Newsletter

Small Batch, Big Impact: How Artisan Brands Are Redefining the Future of Food

The future of food isn’t being driven only by large-scale production. Increasingly, it’s shaped by small-batch, artisan brands that prioritise flavour, transparency, and cultural integrity. Small batch production allows for greater control over ingredients, sourcing, and process. It creates space for fermentation, experimentation, and seasonality. These are the elements that give products character, whether it’s a loaf of bread or a jar of your favourite condiment, sauce or paste. Consumers are also looking for context. They want to know where their food comes from and why it exists. Artisan products...

A mezze spread is about generosity, not perfection. It’s designed for sharing, grazing, and lingering, where the table becomes the centre of the gathering. We all love a mezze platter at a restaurant with friends, follow the below and bring that restaurant quality experience home with ease. Step one: anchor the table. Creamy staples like hummus, baba ghanoush, or labneh form the base of any mezze spread. These dishes ground everything else. Step two: add contrast. Mezze thrives on balance. Pair rich dips with pickles, olives, or fresh salads to...

Shatta exists in almost every Palestinian household, but no two versions are ever the same. It’s shaped by memory, availability, and personal preference. When we set out to make Shatta at Fil, the goal was never to standardise it, it was to honour it through our own modern interpretation of tradition. What separates Fil’s Shatta starts with fermentation. Fermenting chillies isn’t a trend for us; it’s tradition. The process develops complexity over time, softening raw heat and creating depth that can’t be rushed. This is the foundation of Palestinian shatta...

Shatta, harissa, and zhoug are often grouped together as “chilli pastes” or “hot sauces,” but that shorthand does them all a disservice. While they share heat as a common thread, their origins, ingredients, and uses are entirely distinct. Shatta is the Palestinian expression of spice. In Arabic, the word simply means “chilli” or “heat,” and as a condiment it resists rigid definition. Palestinian shatta chili paste is typically made from fresh or fermented chillies, salt, and sometimes garlic or other aromatics. The flavour is bright, sharp, and immediate. It’s not...

A well-stocked pantry is more than a collection of ingredients. It’s a shortcut to flavour, a cultural archive, and often a reflection of how food is cooked and shared at home. In Middle Eastern kitchens, the pantry plays a particularly central role. With just a handful of staples, you can build dishes that are bold, comforting, and deeply rooted in tradition. At the foundation is olive oil. Not just any olive oil, but the kind that’s grassy, peppery, and unapologetically present. In Palestinian households, olive oil is not a finishing...

5 Unexpected Ways to Use Shatta That Teta Never Told You (But Would Approve Of)

Shatta has traditionally been a humble condiment; a simple plate topper that brings a burst of fresh heat to any meal. While there’s nothing wrong with that, at Fil we...

Filanthropy - Flavour That Makes a Difference

Since the very beginning, we’ve believed that as a Palestinian food brand, our Shatta should do more than taste good. It should do good. Fil was never meant to exist...

The Story of a Spoonful: The Origin Of Our “Award-Winning” Shatta Jam

When we first started Fil, we never set out to make a chilli jam...

Fil in the Wild: Now Available in 25 Locations (and Counting!)

We're thrilled to share that Fil is now available in more than 25 carefully chosen stockists — from independent grocers and delis to artisan food platforms, cafés, and even a...

Cult Heroes - Arayes

Some dishes just belong to a time and place. Arayes is one of them. It’s the dish we secretly hope someone brings, but never want to demand. This bbq cult...

palestinian shatta zaatar roast chicken comfort food

Food that Tastes Like Home - Baba’s Spicy, Aromatic Zaa’tar Chicken

Comfort food isn’t just about ingredients - it’s about the memories stirred with every bite. Here’s the story (and recipe) behind one of the dishes that brings me home.

What is Shatta?

Welcome to the Fil newsletter. We told ourselves we wouldn’t start one, but we realised that this space offers something unique that Instagram and other channels do not—an intimate way...