Instant Coffee

From Tlmecen through to Bethlehem and the Bekaa Valley, we chart the history of wine production in the Middle East and North Africa. Farrah Berrou talks us through her journey of wine writing for a Western audience and what the future holds for Lebanese wine. We also explore the relationship between french colonialism and wine production, and ideas of nationhood, religion, and politics in Algeria and Palestine.  Farrah is founder of B for Bacchus, a media platform & podcast featuring wine stories from the Fertile Crescent. Farrah is also a contributing editor to The Wine Zine, a print publication about natural wine.  This episode also features commentary from Jamal Rayyis, a Palestinian-American wine writer, as well as Arthur Asseraf, historian of modern North Africa, France and the Mediterranean.

Have you ever thought about the names behind the dishes you’re eating? Salma Serry, an Egyptian born filmmaker and interdisciplinary foodways researcher, gave us the lowdown on how many of the foods we know and love came to be named. We discuss folk tales, personal and national histories, and even get into the grammar of it all!   This episode also features contributions from Mahmoud Arif, Iran Seyed Raeesi, Rusaila Bazlamit, Rawand Issa, Rajae Oujlakh and Sergen Bahceci. Thank you for sending in your recordings!

No new episode this week, but we're working on something that requires your help. Do you know any interesting facts, stories or folk tales about the names of dishes from the region? If so we want to hear from you! Drop us an email or contact us on Instagram to get involved. @instantcoffee.pod [email protected]; [email protected]

Camel milk, mushrooms, ta’miyah, agashe, aseeda, tarkeen, these are just some of the foods and dishes that make up Sudan’s intricate network of cuisines. We spoke with Omer Eltigani, cook, archivist and founder of ‘The Sudanese Kitchen’ to talk more about the country’s vast foods, their historical influences and how he is trying to bring these recipes to the younger generation.   This episode also features comments on gender and food from Jennifer Shutek, PhD candidate and instructor, as well as a discussion on food and identity with filmmaker Hajooj Kuka. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/quixoticavocado   Watch Hajooj's documentary 'Beats of Antonov': https://vimeo.com/ondemand/59409?autoplay=1   Visit Omer's website 'The Sudanese Kitchen': https://www.sudanesekitchen.com/

Is there such a thing as a Dubai cuisine? What role do the migrants and expats of the Emirate play in curating this food culture? On episode 7 we see if Vidya Balachander can help us find some answers. The episode also features additional analysis from Steffen Hertog, Associate Professor in the Department of Government at LSE.   Vidya is a food writer, editor and journalist currently based in Dubai. She is the South Asia editor of Whetstone Magazine, an American print magazine and media company dedicated to food origins and culture.

In this episode, we speak about veganism both around the world and in Iran with Mana Shamshiri. Mana is a philosophy graduate and creator of the website and Instagram platform 'The Iranian Vegan'. She wanted to showcase the diversity of Iranian cuisine as well as provide a space for vegans of colour and those who aren't from traditionally vegan backgrounds.  Follow Mana's work here: https://www.instagram.com/theiranianvegan/ https://theiranianvegan.com/

‘UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food’ - who wouldn’t want that job title? When we read about Michael, we knew we had to interview him to learn about what he had to do to get this cool job and to know what it actually entails. He talked to us about why food is a human right and how  he uses the case of Lebanon, his home country, as a sounding board for his right to food questions.   Find Michael on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelFakhri

On episode 4, Nadine Almanasfi speaks with artist, storyteller and conservationist Vivien Sansour. Nadine has been trying to grow her own food and vegetable in her small allotment in north London and was very excited to speak with Vivien, who advocates for seed conservation and the protection of agro-biodiversity as a cultural and political act. She is founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, an interactive arts and agriculture project attempting to record ancient seeds and their stories and put them back into people’s hands.   To learn more about Vivien and the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, visit: https://viviensansour.com/Palestine-Heirloom   In the podcast, Vivien mentions Esiah Levy, whose legacy you can read about on the Green Conspiracy: https://thegreenconspiracy.com/esiah-levy/     To see the yakteen seed labels that Haya Kaabneh illustrated for the Hudson Valley Seed Co., visit: https://modernfarmer.com/2021/02/palestinian-seeds-come-to-america-stories-and-artwork-included/

On episode 3, Taif Alkhudary speaks with Nawal Nasrallah about the history and development of Iraqi cuisine from Mesopotamia to modern day through her own cookbook 'Delights from the Garden of Eden' and her translation of the medieval Arabic cookbook 'Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens', an annotated translation of the tenth-century, Abbasid-era cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq.  Nawal is an award-winning food historian of the Arab world, and translator of major medieval Arabic cookbooks hailing from Baghdad, Egypt, and Al-Andalus.      Taif is a Research Assistant on the LSE Middle East Centre project 'Managing Religious Diversity in the Middle East: The Muhasasa Ta'ifia in Iraq, 2003–2018'.   All artwork by Rawand Issa: www.instagram.com/rawand.issa_

On episode 2, Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed speaks with Faris Sheibani about the history and culture of coffee in Yemen, and how the drink can be used to connect with, and sustainably support, Yemeni farmers.  Faris is a British Yemeni social entrepreneur and founder of Qima Coffee, a Yemeni social enterprise that uses coffee as a vehicle for livelihood generation in Yemen. Learn more about Qima Coffee here: https://www.qimacoffee.com/.  Madawi is a Visiting Professor at LSE Middle East Centre and Fellow of the British Academy. Her research interests include history and politics of the Middle East with special reference to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, gender and state, religious transnational connections, and Islamist movements. Learn more about Madawi’s work here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/people/madawi-al-rasheed.  All artwork by Rawand Issa: www.instagram.com/rawand.issa_