality Management Master Program in Strategic hotel operations management and Case Studies in Hospitality Management in addition in addition to courses provided for the Bachelor Program in culinary tourism (gastronomic and wine tourism), catering management, beverage management, quality management provision, global culinary tourism, introduction to hospitality management, events management, and restaurant operations. She gives part-time courses as well at the American University of Science and Technology and has been tutoring in the Master of Entrepreneurship program at the ESA School of Management. Marianne introduced Tasting Lebanon, a tourism network to discover Lebanon through local food ambassadors. She initiated recently a social recipes platform connecting home cooks and amateurs to professional chefs. A tasty digital space for food lovers.
Nour Azzi, Managing Partner
Nour is the founder of @guesthouseslebanon and is the Managing Partner at Le Passeport Culinaire. Guesthouses Lebanon, currently part of Le Passeport Culinaire family, is a directory of guesthouses, promoting local authentic experiences throughout Lebanon ensuring that the featured guesthouses have the hosts present for a traditional experience highlighted by culture sharing from the village and the region. Nowadays, Guesthouses Lebanon is a growing community on Instagram and Facebook where potential guests reach out by message to the team to know more about the hosts and the guesthouses in the different regions of Lebanon. Nour is a holder of an international master's degree in Rural Development, a BS in Agribusiness, and an Agriculture Engineering degree. Her approach to local development incorporates a multi-disciplinary framework based upon close interactions between agronomic, environmental, and social sciences. She has experience in development, rural tourism, socio-economic, and value chain analysis for more than 6 years. Nour has worked with many donors (i.e. GIZ, USAID, UNDP, UNIDO, and WFP) and organizations (i.e. G NGO, Tamayyaz, DAI, OXFAM, CIHEAM BARI, and Care International in Lebanon).
Former General Manager of Le Bristol Hotel in Beirut, she is currently the professional adviser of Le Passeport Culinaire. She tremendously enjoys the discovery, tasting, and development aspects of culinary travel and cherishes great moments every time she embarks on a new gourmet journey. As a hospitality industry professional, connecting and meeting people is her primary motive. Nazira is currently fully dedicated to the Culinary Passport Club project. Looking for good restaurants, meeting with the producers, hiking in nature, enjoying good wine, and mingling with people are some of the hobbies and interests that occupy her daily life. She is the driving force for our projects and is always keen on ensuring their success and scalability.
Joseph is Le Passeport Culinaire Digital Marketing Lead. Joseph holds a Master's degree in Finance and a Bachelor's in Economic Sciences. He has always been passionate about arts ever since a young age. He used this particular strength to get the best from both worlds. When he's not sketching, writing, or editing, he works on digital marketing projects, social media management, and small business tools for financial and stock management. Being part of le Passeport Culinaire means a lot to Joseph since it represents everything he loves: travel, food, and openness to other cultures.
Lara is Le Passeport Culinaire Local Food Ambassadors Lead. She is also Aaqoura Local Food Ambassador and the North Regional Food Ambassador. Lara holds a Bachelor's in Architecture and she shifted into hospitality following her Masters's in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She currently manages her family business, the Laklouk Country Club. Lara has a great passion for both Lebanon's rural and urban areas with all their charm and she is making sure to share her passion with her tour guests.
Marita is Le Passeport Culinaire Data Science Support. Marita is a young and passionate data scientist who can transform the data into a storytelling experience. Her main interests revolve around business, startups, and technology. Marita is a senior student of Data Sciences at the Lebanese University. A scout at heart, dancing, and running are her current hobbies. She is stepping the success’ stairway by thriving personal growth through education, experience, and change.
Didier is Le Passeport Culinaire's photographer and social media agent. Passionate about photography, whenever on a tour, Didier spots the nice views and locations to shoot, the amazing sceneries to highlight and the food specialties and drinks to showcase for the food lovers to indulge through the eyes and dream of embarking with us on the upcoming journeys. Didier holds certificates in photography and videography and is ambitious to learn more.
Marianne Mhanna, Partnerships Support
Marianne is Le Passeport Culinaire Partnerships Support. Marianne is a real nature and adventure lover with a passion to inspire and motivate people to see the true beauty of Lebanon. She owns an organization that she founded with her father, called “École de Montagne – Liban” that organizes outdoor activities in all seasons and teaches mountain techniques to enjoy the mountain safely in Lebanon. She has a bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management. Apart from that, Marianne is a certified ski instructor from the Lebanese Ski Federation, and also has an IATA certificate. Tourism has been a major part of her life since she has been in this field for more than six years, namely exploring and discovering new places, meals, and people.
