Imad's Syrian Kitchen: A Love Letter from Damascus

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Imad’s Syrian Kitchen (HQ) is no ordinary cookbook in the way that the restaurant of the same name is no ordinary eatery. This is clearly a book that’s been designed to demonstrate how easy it is to recreate traditional Syrian dishes in a domestic kitchen. How he didn’t want to carry a knife and appear dangerous so he broke the vegetables up with his hands, and how a local Calais resident had been annoyed with them fishing close by, until one day Imad offered him some of the dish he had made with the fish, and from then on, he allowed Imad and his friends to charge their phones at his house.

Imad Alarnab is a Syrian chef, entrepreneur and refugee who ran three successful restaurants, several juice bars and cafes in Damascus. The second book in the Test Kitchen series Extra Good Things (Ebury) is the title of the second out of four in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen series. This was a very long way from the food Imad cooked on a hot plate in Calais, where during his 64 days living in the refugee camp, he cooked for some 400 people a day.

Alarnab's story is heartbreaking and humbling, with pages of key Syrian ingredients sitting next to the story of his brutal beating by Syrian police.I remembered some of Imad’s words from another article saying “In Syria we don’t ask ‘what do you want to eat? Later on, he talks of the frustrations of Syrian refugees, who believe the plight of their countrymen have been forgotten by many in the West. She is a die-hard Francophile – speaking French helps tremendously – but put her anywhere and she is happy. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. What an inspiring and humbling tale, told by a man who loves his family, food, and the country he was forced to leave.

Damascene cuisine will seem familiar to anyone experienced in Middle Eastern cooking, but the particular flavors that infuse Alarnab's hummus, baba ganoush, fattoush salad, falafel, kuftah, tabbouleh, kibbeh, and much more reflect his own take on Syrian traditions . Anyone who wants to know what it means to be a refugee will be staggered by Alarnab's harrowing account. Making his way from Lebanon through Europe, Imad shared his skills cooking for other refugees, up to 400 at a time, and found even in the most challenging times, his passion for food and bringing people together to celebrate life was strong. Alarnab’s testimony is split into nine sections interspersed within the different recipe chapters of the book. I’m so excited to share the delicious Syrian cuisine of my homeland, and celebrate the restaurant in my adoptive city London, and everyone who comes to find us here.Also really great to read the personal stories from Imad himself - gives the book more charm and personality and shows us how inspiring Imad really is. VERDICT Recipes that spotlight particular ingredients with vibrant tastes anchor this deeply personal refugee story and will remind readers of the power that food has to bring people together and help them heal. Before the war in Syria, Imad had multiple restaurants in Damascus, but when these were destroyed, he had to leave his home and travel as a refugee to London.

He was a very successful businessman and chef in Damascus, but his opposition to Assad meant that it was no longer safe for him nor his family for him to remain. An odd choice you might think for mid-summer but since London is having a dismal few weeks of rain, I am wearing my fleece and happily eating hot soup. For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. But that is his reality, the light and the dark sitting incredibly close, and one that thankfully most of us will never have to endure. I nearly ate a whole cauliflower on my own and was stopped in my tracks only by the thought of the indigestion that might follow.

Imad Alarnab is a refugee whose courage and fortitude have enabled him to set up a new life in the UK. I really recommend this book – both as a cookbook with very tasty recipes, and as the story of a man who risked everything to come to London.