Reem Kassis | |
---|---|
ريم قسيس | |
Born | 1987 (age 37–38) [1] |
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (BA, BSc, MBA) London School of Economics (MSc) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2017–present |
Notable work |
|
Website | reemkassis |
Reem Kassis (Arabic : ريم قسيس; born 1987) is a Palestinian writer and author.
Her work focuses on the intersection of culture, and in particular food, with history and politics. According to The New York Times , her first book The Palestinian Table "broke open a new national conversation about both the cuisine and the appropriation of its recipes".
Kassis was born in Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem, to Palestinian parents with Israeli citizenship. [1] Her father Philip is a Christian from the Galilee and her mother Nisreen is a Muslim from Jaljulya. [1] [2]
Her mother and grandmothers were known locally for their cooking, but Kassis had no early interest in cooking, seeing it as part of a Palestinian culture that kept women in traditional roles. [3] [2] She has no training as a chef. [4]
She left Jerusalem at 17 to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her undergraduate degrees in business and international studies under the Huntsman Program. [5] She earned her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 2010 and later studied at the London School of Economics, obtaining an MSc in social psychology. [6]
Prior to her career in writing, Kassis worked as a business consultant at McKinsey & Company. She also worked with the World Economic Forum and in executive search. [7] After the birth of her daughters, she decided to leave the business world and pursue a writing career. [4] [8]
Kassis writes on issues of culinary appropriation, food history and culture. [9] [10] [6] According to The New York Times, Kassis's first book, The Palestinian Table, "broke open a new national conversation about both the cuisine and the appropriation of its recipes". [9] The Guardian said the book had "established Kassis as a new voice in food writing". [7]
Her debut cookbook, The Palestinian Table, was published in October 2017 by Phaidon Press. The volume moves beyond recipes, using anecdotes and food history to explore Palestinian culture and preserve traditional Palestinian dishes. [3] Journalist Jehan Alfarra called out Kassis' anecdotes for providing "valuable cultural insight as well as specifics about how the local dishes are prepared and served". [11] The book contains 150 recipes. [12] [13] Photography was shot in Jerusalem. [2]
Multiple outlets, including NPR, New York Magazine , The Independent , and Saveur , named the book to their best-of lists for 2017. [14] A journalist in the Institute for Palestinian Studies recommended the book for newcomers, calling Kassis “a humble guide who doesn’t dazzle with intimidating recipes”. [3] Tanuahka Marah, the reviewer for the Morning Star , described the photography as “stunning”. [15] Anthony Bourdain called it an "essential book". [5] [16] [4]
The Palestinian Table was short-listed for the Andre Simon Food and Drink Book Awards, [17] the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, [18] and was a winner in the Eugenie Brazier awards in Lyon. [19] It won the First Book award by the Guild of Food Writers [20] and was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award in the International category. [21]
The book has been translated into German and French. [1]
The Arabesque Table was published in 2021 by Phaidon Press. The volume takes a much broader look at contemporary cooking from across the Arab world, tracing the evolving and cross cultural food of the region and showcasing the impact of Arab food on global cooking today. [22] Multiple outlets, including The New York Times, Eater, Food & Wine , and CNN, listed it as one of the best cookbooks of 2021. [23] Yotam Ottolenghi said, "The Arabesque Table sees food, recipes and stories as part of the on-going conversation (and feast!) between cultures and their cuisines. It sees food, stories and the identities these things are linked to as fluid, receptive; not as static or fixed in one time or place." [24]
We Are Palestinian was published in 2023 by Interlink Books. It is an exploration for younger readers of the culture and history of Palestinian people. [25] [26]
Kassis is married to Albert (Aboud) Muaddi. [1] They lived in London and then moved to Philadelphia.
During an 2022 interview with American journalist Terry Gross, Kassis described her life as a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship as being that of a "second class citizen", citing being singled out for interrogated and strip search during a work trip despite holding an Israeli passport, and the inequity of state provided services in Arab neighbourhoods. "So on paper, the rights are equal, you’re an Israeli citizen, the only difference is you don’t serve in the military. In reality, it wasn’t the case." [27]
Hummus, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. The standard garnish in the Middle East includes olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, parsley, and paprika.
Benu is the first restaurant in San Francisco to have received Three Michelin Stars. Located in the SoMa district, Benu was opened in 2010 by chef Corey Lee, the former Chef de Cuisine at the French Laundry.
