“… a new star to be watched in the culinary firmament …”
Clarissa Dickson-Wright, Bookseller
“Anissa Helou caught the food world’s attention in 1994 with the publication of Lebanese Cuisine. Not just a collection of home cooking, and not solely a historic document, it’s a carefully thought-out explanation of a cuisine that often gets dumped into a single Middle Eastern category. … The most eye-opening aspect of the book however, is the recipes. She is in love with the traditions of Lebanese cuisine but she has a distinct personal style. … It’s not exactly Lebanese nouvelle cuisine but her cooking reflects a sophisticated foodie taste. (Helou who grew up in Lebanon and Syria, spent many years as an art consultant for Sotheby’s and lives in London.”
Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times
“Anissa Helou is the expert on Levantine food.”
AA Gill, Sunday Times
“Lebanese Cuisine is the first major work dealing with the aromatic discreetly spiced food of the Lebanon … a rare insight into one of the Middle Eastern cuisines that has been a secret for too long.”
Nigel Slater, The Observer
“Lebanese cuisine is a great subject and Anissa has treated it very well. I am very impressed.”
Claudia Roden
“delectable”
Elisabeth Luard, The Scotsman
“… this is not just a recipe book and Anissa Helou is not at all like the great majority of cookery writers. The biographical notes on the jacket reveal that she has worked for Sotheby’s, opened an antique shop in Paris, was an art consultant to members of the Kuwaiti ruling family and has travelled extensively throughout the worl. Moreover, this is her first book and the next one will not be ‘750 more Jewels from Lebanese Cuisine’ but a collection of her totally bizarre and eccentric photographs of articulated dolls in ‘colourful human situations’. (Anissa has also, by the way, professionally produced the attractive and tempting colour food photographs for the present book.)
I relate all this to show that Anissa is an unusual and exceptional person and to lay a foundation for my opinion that her book is a highly unusual one among cookery books, and of very great interest. She approaches her subject not just as a cook, but also as an artist.”
Helen Saberi, PPC
“Lebanese Cuisine … is an attractively produced book, and those recipes which I have tested are excellent and will become part of my permanent repertoire.”
Robert Irwin, Times Literary Supplement
“With her sophisticated palate and lively affection for Lebanese food, Anissa Helou is just the person to write about this sturdily attractive Mediterranean Cuisine.”
Charles Perry
“Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou is a good account of this unfairly neglected cuisine. The ingredients section is particularly worthwhile and chapters sensibly divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections where possible.”
Annis Bell, Vogue
“Anissa Helou is an international art consultant (formerly for Sotheby’s and later for the Kuwaiti Royal family). Her kitchen resembles an overcrowded antiques shop. In fact she did once have an antiques shop in Paris, selling British Victoriana.
Jars of strange spices, pulses and foodstuffs are wedged beside ornaments and paintings, every space between filled with flowers. Each item is a talking point. So the conversation starts with talk of strange foods the guests have eaten. Of caterpillars and locusts, of bird’s nests and sea slugs, of Anissa’s favourite songbirds grilled, or her mother’s stew of lamb’s intestines cooked with lamb’s head and feet. ‘I would beg her and torture her to make it.’ She says … Anissa Helou has prepared lunch from ingredients which are by no means bizarre. … the lunch has been a masterpiece of planning and preparation ….”
Michael Bateman, Sunday Independent
“As authentic as they come and the first of its kind in this country (UK)”
Rena Salaman, Hampstead and Highgate Express
“For me, Anissa Helou’s book easily passes the real test of a cookery book – on reading it, I immediately wanted to rush to the nearest Lebanese grocer, stock up on ingredients, and try out some of the recipes of favourites such as sheesh barak, Fatteh, Freekeh or Kibbeh.”
Susannah Tarbush, Al-Hayat
“… excellent first book …”
Clarissa Dickson-Wright, Caterer and Hotelkeeper
“… a cookbook that is able to claim its recipes will do you good as well as giving you pleasure ….”
Derek Cooper, Scotland on Sunday
“ … a brilliant insight into Lebanese cuisine.”
Catherine Brown, The Herald (Glasgow)
“Further south, the sophisticated cuisine of the Lebanon has an excellent advocate in Anissa Helou, author of Lebanese Cuisine. It is as well to know that there are half-a-dozen Lebanese shops dotted around the country. Her book is likely to start a trend.”
Michael Raffael, Sunday Telegraph
“Lebanese Cuisine is a valuable contribution to our culinary knowledge.”
The International Cookbook Review
“Fancy a new and exciting culinary experience? The excellent Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou offers just this. This fascinating book is a stimulating read, packed with historical and cultural notes… The mezze section is particularly delightful. … A must for every serious cook.
Jill Cox
“This excellent, authoritative book combines the exotic spices and fragrances of the Middle East with the rigorous standards of technique, preparation and presentation that are the hallmark of the French. Recipes for Lebanese classics are oined by dishes from Anissa Helou’s family album, giving the book a homely, authentic feel, and quotations from literature, evocative of the land, the people and the foof. … Highly recommended.
Bill Knott
“… authoritative book … the first fully comprehensive collection of more than 250 truly authentic recipes available in the English language.”
Alexander Hunt, Midweek
“Anissa Helou has written the definitive book on Lebanese cusine.”
Charles Campion, Evening Standard
“By tradition, aren’t cooks and opera singers meant to be plump? The enviably slim, tall and elegant Anissa Helou laughs at the suggestion that she must be avoiding her own meals. ‘Lebanese food is incredibly healthy, not only in its ingredients, but in its preparation.’ She explains. ‘I don’t exercise but by cooking properly and combining (not mixing proteins with starches), you shouldn’t gain weight on Lebanese food.’ … the recipes are authentic, classical examples of the Lebanese culinary repertoire.”
Impressions
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