[MODEL MADHOUSE] Country Road, Ghorayeb Style

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The familiar smells coming from the kitchen, Mona and Sid in a heated discussion about how to best chop the tabouli, the sound of crunching wrapping paper and excited squeals of children and the distant tune of Christmas songs can of course only mean one thing. Santa Claus has come to town!! And by Santa Claus I mean Country Road and by town I mean Tweed Heads. As part of Country Roads 2020 Christmas campaign titled Home, they showcased what it means to have Christmas in Australia by photographing what this country has to offer in terms of it’s beauty and the people living among it.

Country Road interviewed the man behind the lens who just so happens to be my incredibly talented husband Georges Antoni and the son of Mona and Sid, the two culinary masterminds behind our Lebanese-Australian Christmas lunch. Read below for an insight to our traditional Christmas day as well as interviews with Mona the Masterchef herself and Rupert Carr-Gregg the wonderful creative director behind the iconic campaign.

Georges, can you tell us a little about what makes your family’s Christmas celebration unique?

The people… I mean like every family we are a weird and eccentric bunch. Inevitably, the following scenario will play out on Christmas Day:

My Mum Mona will be in the Kitchen with a towel flung over her shoulder, her beautiful hands with a sophisticated red manicure are oily as she sprinkles the nuts over a traditional Lebanese Christmas dish. My dad (Sid) is washing up and telling her that he knows an "even better" way to cut the tomatoes for the tabouleh - while he packs the dishwasher as ONLY he can.

My nieces Yasmine and Layla will be sat on the kitchen bench discussing their next big business idea, while Yassi is trying to get into the details, her sister Layla is distracted by the thought of what family game can be played next. She calls out to her brother Aleksander, with a profound question like “would you rather have no hands or eat potatoes for the rest of your life?”. Sadly he doesn't answer, he is asleep on the sofa because he went out last night and has already been to the gym for 4 hours this morning. He is not alone - there is a snore off with my other nephew Jonny who probably played counterstrike till 5am against friends in Turkmenistan, Poland and Micronesia.

Simultaneously, in the TV room, my teenage nephew Antoni is texting his new girlfriend over some new app (that I've never heard of and didn’t exist last Christmas). He is kind of also watching my daughter Valentina and her cousin Zara dancing to the rather eclectic carols playing in the background (probably Andrea Boccellis operatic version of little drummer boy). My 1 year old daughter Siddy (named after my dad Sid) is trying to keep up with the dance moves - she can’t, so gives up and then proceeds to eat the torn gift wrapping that is all over the living room floor. Xavier my 8 year old nephew is an opportunist and will probably use his sister and cousins dance session as an opportunity for real life target practice with his new nerf gun ...“This year uncle, the foam bullets are green not orange!".

We will hear a knock at the door, my sisters Vivianne and Marianne make a grand entrance probably wearing all white. Their hands will be full because Vivianne is responsible for cooking all of the vegetables and Marianne does all the sweets. They miraculously manage to fit all of this in between balancing their families and working in retail during the crazy rush of the Gold Coast Christmas trade. Christmas day will be their " first day off in years”.

My other sister Gina (who incidentally works for country road) comes out from the bedroom, she is definitely wearing all white, has bright red lipstick and will have a crazy pair of Christmas earrings on (a new pair every year) and approximately 2.5meters of tinsel in her hair. Michael (Ginas husband) is putting together the new baby pool or bike or trampoline or whatever was bought for the kids this year.

I lean over my beautiful wife Phoebe, and cuddle her from behind as I watch her put the finishing touches on her VERY VERY experimental desert and assure her that the Frozen Pannatone ice cream truffle rum baba cake with chocolate swirls will “honestly taste amazing baby - I'm sure of it.”.

What is your favourite tradition?

Getting up at 5am and cooking with my mum and dad. Mum makes the rice, dad makes the mince and I make the chicken.

What makes ‘home’ feel like ‘home’ for you?

I know it’s a cliche but home for me is my whole family. If one person is missing it does not feel like home. On the other hand if we are all together in a park - the park is home, if we are all together in a restaurant - the restaurant is home. If we are all together in an elevator - well that wold probably collapse...

We’d like to create a little itinerary for our community, can you walk us through your day, how does it begin? What activities do you do as a family? What stands out, what makes it special for you?

5am: I get up at 5am and cook with mum and dad. (My family stays overnight at my mum and dads place)

7.30am: My wife and daughters get up and the shenanigans begin.

8am: Eat a VERY LIGHT brekky.

9-11am: Cooking continues.

11am: The time the remainder of the family (12 more people) are meant to arrive

1pm: The time the family actually arrive.

1-3pm: Eat talk, laugh, fight, play games.

3-4pm: Open the presents

4-5pm: Everyone pretty much Sleeps

5pm: Eat

6pm: Eat and try to play a board game

7pm: Eat and try to play a board game

8pm: Eat and we have given up on board games

9pm: Eat and Talk

10pm: Eat and talk and sleep

Do you have a favourite recipe or you eat every Christmas?

