“The cooks of Ramadan” a book that takes the reader on a journey around the many flavors of the Islamic world. This collection offers a spiritual and culinary getaway. It invites readers to discover 29 short and illustrated stories around the sacred month and its values, each accompanied by a recipe from the country told.
This book takes the reader on a journey through the ages and regions of the world. Gourmet and instructive escapades, where between small dishes and great dishes, short stories sprinkled with a pinch of mysticism recall the deep values of this blessed month. Each of the 29 Ramadan nights described in “The Cooks of Ramadan” has its dedicated tale, its moral and ends with a saying taken from the cultural heritage of the country where the story takes place.
Each tale in the book is a passage through a country or a community of Muslim culture, from the early days of Islam to modern times, from Medina to Fez, via Istanbul, London or Paris. We discover customs specific to each of these countries, to Ramadan, as well as an emblematic dish. As cooking is also part of the rituals passed down from generation to generation, the recipes offered are tasty and easy to make. This book is an invitation to discover a nocturnal cuisine, unpretentious or refined, but always convivial, guided by the concern for sharing and hospitality, fundamentals of this month of diurnal abstinence. Published by the Ruby publishing house, this book is light to read and pleasant to look at, and is accessible to the majority of readers from the age of 10. It can be leafed through alone or with the family, like in the good old days of storytelling.
Indeed, the authors of this book have come back with an obvious observation: “if there is not an Islamic cuisine strictly speaking, there are dishes specific to this particular month in any Muslim community”. This book was born from an idea of Nissim Samuel Kakon, an entrepreneur who multiplies socio-cultural projects in favor of the Kingdom and its international influence. “I designed ‘The Cooks of Ramadan’, because as a Moroccan, I know the importance of traditions, values and their transmission. If we do nothing to preserve these intangible riches, they will be lost in the name of modernity and its corollary, new technologies. Whatever our beliefs, our relationship to the Divine, we are all concerned about what we will bequeath to our children of what our own fathers and mothers taught us,” says Nissim Samuel Kakon.
“The cooks of Ramadan” is written by three Moroccan women, from different backgrounds and ages. They have in common a love of writing, culture and transmission. According to Mouna Izddine, the main author of the book, journalist and publishing director of Maison Ruby, “the stories told in “Les cooks du Ramadan” include a universal and timeless philosophy of life, where everyone will recognize themselves, whatever his confession and beliefs. Fatéma Chahid, poetess, writer, columnist in the history of Arab-Muslim civilization as well as the translator and fine connoisseur of Middle Eastern cultures Intissar Nafzaoui also participated in the writing of this collection. The illustration of the book was created by the graphic designer Younès Haddad.