The Kitchen without Borders

December 2, 2019
Founded in 2015, Eat Offbeat is a New York City catering company with revolving menus created by immigrant and refugee chefs, whose eclectic and inventive cuisine is showcased in this delightful collection of 70 flavor-packed recipes. Dishes range from the familiar (samosas, hummus, and fried plantains) to such ingenious riffs as Nepali Pizza (a flatbread-like dish with bell peppers, cheese, and a hot and sweet chili sauce atop a spice-laden semolina crust); a sumac salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion dressed in an herby lemon-sumac vinaigrette); and two takes on classic baklava (as an Iranian cake, and in the form of a jelly roll, from Iraq). Each entry is described in detail (and with ingredients likely found in the cupboard), ensuring readers have an understanding of a dish’s flavors, as well as its cultural significance. Biographies and photos of many of the book’s contributors, from Iran, Algeria, Sri Lanka, and Eritrea, are included, adding depth and insight into the immigrant and refugee experience. Informative and engaging, this volume is sure to inspire home cooks.

October 1, 2020
Siblings Manal and Wissam Kahi moved from Lebanon to New York City, where their desire to share their grandmother's hummus grew into Eat Offbeat, a catering company staffed entirely by people who identify as refugees or immigrants and offering authentic cuisine from the many places they grew up in. For this cookbook, 14 chefs contribute recipes originating from Afghanistan, Algeria, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Venezuela, covering appetizers, dips, soups, salads, rice and other grains, desserts, drinks, and both meat and vegetarian dishes. Between the recipes, biographical profiles and portraits continue the stories told through the cuisine, of life in chefs' countries of origin, the important roles food plays in their cultures, and how they came to escape or otherwise leave their homelands. With such rich variety, this collection of recipes is sure to provide both familiar and novel delights to any reader. A portion of the profits from this book will be donated to the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organization that connects chefs with Eat Offbeat.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2021

New York catering company Eat Offbeat was "born out of the desire to give life to the special food memories our chefs brought with them." The International Rescue Committee refers chefs from different countries to work at Eat Offbeat, and their varied recipes and stories are shared here. Readers will notice the rich range of traditions first off in the pantry, which features fenugreek, jackfruit, and jimbu, among other flavors. Standout dishes include poulet gras (Guinean chicken, cabbage, and carrots), adas (pureed lentils with berbere spices from Eritrea), cachapas (corn cakes with melted butter from Venezuela), and potato kibbeh from Iraq. Standards like hummus and baba ghanoush also make an appearance. Beautiful color photos whet the appetite and a conversion table is offered at the end. Most of the recipes are tied to family and place, and a desire to re-create the taste of home. For a limited time, some of the proceeds of this book will go to the International Rescue Committee. VERDICT An enjoyable look into different cultures via memorable recipes.--Barbara Kundanis, Longmont P.L., CO

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