A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. Cookbooks, which are a collection of recipes, help reflect cultural identities and social changes as well as serve as educational tools.
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin, featuring in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines, and is made from broad beans, ground chickpeas, or both.
Mujaddara is a dish consisting of cooked lentils together with groats, generally rice, and garnished with sautéed onions. It is especially popular in the Levant.
Italian-American cuisine is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans.
Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times, and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize, and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most widely appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
Musakhan, also known as muhammar, is a Palestinian dish composed of roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts served over taboon bread. Originating in the Tulkarm and Jenin area, musakhan is often considered the national dish of Palestine. The dish is particularly popular among Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and Jordanians. It is also eaten by Arabs and Druze in Galilee, especially around Iksal and Sandala, and in the Triangle. The dish can be found in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan as well. The dish owes its name to the practice of Palestinian farmers to reheat old taboon bread and make it taste better.
A Dutch baby pancake, sometimes called a German pancake, a Bismarck, a Dutch puff, Hooligan, or a Hootenanny, is a dish that is similar to a large Yorkshire pudding.
Ching-He Huang (Chinese: 黃瀞億; pinyin: Huáng Jìngyì; Wade–Giles: Huang2 Ching4-i4;, often known in English-language merely as Ching, is a Taiwanese-born British food writer and TV chef. She has appeared in a variety of television cooking programmes, and is the author of nine best-selling cookbooks. Ching is recognized as a foodie entrepreneur, having created her own food businesses. She has become known for Chinese cookery internationally through her TV programmes, books, noodle range, tableware range, and involvement in many campaigns and causes.
Knafeh is a traditional Arab dessert made with spun pastry dough layered with cheese and soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar. Knafeh is a popular throughout the Arab world, especially in the Levant, and is often served on special occasions and holidays. The most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine, Knafeh Nabulseyeh, originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus.
Joan Nathan is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-Mayor Abraham Beame. The Jerusalem Post has called her the "matriarch of Jewish cooking".
Salma Hage is a Lebanese author and cook. She is the author of the bestselling cookbook The Lebanese Kitchen. Her second book The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook won her the James Beard Award in the Vegetable Cooking category.
Sorted Food is a British YouTube channel and food community created on 10 March 2010, by Benjamin Ebbrell, Michael Huttlestone, Jamie Spafford, and Barry Taylor. In addition to producing cooking videos and live events, Sorted Food publishes cookbooks and manages the subscription-based recipe app "Sidekick".
Bulgur or Bulgar, or Borghol, is a cracked wheat foodstuff found in Egyptian cuisine, South Asian cuisine and West Asian cuisine.
Yasmin Khan is a British author, broadcaster and human rights campaigner. Her work covers food, travel and politics and her critically acclaimed books, The Saffron Tales and Zaitoun, use everyday stories to challenge stereotypes of the Middle East.
Mary Berg is a Canadian television host, author and cook, who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of MasterChef Canada. She has been the host of two television cooking shows, Mary's Kitchen Crush and Mary Makes It Easy, and the daytime talk show, The Good Stuff with Mary Berg. She has released three cookbooks, Kitchen Party,Well Seasoned and In Mary's Kitchen.
Sri Owen is an Indonesian cooking teacher and food writer, based in London for most of her life. She is the author of the first English-language recipe book dedicated to the food of Indonesia, and is recognised as a leading authority on Indonesian cuisine.
A significant facet of the Arab–Israeli conflict deals with a cultural struggle over national cuisines. Foods like falafel and hummus, which originated in Middle Eastern cuisine, have historically been politicized in general expressions of gastronationalism throughout the region. The development of Israeli cuisine occurred largely through the mixing of Jewish diasporic cuisines with Levantine cuisine, including Palestinian cuisine. This effort aided the effective definition of the national identity of Israel as that of a melting pot, but simultaneously prompted claims of cultural appropriation, particularly with regard to the Palestinian people. More specifically, critics of Israeli cuisine's incorporation of dishes that are traditionally seen as part of Arab cuisine assert that Israel lacks recognition for their Palestinian aspects, disqualifying the process as one of cultural diffusion. Opposition to Israeli cuisine in the Arab world revolves around the accusation that dishes of Palestinian origin, or other Arab dishes to which there have been significant Palestinian contributions, are presented by Israel in a way that suppresses or omits the role of the Palestinians in their development.