Aline Kamakian: “Love in an Armenian family is food”.
Aline Kamakian is a real live wire, and she doesn’t mince her words! This committed woman “has a way with words”, likes to speak frankly and easily recounts her entrepreneurial stories in the restaurant business. Perfectly quadrilingual, she mixes French, English, Armenian and Arabic in a succession of expressions to create her own linguistic melting pot. But who’s behind the character who grew up in Beirut in the 70s, at the height of the Lebanese war? Can Aline Kamakian talk about her sometimes painful past with the same ease? A past that forged her character and made her the tough woman she is today? Portrait of a fascinating human being who, despite the ups and downs of life, has built up a most surprising career path.
Lebanon War
“Gourmandise comes from my grandmother”, she declares from the outset. Hyperactive – even if this disorder was not diagnosed at the time – young Aline managed to channel her energy into the gestures needed to make traditional raviole dough. “My cousins used to play with modelling clay and I played with eating clay”. Lebanese of Armenian origin, Aline grew up in Beirut in a family where food was at the heart of everything. At school, her home-prepared lunches were such a hit that her classmates asked her to share her recipes. With the exception of a proscribed cheeseburger that she secretly enjoys, setting foot in the school canteen would have been a crime of lèse-majesté.
She was five years old when war broke out in Lebanon. Witness to the atrocities of the fighting that tore the capital apart, young Aline remained unable to speak for an entire year. In a Lebanese-Armenian clan, it was unthinkable, especially at the time, to take a traumatized child to a psychiatrist. “Shrinks were for lunatics. It was the love of my family that kept me going. And love in an Armenian family means food. Cooking for a restaurant is one thing; cooking for the people you love is something completely different!
Land of welcome
The history of the Armenian community in Lebanon stems from a genocide, but over time Armenians have been able to integrate thanks to their exceptional skills, unique know-how and tenacity. “Armenians don’t beg, they work! Without a penny in their pockets when they arrived in Lebanon, previous generations unfortunately had no access to higher education. Recognized as artists, we knew how to use our hands. Aline Kamakian recalls the morning prayer she recites daily as a tribute to a land of welcome bordering the Mediterranean: “Thank you Lebanon for welcoming us, we will do our best to repay you”.
A rebellious, dissipated child, Aline doesn’t give in and stands up to anyone who opposes her. Deeply respectful of her mother and very attached to her father, she became close to the patriarch through the kitchen. The two of them regularly got up at four in the morning to prepare the Armenian Sunday breakfast. Alongside numerous uncles, aunts and cousins, a bevy of guests flocked to the Kamakian home every day to sample the marvellous dishes prepared by the father-daughter duo. “Mayrig is the fruit of my mother’s know-how and my father’s dreams. Barely 17, Aline lost her father and, in the wake of this tragedy, decided to realize her father’s vision.
From dream to reality
Left to her own devices and driven by a thirst for independence, Aline finished her studies and began selling insurance. “I quickly realized that independence begins financially”. While keeping a foot in the door, her goal remained intact, and she began her career in the hotel and restaurant business at the Intercontinental Phoenicia Hotel. The first Mayrig was opened in Beirut in 2003. A victim of her own success, the restaurateur soon launched her own catering company. The Lebanese and Oriental customers who frequent the capital are surprised but nonetheless won over. “They discovered a refined, aromatic and seasoned cuisine.
After several openings in Saudi Arabia, the Maldives, Armenia and Egypt, Aline Kamakian has set her sights on Geneva in 2025. A large Armenian diaspora living in Geneva justified this choice and prompted the restaurateur to settle in Switzerland. “I’ve succeeded in realizing my father’s dream, and now I want to spread Armenian cuisine around the world. While preserving traditions, it’s all a question of passing them on. The interview ends with Aline Kamakian’s eyes misting over as she reminisces about her family around a table! Can you blame her? We’re reassured to see that the independent woman is no less human. What a story, what a journey, what a life…
