S15 Ep1: Claudia Roden one of the greatest food writers of all time on the dishes that have shaped her

Desert Island Dishes

We are back! For a short mini series but back nonetheless! I missed you! And I'm very excited that today my guest today is Claudia Roden.

Described as the food writer who never goes out of fashion. She began collecting recipes in 1956, while a student in London. The Suez crisis of that year turned many people from Egypt into refugees: preserving the food culture of the Jewish community was as much practical as it was emotional.

These recipes led to her debut masterpiece A Book of Middle Eastern Food which really cemented Claudia’s future as one of the greatest food writers we’ve ever known. Her book revolutionised Western attitudes to the cuisines of the Middle East.

Her books have been loved by not only home cooks but also have laid the foundation for many of the most ambitious professional kitchens, and heavily influenced some of the most well known chefs working today, from the River Café, to Ottolenghi, Alistair Little and Moro to name just a few. Claudia’s talent for mixing up the scholarly with the practical is what really has set her apart. Often described as an anthropologist as well as a historian, essayist and poet - her books are as much about culture an anthropology as they are about recipes. But she says she doesn’t follow scholarly rules, and didn’t go to university, she is a food writer through and through who simply finds a dish and wants to learn all about it.

What is clear is that she is the Master of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours and a hero for the industry and people who love food.

Thank you so much to our sponsor HG Walter for helping us to bring the show to you. Find them here: https://www.hgwalter.com

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