You Are What You Cook: Palestinian Food with the King of Falafel and Shawarma

When Fares Zedeia left Palestine as a teenager, he believed he’d return. Instead, he had to watch from afar as his homeland was torn apart. For years, he searched for his place in the world — a search that eventually led him to a food cart on a New York City sidewalk.

In this episode, I sit down with Fares “Freddy” Zedeia, the King of Falafel and Shawarma himself. Over a platter of his signature falafel, juicy shawarma, and tender kebab, we talk about his journey from cab driver to king — and how food becomes identity and a way to survive when home is far away.

Read more about what we ate!

EPISODE CREDITS

Produced & Edited by Diane Bezucha

Music

• “Coronea” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Marisala, (2017)
• “Somewhere in Punjab” by SergeQuadrado
• Cooking Food Music by BackgroundMusicForVideos
• Upbeat Together Worldbeat Emotional World Uplifting Music by REDproductions
• “Cast in Wicker” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Aeronaut, (2017)
• “Watermarks” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Crab Shack (2018)
• “City Limits” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Albany, NY (2015)
• “Armenia” by SergeQuadrado