Anissa Helou

Anissa Helou (born 1 February 1952) is a London-based cookbook author, teacher, and chef specialising in the cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa.

Anissa Helou
Anissa Helou at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 2012
Born (1952-02-01) 1 February 1952
Genrenon-fiction
Subjectcooking

Biography

The daughter of a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother,[1] Helou left her native Lebanon at the age of 21 to study interior design in London.[2]

Following completion of the Sotheby's Works of Art course,[3] she started working for the auction house, becoming their representative for the Middle East. At the age of 24, she opened an antiques shop in Paris, and shortly after became a freelance art consultant based in London.[2] Between 1978 and 1986, she lived in Kuwait acting as an advisor to members of the ruling family, returning to London in 1986.[4]

Encouraged by a friend in the publishing world, and inspired by the Lebanese civil war, Helou wrote her first cookbook, Lebanese Cuisine. In 1994, Lebanese Cuisine was published. 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".[5] The book was short-listed for an André Simon Award.[6]

In 1999, Helou changed her life by selling a number of collections at Christie's.[7] She also sold her Victorian house and bought a two-storey warehouse loft in Shoreditch, which she converted into a modern minimalist living and working space. It is here that she teaches in her state-of-the-art kitchen.[8]

In 2013, Helou was listed by Arabian Business as one of the 500 most powerful Arabs in the world,[9] and one of the 100 most powerful Arab women.[10]

Her book "Levant" was published in 2013 and was selected as one of Observer Food Monthly's 20 food books of the year,[11][12] Gourmet Travellers best books of 2013,[13] 14 Best Cookbooks Of 2013 by BuzzFeed[14] and one of Marie-Claire Digby’s top ten food books of the year.[15]

Her book Feast: Food of the Islamic World was published in 2018.

Books
Aylin Tan (left) and Anissa Helou (right) speaking and tasting at the Oxford Symposium, 2008
  • Savory Baking from the Mediterranean] (2007) ISBN 9780060542191
  • Modern Mezze] (2007) ISBN 9781844004614
  • The Fifth Quarter: An Offal Cookbook (2005) - Most Innovative UK Food Book, 2005 World Gourmand Awards ISBN 9781904573210
  • Mediterranean Street Food (2002) - "Best Mediterranean in the English Language", 2002 Gourmand Awards ISBN 9780060891510
  • Cafe Morocco (1999) ISBN 9780809226672
  • Lebanese Cuisine (1994) - Shortlist, Andrew Simon Book Awards ISBN 9781906502188
  • Levant: Recipes and memories from the Middle East (2013) ISBN 9780007448623
  • Feast: Food of the Islamic World (2018)

References
  1. Tom Parker Bowles, Live - The Mail on Sunday Magazine, April 7, 2013
  2. Startup - ArabianBusiness.com, May 2013
  3. Reuters - INTERVIEW - Anissa Helou: accidental queen of Lebanese cuisine By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent, 2010
  4. Al-Hayat daily newspaper, 23 December 2012
  5. Irwin (1994) p. 10
  6. The Taste of Future - "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Evening Standard Homes & Property, 12 May 1999
  8. "Archived copy". The Taste of Future. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Arabian Business Power 500". ArabianBusiness.com. 2013.
  10. "100 most powerful Arab women 2013". ArabianBusiness.com. 2013.
  11. Allan Jenkins and Gareth Grundy, The Observer, 2013
  12. Observer Food Monthly's 20 food books of the year
  13. "Archived copy". Gourmet Traveller. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. Tienlon Ho (2013). "14 Best Cookbooks of 2013". BuzzFeed.
  15. "Marie-Claire Digby's top ten food books of the year". The Irish Times. 2013.

Bibliography
  • Robert Irwin, "In the Caliph's Kitchen" in Times Literary Supplement (23 December 1994) p. 10 [review of Lebanese Cuisine]
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