An Oral History of Mouloukhiya from Egypt, Palestine, Tunisia and Japan
Four cooks from Egypt to Japan talk about their family lore and personal experience preparing mouloukhiya.
Boutheina Bensalem
Franco-Palestinian chef and hotelier Fadi Kattan has become the voice of modern Palestinian cuisine. Hailing from a Bethlehem family that has on the maternal side cultivated a francophone culture and on the paternal side, a British culture with passages in India, Japan and the Sudan, Fadi’s cuisine and savoir-faire combine worldly influences, a desire for perfection and a passion for the local terroir. He recently released his first cookbook Bethlehem: a Celebration of Palestinian Food. He has been championing Palestinian wines and spirits since his restaurant Fawda in Bethlehem, at Akub in London and in the new projects and pop-ups he does across the world.
Nevine Abraham is Assistant Teaching Professor of Arabic Studies in the Department of Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her PhD at Ohio State University and has taught French and Arabic languages, literature, and cultures courses at numerous American institutions. Nevine’s research interests are Coptic and contemporary Arab identity, film studies, media and censorship, and food studies.
Ryoko Sekiguchi is a Japanese poet and translator. She studied journalism at Waseda University and after graduating, went on to study the History of Art at the Sorbonne and received a doctorate in comparative literature and cultural studies at the University of Tokyo. Ryoko lives in Paris, and publishes in Japanese and French. The author of some 20 titles, she has collaborated with chefs, artists and musicians.
Boutheina Bensalem is a Franco-Tunisian chef and entrepreneur. She inherited her cooking skills and love for food from her mother, a talented and renowned cook. Boutheina quit her day job to pursue her passion for cuisine, with a particular interest for artisanal food and traditional methods of cooking. She creates a contemporary cuisine influenced by her Mediterranean roots that honors Tunisian terroir and artisanal ingredients. Boutheina has led workshops and showcases Tunisian cuisine at private dinners and immersive food events in Madrid where she lived, London where she currently lives, Toronto for its inspirational food scene and the south of France where she grew up.