Anissa Helou (born 1 February 1952) is a London-based chef, teacher, and author. She specializes in cooking and writing recipes for

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and North African cuisines. Her cookbooks have won numerous awards. She currently lives in London and runs a cooking school, "Anissa's School."

Biography

The daughter of a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

father from Mashta al-Helu and a Lebanese mother, Helou left her home in Beirut, Lebanon at the age of 21 to study interior design in London. Following completion of the

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Works of Art course, 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. 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. 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 Irwin described 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". The book was short-listed for an André Simon Award. In 1999, Helou changed her life by selling a number of collections at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

. She also sold her Victorian house and bought a two-story warehouse loft in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

, which she then converted into a modern minimalist living and working space. She then opened Anissa's Kitchen in this location. In 2013, Helou was listed by Arabian Business as one of the 500 most powerful Arabs in the world, and one of the 100 most powerful Arab women. Her book "Levant" was published in 2013 and was selected as one of Observer Food Monthly's 20 Food Books of the Year, Gourmet Travelers Best Books of 2013, 14 Best Cookbooks of 2013 by

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and one of Marie-Claire Digby's Top 10 Food Books of the Year. Her book ''Feast: Food of the Islamic World'' was published in 2018.

Books

* ''Savory Baking from the Mediterranean]'' (2007) * ''Modern Mezze]'' (2007) * ''The Fifth Quarter: An Offal Cookbook'' (2005) – Most Innovative UK Food Book, 2005 World Gourmand Awards * ''Mediterranean Street Food'' (2002) – "Best Mediterranean in the English Language", 2002 Gourmand Awards * ''Cafe Morocco'' (1999) * ''Lebanese Cuisine'' (1994) – Shortlist, Andrew Simon Book Awards * ''Levant: Recipes and memories from the Middle East'' (2013) * ''Feast: Food of the Islamic World'' (2018)

References

External links

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Helou, Anissa 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