Yes it’s a Lebanese version of Rice chicken and Mince with beautiful nuts.

What did you enjoy most this year at Christmas with your family?

BEING TOGTHER…. JUST BEING TOGETHER and being grateful that we are all healthy in this unusual time.

Mona, you emigrated from Lebanon to Australia 50 years ago. What was it that brought you here?

I’ll be honest, I didn’t come to Australia by choice, it was my husband who decide to make Australia his home. His only sister had recently moved to northern Queensland and he wanted to be closer to her. We opened up a clothing store in Blackall where we lived for 25 years and raised our four beautiful children. Considering I wasn’t all too keen to move to Australia, Blackall ended up being the best thing that ever happened to us. We now live on the Gold Coast and I couldn’t imagine home being anywhere else.

What Christmas traditions have you brought over from Lebanon?

The only tradition we’ve really implemented into our Aussie Christmas is the food. We brought with us all our traditional Lebanese recipes. Our Christmas lunch begins with a chicken soup sprinkled with parsley, a very traditional Lebanese dish and our centrepiece is ablama riz au djaj, which is essentially a mountain of rice covered with shredded chicken, fragrant mince meat and toasted almonds and pine nuts. Other than the food, Christmas in Australia is not so different. It’s all about family so as long as we have each other then Christmas could be anywhere.

How have you combined the more western traditions with that of your own?

Again it all centres around food and it has been a pleasure to introduce some of the traditional Australian dishes to our Lebanese table including roast ham, plum pudding and mince pies.

What’s your favourite Lebanese dish to eat at Christmas?

My favourite is ablama. Not only because it tastes amazing but because it holds so many memories for me. The smell of the ablama cooking, the orange blossom and rose water, remind me of so many wonderful Christmas’s I had as a child and now I get to create equally amazing memories for my children and grandchildren.

What has living in Australia meant for you and your family?

Like any big change in life there is always for and against, however, Australia has been incredibly inviting and welcoming of my husband I. It gave, and still gives, my family security and opportunities and has given us the ability to grow roots in a foreign place far away from home. However, for me Australia will always be home.

What did you enjoy most this Christmas?

With such a turbulent year behind us I am just grateful that we got to spend Christmas with each other at all. Two of my children and their families live across the boarder in NSW so there was a big question mark as to whether or not we’d be able to spend the holidays together. Thankfully we are all healthy and with the opening of the boarders pre-Christmas we were able to celebrate under one roof. Having my family together is all I wanted this Christmas.

How did your family in Lebanon celebrate this year?

I’m heartbroken for my family and the people in Lebanon. They didn’t have much to look forward to this Christmas but they are such resilient people and they tried with all their strength to still celebrate this very holy season. They gave it their best shot as usual but my prayers and thoughts are with them. Lebanon is hurting and Christmas this year was definitely not what it should have been.

Rupert, what inspired Country Roads Christmas campaign?

This year Australia’s state borders were shut for the first time in 100 years. Throughout 2020, the spread of the COVID pandemic saw heightened animosity and segregation between the states. We wanted to make a campaign that featured each one of Australia’s states and territories as an attempt to bring some unity back to the divided interstate narrative, and to celebrate the Australian Summer we all love and enjoy.

What was important about the family and people featured in the campaign?

Everyone featured in the campaign was a friend, collaborator or connected to the brand in one way or another. In talking to the idea of family and togetherness, we wanted to make sure we were talking to all the different ways people experience Christmas. Whether it is spent with family, friends or on your own. The centrepiece of our campaign was the Lebanese-Australian Christmas lunch with the beautiful Ghorayeb family. To me, the Ghorayebs are emblematic of the modern Australian family. Georges and Ribal so beautifully captured the event of the Christmas lunch but more importantly the abundant love between every person in the family. We felt it important to celebrate the Lebanese-Australian community as an important and enduring cornerstone of modern Australian culture. Also to celebrate the resilience of the Lebanese people in light of the devastating tragedy the people of Lebanon suffered earlier that year.

What do you love about Country Roads Christmas campaign?

As we were not able to travel to direct the campaign, we handed over creative control to all of our friends and collaborators to deliver the beautiful pictures and films featured in the campaign. We then weaved these together into one narrative in post-production. Sharing this trust with all the incredible creatives that were involved made this such a memorable and unique experience that we will never forget.

What three words do you think of when you think of Country Road?

Australia. Togetherness. Tote-Bag.

How did you celebrate Christmas 2020?

I was very lucky to be able to spend Christmas with my parents. They live nearby and it is always so special to be able to spend extended periods of time with them and unwind after the craziness of the working year.

What changes (if any) do you hope to see in the fashion industry in the years to come?

I am very proud to be a part of a brand that is using their platform to tell real stories and celebrate all Australians. In the years to come I look forward to seeing how fashion brands and fashion advertisers continue to progress and diversify conversations with their customer. I also look forward to seeing all brands becoming more transparent around their manufacturing processes. This will see the customer better equipped with the information they need to help them decide which brands they wish to stand behind and support.