Anissa Helou
Anissa Helou | |
|---|---|
 Anissa Helou at theOxford Symposium on Food and Cookery,2012 | |
| Born | 1 February 1952 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Genre | non-fiction |
| Subject | cooking |
Anissa Helou(born 1 February 1952) is a London-based chef, teacher, and author. She specializes in cooking and writing recipes forMediterranean,Middle EasternandNorth Africancuisines. Her cookbooks have won numerous awards. She currently lives in London and runs a cooking school, "Anissa's School."[1]
Biography
[edit]The daughter of aSyrianfather and a Lebanese mother,[2]Helou left her home in Beirut, Lebanon at the age of 21 to study interior design in London.[3]
Following completion of theSotheby'sWorks of Art course,[4]Helou started working for the auction house, becoming their representative for the Middle East. At the age of 24, she opened an Antique shop in Paris. Shortly thereafter, she became a freelance art consultant based in London.[3]Then, between 1978 and 1986, Helou lived in Kuwait acting as an advisor to members of the ruling family, before returning to London in 1986.[2]
Helou was inspired by the Lebanese Civil War and a friend in the publishing industry to write a cookbook. Her first work was titled,Lebanese Cuisine,and it was published in 1994.Robert Irwindescribed it as "No mere utilitarian manual, but a wistful evocation of feasts and picnics held in an easy-going, Levantine environment which all but came to an end... in 1975".[5]The book was short-listed for anAndré Simon Award.[6]
In 1999, Helou changed her life by selling a number of collections atChristie's.[2]She also sold her Victorian house and bought a two-story warehouse loft inShoreditch,which she then converted into a modern minimalist living and working space. She then opened Anissa's Kitchen in this location.[7]
In 2013, Helou was listed by Arabian Business as one of the 500 most powerful Arabs in the world,[8]and one of the 100 most powerful Arab women.[9]
Her book "Levant" was published in 2013 and was selected as one of Observer Food Monthly's 20 Food Books of the Year,[10]Gourmet Travelers Best Books of 2013,[11]14 Best Cookbooks of 2013 byBuzzFeed[12]and one of Marie-Claire Digby's Top 10 Food Books of the Year.[13]
Her bookFeast: Food of the Islamic Worldwas published in 2018.
Books
[edit]
- Savory Baking from the Mediterranean](2007)ISBN9780060542191
- Modern Mezze](2007)ISBN9781844004614
- The Fifth Quarter: An Offal Cookbook(2005) – Most Innovative UK Food Book, 2005 World Gourmand AwardsISBN9781904573210
- Mediterranean Street Food(2002) – "Best Mediterranean in the English Language", 2002 Gourmand AwardsISBN9780060891510
- Cafe Morocco(1999)ISBN9780809226672
- Lebanese Cuisine(1994) – Shortlist, Andrew Simon Book AwardsISBN9781906502188
- Levant: Recipes and memories from the Middle East(2013)ISBN9780007448623
- Feast: Food of the Islamic World(2018)ISBN9780062363039
References
[edit]- ^"Anissa Helou".HarperCollins.Archivedfrom the original on 5 August 2021.Retrieved17 October2020.
- ^abc"About: anissa's blog".anissas.com.Archivedfrom the original on 15 May 2022.Retrieved6 October2020.
- ^abDerhally, Massoud (2 May 2013)."Anissa Helou interview: Accidental Cook".Arabian Business.
- ^Lyon, Alistair (15 June 2010)."INTERVIEW – Anissa Helou: accidental queen of Lebanese cuisine".Reuters.
- ^Irwin, Robert (23 December 1994). "In the Caliph's Kitchen".The Times literary supplement.
- ^The Taste of Future –"Anissa Helou « the Taste of Future the Taste of Future".Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2014.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^"Anissa Helou « the Taste of Future the Taste of Future".The Taste of Future. Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2014.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^"Arabian Business Power 500".ArabianBusiness.com. 2013.
- ^"100 most powerful Arab women 2013".ArabianBusiness.com. 2013.
- ^Jenkins, Allan; Grundy, Gareth (8 December 2013)."Observer Food Monthly's 20 food books of the year".The Observer.Archivedfrom the original on 8 December 2013.Retrieved11 September2022.
- ^"Gourmet Traveller's best books of 2013:: Gourmet Traveller Magazine Mobile".Gourmet Traveller. 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 17 July 2016.Retrieved17 February2014.
- ^Tienlon Ho (2013)."14 Best Cookbooks of 2013".BuzzFeed.
- ^"Marie-Claire Digby's top ten food books of the year".The Irish Times.2013.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Modern Mediterranean Kitchen: Anissa Helou,Food & Wine Magazine,1 March 2004
- Comfort Food of the Chefs: Anissa Helou,Cooking Light,17 February 2012
- Breaking the Fast,by Anissa Helou,Saveur,4 August 2011
- Anissa Helou's Last Supper,The Guardian,3 May 2014
- Living people
- English food writers
- English people of Lebanese descent
- 1952 births
- Lebanese people of Syrian descent
- Lebanese emigrants to the United Kingdom
- 20th-century English non-fiction writers
- 21st-century English writers
- Cookbook writers
- Women food writers
- British food writers
- British people of Syrian descent
- 20th-century English women writers
- 21st-century English women writers
- 21st-century British non-fiction writers
- English women non-fiction writers