ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
g n i k o Co with Julie Taboulie
Julie Ann Sageer—aka Julie Taboulie—is a world-renowned cookbook author and television personality, starring in her popular PBS shows Julie Taboulie and Julie’s Lebanese Kitchen. The LIU Post alum grew up in a close-knit, food-oriented family anchored by her mother, who cooked fresh meals centered around ingredients grown in her ample garden. Her very first memory is of being in the garden with her mother. She is perhaps three or four years old. Sitting on mama’s lap, she is fed a squash blossom. “I remember her feeding me the pretty squash blossom and thinking, 'why is she feeding me a flower?'” It’s this visceral memory that encompasses the connection between all the senses and her mother. The memory came rushing back when she prepared a squash blossom dish for her recent cookbook, Cooking with Julie Taboulie. That sense memory informs her cooking philosophy and her inspiration—the basis of which is garden-fresh herbs and vegetables. “My cooking is based on natural, fresh ingredients. I’m inspired by the stages of the gardens from seeds to plants. Seeing them grow into abundant, beautiful herbs and plants and vegetables.” Her favorite dish both to cook and to eat is, of course, her namesake: tabbouleh, a mixture of fresh tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur, and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. It’s a dish that can be served on special occasions or as a weekday side
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LIU MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018
dish. Either way, Julie makes it constantly and never tires of it. Julie discovered how to meld her passion for cooking with her love for television at LIU Post where she studied communications and played Division II field hockey. She was drawn to LIU due to its proximity to Manhattan, while still being in the suburbs like she was used to growing up in upstate New York. “It hit all of those marks for me. It just all came together. The Brookville area and the campus is so beautiful.” Her overall favorite memories were the television classes and studio experiences, writing and producing, which led directly to her success crafting her PBS shows. “I lived in the studio. I absolutely loved my professors. Jean Carlomusto gave me a pin I still have that says, ‘Don’t Watch Televison, Make Television.’” For those looking to be cookbook authors or to produce their own television shows the way Julie does, she has this advice: Be authentic, one million percent. Be true to yourself and your vision and your voice. Believe that what you’re doing is worth it and that others will hopefully embrace your work. And you have to put in the work. And be nice to everyone along the way. Just be thankful and grateful.