Guide for Lebanese Living Abroad
How to Send Home-Cooked Meals to Your Family in Lebanon From Abroad
By Chef Mirna Saad · Updated 1 November 2026
You cannot ship cooked food to Lebanon: couriers and customs reject perishable homemade meals. The practical way is to order from a home kitchen inside Lebanon that cooks each morning and delivers to your family on fixed days. You arrange it on WhatsApp from abroad, your parents receive the meal, and you get a photo of each delivery.
What are the options for sending food to parents in Lebanon?
There are four realistic options. Shipping cooked food from abroad does not work. Gift and cake sites cover occasions, not daily meals. Grocery and errand concierge services keep the fridge full, but someone still has to cook. A local home kitchen delivering on fixed days is the only option that puts a fresh cooked meal on the table every day without your parents cooking.
| Option | How it works | Good for | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipping cooked food by courier from abroad | You cook or buy food abroad and send it by international courier. | Nothing perishable. Sealed dry goods only. | Not practical: couriers and customs generally reject perishable homemade food, and transit takes days. |
| Gift, flower and cake delivery sites | Websites that deliver cakes, flowers and hampers inside Lebanon, often payable from abroad. | Birthdays and one-off occasions. | Not designed for daily meals; no regular cooked lunch. |
| Grocery and errand concierge services for the diaspora | Services that buy and deliver groceries, medicine or run errands for your family. | Keeping the fridge and pharmacy stocked. | Your family still has to cook every meal. |
| A local home kitchen delivering cooked meals on fixed days | A kitchen in Lebanon cooks that morning and delivers to the door, e.g. Gourmet Saad in Fanar/Metn, and other meal-plan kitchens in Beirut and Keserwan. | Fresh daily meals for parents who live alone, are elderly or recovering. | Only within each kitchen’s delivery area; order a day or more ahead. |
Why is a local home kitchen the most practical choice?
A local home kitchen cooks the food your parents already eat, a few kilometres from their door, and delivers it hot on the same day. Nothing crosses a border, nothing waits in a warehouse, and the schedule is fixed, so your parents know when lunch arrives. You stay in control from abroad through one WhatsApp conversation.
It also solves the problem most people abroad actually worry about: not whether there is food in the house, but whether a parent living alone bothers to cook a proper meal. A tabkha such as fasoulia with rice, mloukhieh or kousa mehshi arrives ready to eat, and the pot usually covers more than one meal.
How does it work with Gourmet Saad?
Gourmet Saad is a home kitchen in Fanar run by Chef Mirna Saad since 2012. Through the Weekly Family Plan, a tanjara serving 4–5 is cooked that morning and delivered on the days you choose, Monday to Saturday, to Fanar, Metn, Beirut or Jounieh. Plans start from $60 a week for 3 days; a one-time gift tanjara is from $20.
- Message on WhatsApp with who the meals are for, their area, the days you want and any dietary needs.
- Choose a plan: 3-Day from $60/week, 5-Day from $100/week, 6-Day from $120/week, or a one-time gift tanjara from $20. Each delivery is a tanjara that serves 4–5.
- Receive an itemised total on WhatsApp before the first delivery, including delivery, which depends on the area. Payment is arranged with you individually on WhatsApp.
- Mirna cooks that morning in Fanar and the meal is delivered at the time agreed with your family.
- You get a WhatsApp photo of each delivery. Pause or skip any week with one message.
What should you check before you order for elderly parents?
Before you order, confirm five things with any kitchen: that it delivers to your parents' exact area, that it can adapt to their diet, what time the meal arrives, who will open the door, and how you will know it was delivered. Settling these in the first message avoids missed deliveries and food your parents cannot eat.
- Area covered: give the town and street, not just "Beirut" or "Metn".
- Dietary needs: low salt, low fat, soft food for chewing difficulties, no spice, diabetic-friendly dishes, allergies.
- Delivery time: agree a window that fits their lunch and any medication schedule.
- Who receives: a parent, a caregiver or a neighbour, and a local phone number the driver can call.
- Confirmation: how you will know it arrived. Gourmet Saad sends a WhatsApp photo of every delivery.
- Flexibility: whether you can pause when you visit Lebanon or when they travel.
When do people abroad send a meal instead of money?
Most one-time orders come around family occasions, when being far away is felt most. A tanjara or a baked tray arriving at the door says more than a transfer, and it is ready for the whole family to share. Order a day or two ahead on WhatsApp and include a short message to pass on with the delivery.
Mother’s Day, 21 March
Lebanon celebrates Mother’s Day on 21 March. Send her favourite dish so she does not cook that day.
Christmas and Easter
Not flying home this year? Send a tray to the family table.
Eid
A tanjara for the family gathering, delivered on the day you choose.
Recovery after illness
After surgery or a hospital stay, light home cooking on fixed days, adapted to the doctor’s advice.