A love letter from Damascus to London Imad’s Syrian Kitchen (HQ) is no ordinary cookbook in the way that the restaurant of the same name is no ordinary eatery. He expresses this love and affection through his cooking – gifting London with his successful restaurant, and now with his cookbook, containing favourite recipes, and notes on Syrian culture and its relationship to its food. Restaurant quality cooking in your kitchen During those long days of Covid lockdown when many restaurants kept afloat by pivoting to meal kit deliveries, I was gifted a wonderful meal. Add the lentils, rice and freekeh and stir to toast all the grains for two minutes before mixing in the ground cumin, one tablespoon of the safflower, the black pepper, ground coriander, tomato purée and two teaspoons of salt. My daughter's birthday is not complete without a huge plate of dolma [made with minced lamb] and these are addictive.

Situated in Kingsley Court, Carnaby Street, the restaurant is in the heart of vibrant London, where counter-culture has been the rage for decades.Suddenly his life was changed forever by forces outside his control and he became a refugee, an illegal immigrant. The copy of the book I have is subtitled “A Love Letter from Damascus to London”, and it is book showing the deep affection the author has for his homeland of Syria, and his gratitude to Britain for giving himself and his family asylum here. Al Arnab said: “This book is a love letter from my lost city, Damascus, to the world – it’s a message of hope, that good can come from even the darkest of times, and a reminder that food can always bring us together.

Process to a thick soup in a blender, adding more water if needed, then add the remaining safflower. Imad will introduce us to the delicious flavours and techniques of the Syrian kitchen – showing you just how easy this wonderful cuisine can be. 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. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

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.