In today’s episode we’re exploring what it’s like to be displaced and part of the LGBTQ+ community. This episode is dedicated to everyone who sits at this intersection, and faces not only the challenges of being an asylum seeker or a refugee, but also the discrimination that comes with their sexuality or gender identity.

Philip Khoury – head pastry chef at Harrods – has created a book that will be a game-changer for the many who follow a plant-based diet. Its subtitle, Re-imagined Recipes For Plant-Based Cakes, Bakes And Desserts, says it all. There are fresh, plant-based takes on classics including tiramisu, chocolate hazelnut babka, crème brûlée and carrot cake, as well as a few side roads such as nut gelato, all using alternatives to the animal fats, eggs and dairy that are traditionally used. Alarnab says working with charities “just adds to the business. It doesn’t take anything from it.” We will hear from three people. A new friend of mine Hiba - the first openly trans filmmaker in Pakistan and is now living in London and seeking asylum in the UK. My other two guests today I’ll be keeping anonymous. One of them, we’ll call him A - runs a shelter for LGBTQ+ refugees from all over the world in Istanbul where he lives as a refugee himself from Iraq. My final guest M, you might remember from a previous episode recorded at his home in Beirut. He’s Syrian and lives as a refugee in Lebanon with his boyfriend, where he told me the painful but powerful story about what happened to them.Alongside delicious recipes, Imad will share the unforgettable details of how he came to settle in London, as well as the story of his home country, Syria. This book is a celebration of how food has the power to bring people together. I was introduced to Nadir’s work through his most recent youtube series Bad Pakistani about his journey through Pakistan to explore and understand his Pakistani heritage. I loved it. His work spans themes of culture, travel, heritage, belonging, food and more - all my favourite topics. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did… us about it, we know about Syria more than anyone else. We still have friends there. We still have families there.” I didn’t know that… Washington State reportedly produces almost half of the USA’s apples. Photographs by Alanna Hale. In the run up to interviewing Imad I read loads of articles about his story. 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. But most importantly I remember him talking about how cooking was always a part of his journey. How a British Pakistani volunteer had given him a small stove and gas canisters so he could cook for himself and 14 friends. 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.

This episode is about my Eritrean foster brother Mez and his younger brother Josi. A few years after Mez left Eritrea to avoid compulsory military service, so too did his little brother Josi. Josi is two years younger than Mez and they grew up doing everything together. They wore the same clothes, liked all the same things and Mez described him as being his little shadow. So despite Mez’s warnings of how dangerous it was, it’s no wonder that when he also became of age to be called up to the military, Josi chose to follow in his older brothers footsteps and flee the dictatorship in which he lived, in the hope of joining his older brother here in the UK. Imad’s Syrian Kitchen was born of a dream that first took hold when Alarnab partnered with a charity to host a pop-up kitchen in east London in March 2017. It was an immediate word-of-mouth success and led to many more, with Alarnab bringing traditional Syrian cuisine to customers from Hampstead to High Wycombe. Neem luchthavens in de buurt op in je zoekopdracht. Verbreed je zoekopdracht voor vluchtaanbiedingen voor Damascus naar Londen door de optie 'Luchthavens in de buurt toevoegen' te selecteren. Hiermee kun je vluchtprijzen zien voor alle dichtstbijzijnde luchthavens op je vertrekpunt en je bestemming en kun je de volgende keer dat je reist besparen. In the book he shares traditional Syrian dishes that form the basis of his cooking at the restaurant. The first chapter features spice mixes, such as dukkah, Baharat and shish taouk, while the second focuses on the basics, including the plain bulgur needed in the recipes for tabbouleh and mujadara, or a perfect tahini sauce which Alarnab says he uses "for everything... it's more like a seasoning for us".

Thank you for signing up to our newsletter

While some refugees have to retrain to work in a new country, Alarnarb points out that great food is universal, and says he always knew he’d find a way to cook for a living. This is the first cookbook by Imad Alarnab, a renowned chef from Damascus. Imad now runs an acclaimed restaurant in London, which was named GQ’s “Best Breakthrough Restaurant 2022.” 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 introduces us to the delicious flavors and techniques of the Syrian kitchen. And alongside delicious recipes, mouthwatering photography, and beautiful illustrations, Imad shares the unforgettable details of how he came to settle in London, as well as the story of his home country, Syria. This book is a celebration of how food has the power to bring people together. Alarnab spent a year apart from his family before they followed him to England. He says this period of separation was extremely tough, and he’s glad his loved ones are now thriving in London. Fun fact… Who knew red leicester cheese would go so well with spice and sweet potatoes? Photography: Jax Walker

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Neri miso, a combination of miso, honey and water or sake, which has “extremes of salt and sweet that are so balanced it’s as if your taste buds have been put into a painful, yet deeply soothing, yoga position” .

Subscribe to our magazine

As a longtime fermenter, I wondered how much James Read’s illustrated book on its joys and benefits might have for me. I’m delighted to say: a great deal. There are adaptable methods for sauerkraut, kombucha, soy and more, plus lively recipes, such as soy caramel dark chocolate tart, that spring from them. A book to inspire confidence in newcomers and engage the converted. This episode came to be because along this journey we met many people working in grassroots refugee response, who have lived experience of migration themselves. By this I mean, refugees, people who have been displaced themselves, going on to support others in their same situation. Alarnab also adapted a few recipes to make them gluten-free or vegan. He says he enjoys the creativity that comes with making these kinds of adjustments. He also likes sampling other cultures’ dishes. Imad Alarnab says his new life began while he was stranded for 64 days in Calais as a Syrian refugee in 2015.

I didn’t know that… Iran is the world’s largest producer of pistachios. Photography: Saghar Setareh I didn’t know that… Early in his career, Andy Warhol illustrated etiquette expert Amy Vanderbilt’s cookbook (Claire named her book after a set of Warhol’s prints). Photography by Maren Caruso

Table of Contents

Imad’s Syrian Kitchen (HQ) is no ordinary cookbook in the way that the restaurant of the same name is no ordinary eatery. Situated in Kingsley Court, Carnaby Street, the restaurant is in the heart of vibrant London, where counter-culture has been the rage for decades. Kingsley Court boasts a number of ethnic restaurants, some so popular that tables need to be booked weeks ahead. I went to eat at Imad’s Syrian Kitchen mostly because I wanted to support the restaurateur who moved to London but not out of the desire to travel the world. Imad Alarnab is a refugee whose courage and fortitude have enabled him to set up a new life in the UK. Where once he served food to diners in his three restaurants plus juice bars and cafes in Damascus, he now does so in London. His newly published cookbook, subtitled a love letter from Damascus to London, tells his story. And Jeremy King, co-founder of the Wolseley, Delaunay and Zedel among others, has announced a new venture. King, who was forced out of the company last year, will open The Park in a newly developed ground floor space at the corner of London’s Bayswater Road and Queensway next spring. He says it will be a modern version of the grand café and brasserie for which he is renowned.