Claudia Roden (née Douek; born 1936) is an

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian-born British

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

writer and

cultural anthropologist Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portman ...

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

Mizrahi ''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings. In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to: *Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East * Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...

descent. She is best known as the author of

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern cookbooks including ''A Book of Middle Eastern Food'', ''The New Book of Middle Eastern Food'' and ''Arabesque—Sumptuous Food from Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon''.

Early life

Roden was born in 1936 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Kingdom of Egypt The Kingdom of Egypt ( ar, المملكة المصرية, Al-Mamlaka Al-Miṣreyya, The Egyptian Kingdom) was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recog ...

, the daughter of Cesar Elie Douek and his wife Nelly Sassoon. Her parents were from prominent Syrian-Jewish merchant families who migrated from

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

in the previous century; she grew up in

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

, Cairo, with two brothers, the surgeon Ellis Douek, and Zaki Douek. She was Egypt's national

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

swimming champion at the age of 15. In 1951 Roden moved to Paris and went to boarding school for three years. In 1954 she moved to London where she studied painting at St. Martin's School of Art. She shared a flat with her brothers Ellis Douek and Zaki Douek. In the London flat Roden, while preparing the meals for her brothers, started to experiment with cooking. She remembered family recipes from Alphandary, pies with aubergine and spinach, and mint and lamb. Both were foods not often cooked in London in that period and so finding ingredients in London was an adventure. She did not return to Egypt for a quarter of a century, well after her family and most of Cairo's Jewish community had been expelled; many of her books reflect her longing for the close communal culture that was lost, especially as expressed in the culinary arts and social occasions associated with them.

Career

Besides her numerous cookery volumes, Roden has also worked as a food writer and a

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Typ ...

presenter for

the BBC ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Food writers and chefs such as

Melissa Clark Melissa Clark is an American food writer, cookbook, cookbook author and ''The New York Times, New York Times'' columnist. She is the author of over 40 cookbooks and has received multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation Award, James Beard F ...

and

Yotam Ottolenghi Yotam Assaf Ottolenghi (born 14 December 1968) is an Israeli-born British chef, restaurateur, and food writer. He is the co-owner of seven delis and restaurants in London and the author of several bestselling cookery books, including ''Ottolengh ...

have credited her with playing a large role in introducing the food of Egypt in particular and the Middle East in general to Britain and the United States. Paul Levy classes her with such other food writers as

Elizabeth David Elizabeth David CBE (born Elizabeth Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she strongly influenced the revitalisation of home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and bo ...

, Julia Child,

Jane Grigson Jane Grigson (born Heather Mabel Jane McIntire; 13 March 1928 – 12 March 1990) was an English cookery writer. In the latter part of the 20th century she was the author of the food column for ''The Observer'' and wrote numerous books about Eu ...

, and Sri Owen who, from the 1950s on, "deepened the conversation around food to address questions of culture, context, history and identity." Her many cookbooks, Clark writes, have "produced a genre of works that is at once literary and deeply researched while still being, at heart, practical manuals on how to make delicious meals."

Roles

President (previously co-chair) of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery (2012 – present) Honorary Fellow of University College London (2008) Visiting Fellow Yale University, USA (2010 – 2011) Honorary Fellow of the School of Oriental and African Studies (2012)

Personal life

In 1959, she married Paul Roden, a clothes importer, and they separated after 15 years. They had three children. She has lived in

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentie ...

since the early 1970s.

Activities and awards

* 1997 - The

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.Patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of London-based

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

charity

The Food Chain The Food Chain is a London, United Kingdom-based charity who provide nutritional support services for people living with HIV in London. Formed on Christmas Day 1988, its stated aim is "to ensure people living with HIV in London can access the n ...

. * 1999 - Prince Claus Award "in recognition of her exceptional initiatives and achievements in the field of culture." from the

Prince Claus Fund The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Fund has presented the international Prince Claus Awards annually s ...

, an international culture and development organisation based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. * 2005 - André Simon Memorial Fund Food Book Prize for non-fiction for The Book of Jewish Food. * 2005 - Glenfiddich Best Food Book award for Arabesque. * 2019 :

Observer Food Monthly ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

Awards: Lifetime achievement * 2022 - Roden was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to food culture. Harlan Walker on eggs

Publications

*1968: ''A Book of Middle Eastern Food'', (reprint) *1970: ''A New Book of Middle Eastern Food'', (reprint) *1978 ''Coffee'', (Faber & Faber 1978) New updated edition Pavillion (1994) *1981: ''Picnic: The Complete Guide to Outdoor Food'', (reprint) *1986: ''Middle Eastern Cooking'', *1987: ''Mediterranean Cookery,'' accompanied The BBC TV series ''(BBC Books 1987, newly enlarged edition Penguin Classic 1998)'' (reprint) *1990: ''The Food of Italy'', (reprint) *1992: ''Claudia Roden's Invitation to Mediterranean Cooking: 150 Vegetarian and Seafood Recipes'', (reprint) *1995: ''Everything Tastes Better Outdoors'', (reprint) *1996: ''The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the Present Day'', (reprint) *1999: ''Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion'', *1999: ''Tamarind and Saffron: Favourite Recipes from the Middle East'', (reprint) *2000: ''The New Book of Middle Eastern Food'', *2001: ''Picnics: And Other Outdoor Feasts'', (reprint) *2003: ''Claudia Roden's Foolproof Mediterranean Cooking'', *2003: Foreword to ''Traditional Moroccan Cooking'' by Madame Guinaudeau, (reprint) *2004: ''The Arab-Israeli Cookbook: The Recipes'', with Robin Soans, *2005: ''Arabesque - Sumptuous Food from Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon'', *2006: ''Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon'', *2007: ''Simple Mediterranean Cookery'', *2011: ''The Food of Spain'', *2021: ''Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean'',

References

External links

Claudia Roden
entry by Joan Nathan in ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia'' ( Jewish Women's Archive), 20 March 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010
Claudia Roden interview
by Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire (Oxford Oral History Project)
Take the Spice Route
- article by Roden

at Penguin Books
Capsule biography
at the BBC
Staff page at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roden, Claudia English food writers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Egyptian Jews 1936 births Living people Jewish cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine Women cookbook writers Egyptian emigrants to England Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art Writers from Cairo James Beard Foundation Award winners Egyptian female swimmers Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Egyptian people of Jewish descent British Jews British people of Syrian-Jewish descent British people of Egyptian-Jewish descent