Wednesday, October 6, 2021

The Kitchen Without Borders

The Kitchen Without Borders: Recipes and Stories from Refugee and Immigrant Chefs
by Eat Offbeat
Workman Publishing, 2021. 212 pages. Nonfiction

The Kitchen without Borders brings the culinary traditions of fourteen chefs from around the world including Syria, Iran, Eritrea, and Venezuela, right to our tables. Discover delicious, unexpected flavor combinations, and ingredients--like sumac, pomegranate molasses, tahini--that will enhance the repertoire of any home cook or adventurous eater.

If you're interested in learning more about international fare without any sort of fusion getting in the way, then I definitely recommend this cookbook. Not only does it do a fantastic job of outlining the culture surrounding a particular dish, it weaves the stories of the chefs into each recipe, highlighting that the best food is the dish that feels like home, no matter where you are.

If you liked The Kitchen Without Borders, then you may also like:

by Mandy Lee
William Morrow, 2019. 391 pages. Nonfiction

For Mandy Lee, moving from New York to Beijing for her husband's work wasn't an exotic adventure--it was an ordeal. Mandy cooked because it channeled her focus, helping her cope with the difficult circumstances of her new life. She filled her kitchen with warming spices and sticky sauces while she shared recipes and observations about life, food, and cooking in her blog posts. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, she came of age food-wise in New York City and now lives in Hong Kong; her food reflects the many places she's lived. This entertaining and unusual cookbook is the story of how 'escapism cooking'--using the kitchen as a refuge and ultimately creating delicious and satisfying meals--helped her crawl out of her expat limbo.


by Mayada Anjari
Lake Isle Press, 2018. 176 pages. Nonfiction

The Bread and Salt Between Us offers over forty recipes that recall the flavor and comforts of Mayada's home in Syria. From the fresh tabbouleh she learned to prepare alongside her mother and sisters to the rice pudding that won over her future husband, these easy-to-approach dishes tell the story of a family whose culinary traditions have sustained them as they build a new life in the United States. The story of Mayada's journey is beautifully chronicled in this personal recipe collection.

AS

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