Food is an important part of culture. We grow up eating our native cuisine, which later on becomes a part of who we are.....
food
Food is an important part of culture. We grow up eating our native cuisine, which later on becomes a part of who we are. Most foods hold a special and personal value for us that remind us of the good memories of the past; that not only fill our bellies but also our hearts with warm feelings. Traditional cuisine is passed down from one generation to the next. And, food from our family often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go and cooking traditional food is a way of preserving their culture when they move to new places.
Recently, the annual International Gourmand Awards - regarded by international journalists as the ‘Oscars’ of the Cookbook Awards - were held in Yantai, China. This year, ‘Pakistan Heritage Cuisine - A Food Story’ has won the prestigious Gourmand World Award for the category, ‘Best Asian Cookbook in the World’, beating various culinary giants from across Asia. The book had been nominated in two categories: ‘Asian - Published in Asia’ and ‘Culinary Heritage’. This also marks the third Gourmand Award for the publishing house Markings Publishing who have previously won awards for their published work: ‘Deliciously Yours’ by Lal Majid in 2014 and a Pakistan-India collaborative cook book, ‘Flavours of the Frontier’ in 2015.
Authored by Sayeeda Leghari, ‘Pakistan Heritage Cuisine - A Food Story’ explores how the cuisine of a country is intricately woven into its fabric and is shaped by the history and characteristics of the region and its people. Speaking of the subcontinent, it is a region of shared history where traditions and cultures overlap. In this book, Leghari has tried to give readers an insight into the incredible journey of Pakistani cuisine, its grandeur as well as its simplicity, its finesse as well as its ruggedness and the historical influences that have shaped it. This was the only book from Pakistan to have been nominated for and won an award at the International Gourmand Awards this 2018.
Congratulations to the team!
- Adeela Akmal
