Lifestyle
9.30.2022
Cookbook Saudi Feast: Flavors and Recipes, a journey into the purest Saudi culinary tradition
Lovers of world cuisine, this book should whet your appetite. “Saudi Feast: Flavors and Recipes” is a beautiful opus in both form and content, written by an award-winning gastronomic writer – Anissa Helou – and immersing the reader in the secrets of Saudi cuisine. KAWA news met the author and the people behind the book, which is the result of a long process of research and survey.
“I think documenting the Saudi culinary heritage is something our country needs to look into.” In 2019, Mayada Badr, then pastry chef and owner of the Pink Camel shop in Jeddah, pointed to a crucial point in Saudi Arabia at a time when the Kingdom was seeking to advertise its cultural – and culinary – heritage.
Three years later, Mayada Badr, who has since become chairwoman of the Culinary Arts Commission, a branch of the Saudi Ministry of Culture, finally saw that idea come to life.
“A rich cuisine”
The result: “Saudi Feast: Flavors and Recipes”, a book of 32 recipes for starters, main courses and desserts selected from a plethora of recipes submitted by Saudi families in response to a Ministry of Culture initiative.
“We asked a number of Saudi families to submit their recipes and the stories that go with them,” she says. We received thousands of proposals, tested several of them and selected 32.”
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The project, funded by the Culinary Arts Commission, is being put to paper by a fine food writer: Anissa Helou. The Syrian-Lebanese-British author and blogger is a fan of oriental cuisine – Mediterranean, Levantine and Arabian – and has already seen one of her books, Feast: Food of the Islamic World, awarded a literary prize.
“I was asked to act as a consultant but also as an author,” she said.
“I had to popularize a number of technical terms and bring a little poetry to the raw recipe texts,” she added.
Anissa is no stranger to Saudi gastronomy, as she says she loves dates and Arabic cuisine. “It’s a rich cuisine, and I’ve already worked with several Saudi chefs,” she said.
5 chapters, pillars of Saudi cuisine
Prefaced by Mayada Badr, and illustrated with superb shots of Saudi cooks in the intimacy of their kitchens, “Saudi Feast: Flavors and Recipes” is organized into 5 chapters covering the pillars of Saudi cuisine: rice, cardamom, lamb, dates and wheat.
The recipes are designed to be easy to reproduce at home, with step-by-step instructions and artistic photographs.
The texts, written by Anissa Helou, introduce readers to local history, food traditions, proverbs and anecdotes that reveal an authentic way of life, a tradition of hospitality and a welcoming culinary heritage. The hardcover edition of the book is already available for sale at £29.
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