Laila El-Haddad
The AJDS is honoured to host acclaimed chef, writer and activist Laila El-Haddad on her tour of Australia, 5-16 April 2017.
Watch Laila, listen to her talk and watch footage from her events here.
EVENT DATES
Melbourne
5 April 18:15-19:15 at the Wheeler Centre – Politics and Parenting in Palestine: Laila El-Haddad at the Wheeler Centre.
6 April 18:30-20:15 at Raw Materials – Laila El-Haddad’s cooking demonstration of Gazan Cuisine, as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2017. Book your tickets now.
7 April 18:00-22:00 at the Moroccan Deli-cacy – Culinary Resistance with Laila El-Haddad and Samah Sabawi. Book your ticket now.
15 April 19:00-21:00 at The Side Door social justice hub – Laila El-Haddad: Gaza, Food, Family, and Politics.
Adelaide
8 April, 18:30 at the Sprout Studio – The Gaza Kitchen comes to Adelaide.
Sydney
10 April 12:30-14:00 at the University of Technology, Broadway Campus – Food, Security, War, and the Everyday in Gaza.
12 April 18:00 at the Yaama Dhiyaan reception Centre – Taste, Struggle and Place: Dinner with Laila El-Haddad.
El-Haddad is an award-winning Palestinian writer, social activist, and public speaker, who frequently lectures on the situation in Gaza, the intersection of food and politics, and contemporary Islam. She is the author of Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything In Between and, co-author of the critically acclaimed The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, and co-editor of Gaza Unsilenced. She is also a policy advisor with al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.
Through her work as a writer and documentarian El-Haddad provides much-needed insight into the human experience of the region. She recently guided Anthony Bourdain through Gaza on his show, Parts Unknown, in an episode exploring “Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza”. From 2003-2007, El-Haddad was the Gaza correspondent for the Al Jazeera English website and a regular contributor to the BBC World Service. During this time, she co-directed two Gaza-based documentaries, including the Tunnel Trade. A graduate of Duke University and the Harvard Kennedy School, she is the recipient of the Clinton Scholarship, as well as the Inspiration for Hope and the Literary Leadership Awards. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents from Gaza, she currently lives in Clarksville, Maryland with her husband and their three children. You will frequently find her poking around people’s kitchens, in a forest, or on a basketball court.
The Gaza Kitchen, 2012
The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey is a full-colour cookbook which serves as an introduction to daily life in the embattled Gaza Strip. It is a visit to the intimate everyday spaces that never appear in the news. The book has received incredible reviews from media as diverse as The New York Times, the Washington Post, BBC World News, Bon Appetit Magazine and the Jewish Daily Forward.
A revised edition of the cookbook was released in 2016 from Just World Books, featuring more recipes, photos and information about Gaza’s agriculture and food security, as well as a fantastic new layout.
Read more press reviews here. Read interviews with Laila about The Gaza Kitchen in Mondoweiss, Cooking up a Story, and watch an interview with El-Haddad about The Gaza Kitchen here. Watch El-Haddad in an interview about her book, Gaza Mom, here and here.
The Gaza Kitchen contributes to a recent flux in writing and publishing of material on Palestinian food and culinary traditions. Read a brief account of Palestinian cuisine’s comeback.
For media inquiries please contact AJDS community organiser, Yael Winikoff.