Name: Fehmi Khalifa
Restaurant: Tipsy Toboggan
Town: Fall River MA
Background: As a child I was always drawn to my mother. She cooked for the 15 of us 3 times a day, everyday. She cooked everything from scratch on olive logs trimmed from our own olive groves. Somehow I became addicted to the aromas, freshness and great tasting foods. In Tunisia, my birth country, we seasoned dishes with spice combinations based on time tested and proven results. Unlike many chefs, I consider myself lucky to have my first culinary instructor as my mother. She was patient and caring in all her coaching sessions. Coming from the Mediterranean basin helped me tremendously! Tunisia was a french colony for almost 80 years and the impact of that is quite visible in the wine-making and the refined cooking techniques. Our proximity to Italy adds so much Italian flare and pizzazz to the already existing culinary intricacies.
After finishing high school, I decided to embark a formal culinary training in the neighboring city of Sousse. Later I went to college and got a Bachelor Degree in English. As a matter of fact I taught ESL for a few years before I came to the USA in 1989 where I started my professional cooking career since.
Q1 What is your first or best memory of cooking and who was it with?
I was 13 years old and under my mother’s supervision I cooked my first meal for my whole family (15 + parents) outdoors on wood logs: Hot summer day and on the menu: Hand cut fries, grilled fresh mackerel and hot chili sauce with garlic and tomatoes. My mother observed and guided me while baking home-made bread in the clay oven next to me. I can still smell and taste the meal as I recall it
Q2 What is your most popular dish?
Brik a l’oeuf: a street food made from a thin dough inside which an egg is cracked and pan fried
Q3 What is your favorite dish to make?
Harissa marinated whole red snapper on the grill with chopped summer veggies and a lemon vinaigrette
Q4 What do you eat when you are not working/ favorite thing to eat?
Redesigned leftovers. In the absence of leftovers, cheese, crackers and grapes
Q5 Person you would most like to cook for?
Jacques Pepin Chef Jose Andres
Q6 If you weren’t cooking, what would you do for a living?
Teaching others and helping them discover why they’re here
Q7 Not your own spot, what is your favorite restaurant?
Turks Seafood, Mattapoisett
The MUST TRY items according to Taste of Massachusetts:
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