Asif’s library was built with the help of chefs, artisans, scholars, winemakers, and cookbook authors. At our Flavors of the Library event series, we explore the shelves with the experts who shaped the collection.

Wednesday, February 9

12 - 1 pm EST

For more than five decades Claudia Roden has transcribed the food of the Levant and the rest of the Mediterranean for the English speaking world. Today in the U.S. and the U.K., we take for granted that we can find hummus, tahini, preserved lemon, and pomegranate at our neighborhood grocery. But when Roden first wrote about these things in her 1968 debut, “A Book of Middle Eastern Food,” she had to explain what they were. Her impact has grown with every book, recipe, and article she has written since. Chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi credit Roden as their culinary inspiration. Her latest book, “Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel,” is a reflection of her life’s work through recipes. In December 2021, Queen Elizabeth II named Roden Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her service to literature. Join us for this conversation in which we will celebrate Roden’s achievements and discuss the essential books she recommended for the Asif library collection. This event will be held virtually at 12pm EST / 19:00 in Israel.

Bio

Claudia Roden is the award-winning author of numerous cookbooks including “The Book of Jewish Food,” “The New Book of Middle Eastern Food,” “Arabesque,” “The Food of Italy: Region by Region,” and, most recently, “Claudia Roden's Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel.” Born in Cairo, and educated in Paris and London, Roden now calls London home.

Mitchell Davis is founder of the consultancy Kitchen Sense, LLC, a laboratory for creative food content and innovative food-system solutions at the intersection of gastronomy and politics. The former Chief Strategy Officer of the James Beard Foundation in New York, Davis is an award-winning cookbook author, food journalist, and strategist. He writes a weekly newsletter on Substack called Kitchen Sense and is host of the podcast What’s Burning. In 2013, The Forward named Davis one of the 50 most influential Jews under 50 in America.