Imad's Syrian Kitchen: A Love Letter from Damascus

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We sit down with acclaimed chef Daniel Humm, of Eleven Madison Park in New York, to hear more about his new food-and-art book, ‘Eat More Plants’, released with publishing icon Gerhard Steidl. Meanwhile, Monocle’s Monica Lillis heads south of the Thames to speak to food entrepreneur Jayke Mangion.

For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. This made for a very good texture and the spicing with baharat and mild curry powder was excellent as were the crispy onions strewn over the top. Expect delicious and colourful mezzes, hearty mains, a killer wine list and warm Syrian hospitality. In some he spoke about the 65 days he spent living in Calais, holding on to the underside of lorries trying to get to the UK. Imad Alarnab was a successful restaurateur in Damascus with three restaurants, plus several juice bars and cafes.This narrative is often raw and vivid and may seem out of place in a cookbook, but Alarnab's food carried him on his journey, created his new livelihood, and connected him to the love of his home, making his powerful story a natural pairing with his recipes.

Monocle’s Isabella Jewell sits down with renowned Italian chef Massimo Bottura and his wife, Lara Gilmore, to discuss their new food-and-lifestyle book, ‘Slow Food, Fast Cars’.Imad’s Syrian Kitchen is a bustling tour through 90 traditional and adapted Syrian dishes that can be made in the comfort of your own home. Imad Alarnab says his new life began while he was stranded for 64 days in Calais as a Syrian refugee in 2015. Her recipes are often quick and easy, sometimes more complex, but always the sort of food you want to cook and eat. Making his way from Lebanon through Europe, Imad shared his skills cooking for other refugees, up to 400 at a time.

Alarnab’s testimony is split into nine sections interspersed within the different recipe chapters of the book. The recipes were all easy to make, though some of the timings needed extending (possibly due to our oven’s idiosyncrasies).

From Imad: “From the traditional dishes that my mother first taught me to cook, to the imaginative food that has become my own, my recipes tell my story. This book is also sprinkled with some very delicious looking recipes but it’s the story I just wish I could meet Imad and his family. Syrian cuisine remains relatively unexplored in the UK, and Imad’s Syrian Kitchen ​offers a vibrant introduction to it. There are six chapters to the book in total, covering spice mixes, recipe basics, starters, mains, desserts and drinks.