Shorkk is a small, socially-minded business based in Bristol, with roots in Scotland and Lebanon, run by Miranda and Philippe el Khazen.
Our aim is to raise the profile of Lebanese ingredients in the UK. So we started our own business, importing ethically-traded Lebanese ingredients into UK kitchen cupboards.
Shorkk came about as a personal response to the economic crisis which has hit Lebanon since October 2019. Many of those who have been hit hardest are farmers and food producers. Lebanese ingredients are hard to come by in the UK, so we wanted to correct this.
With our strong ties to Lebanon, we decided to do something positive. We know how popular Lebanese food is in the UK, and we think it is only right that more people know how good Lebanese ingredients are!
From the north of Lebanon, we buy extra virgin olive oil, “souri” olives and olive leaf infusion from the producer.
He supplies us with tangy pomegranate molasses from Chekka and jewel-like saffron from the Bekaa Valley. As we grow, with your help, so will our list of ingredients.
Summer salads to winter warmers, we’ve put together an archive of our favourite recipes using lebanese ingredients – from our kitchen to yours.
We love working with chefs, cafes, restaurants and caterers to source and deliver the finest Lebanese ingredients to their kitchens and diners.
With exceptional flavour and quality, our products can be used in a range of dishes across many cuisines and menus. If you’d like to know more, please get in touch.
Drawing upon our Lebanese and Scottish heritage
Coming up with a name for our company encouraged us to draw on our dual heritage. Thistles grow in Lebanon and in Scotland, looking reassuringly familiar in both countries.
They push defiantly through stony ground with magnificent grandeur. Splendid in colour, for us thistles symbolise the Lebanese food producing community.
In the present climate, they have been left to their own devices, yet continue to produce amazing ingredients which tap into a food tradition with a noble history.
The Arabic word for thistle, شوك, is not easy to transcribe into English phonetics. We tried lots of combinations of vowels and consonants – shawk – shauk – shauwk – shouwk.
So, we decided to fuse the first consonant sound sh with an English word, fork, and got shorkk.
It was a perfect fit – particularly as the Arabic word for fork, شوكي (showkey) comes from the Arabic word for thistle, شوك showk!
Our image illustrates the origins of our name way better than any wordy explanation.
It was drawn by Zelfa el Khazen.
Find out what people love about shopping with Shorkk – from our sustainable focus to delicious foods.
"What does ‘local’ actually mean?" by Julian Baggini
Our produce comes with a full story behind it. If you want to find out more about how we source our food, where it comes from and who makes it, then our Shorkk Stories give you that insight.
We love talking about our amazing producers and their ingredients. If you’d like to know more about our store, founders or Lebanese ingredients, get in touch.
