Feast is Anissa Helou’s 9th cookbook which pays homage to Syria. The author cites pre-war Aleppo as the Middle East’s “gastronomic capital.” According to the Washington Post, “The recipes chronicle how a history of trade routes and migration throughout the Islamic world plays out on the dinner table, from simple suppers to festival fare.”
Ms. Helou is a Lebanese native with Syrian roots and though she isn’t Muslim herself, her decades of experience have made her an authority on Islamic regions’ cuisines. Naomi Duguid, author of “Taste of Persia,” says of the cookbook: “We need more books like this. Writing about the food of other cultures with respect and empathy is important, because it’s an entry point. We all have to eat. This gives a sense of the rich range and also the interconnectedness of everything people are eating.”
In the wake of the Muslim Ban and conflicts in the Middle East, Ms. Helou says she sees the publication of “Feast” as a political act. “The Islamic world has such a rich history that I wanted to do something to portray its positive side. Especially in this moment, it felt important.”
