Book event: 'The Gaza Kitchen' by Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt

Schmitt and Haddad presenting at the event

Friday 10^th May saw a presentation by the authors of ‘The Gaza Kitchen’, Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt, and a live cooking demonstration in Islington.

El-Haddad and Schmitt met ‘virtually’ in 2009, with a vision to travel to Gaza and collate the recipes of the people of Gaza. The product of their travels was ‘The Gaza Kitchen’. As stated in the book's forward by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, the aim is not just to serve as a recipe book to showcase Gazan cuisine, but is 'a significant look at the people of this tiny corner of the world.'

According to Schmitt, there are four narrative strands to the book:

1)   Gazan cooking has never been documented, written down or acknowledged, something which the authors felt was important.

2)   They wanted to give a human face to Gaza by telling the human stories and personal histories of ordinary families in Gaza.

3)   The book addresses the agricultural and economical situation in Gaza, the lack of water supply, the tunnel system and the politics which all dictate what is available to cook and eat in Gaza.

4)   The book includes beautiful photography which captures daily life and the people of Gaza, as well as bringing to life some of the delicious dishes in the book.

Schmitt and El-Haddad highlighted in their presentation numerous examples of the extreme hardships that Gazans have to overcome in their everyday lives, and the impact that has on their cuisine, diets and the food industry in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Despite this, farming still takes place, with farmers risking life and limb to work the land in the buffer ‘no-go’ zone which encircles the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Farmers who have had their olive and date trees razed face a 20 year wait for newly planted trees to start yielding fruit. This can put their families under great economical hardship in the meantime.

Despite being the last part of historical Palestine with access to the sea, Gazan fisherman are only permitted to go out 3 nautical miles into the sea to fish.

There are 8 to 10 hour blocks of power outages, and 80% of people in Gaza are dependent on food handouts from organisations like UNRWA.

Israel has made a radical, abrupt and intentional impoverishment of Gaza, allowing just enough food in to prevent internationally acknowledged humanitarian crisis but not enough for people to thrive or function properly. The decisions made about what is permitted to cross the border seem arbitrary; one week a particular foodstuff may not be permitted and then the next (particularly when Israel wants to dump a surplus of, say, cucumbers) it will come through in large quantities. This makes it impossible for Gazan farmers to forecast the market, who might find that their harvest is devalued when an influx of cheap produce comes through from Israel.

Nutritionists have highlighted that with each peak in violence (bombings, incursions etc) in Gaza the level of child malnutrition also peaks accordingly, as their families become more dependent on food aid with little nutritional value.

After 1948 the population in the Gaza strip tripled overnight. 80% of refugees came from towns and villages outside of Gaza, each with their own unique culinary heritage. Even after their hometowns had been wiped off the map with the creation of the state of Israel, they ensured they lived on through the recipes which they brought with them to Gaza. This meant that you could literally ‘taste’ the town or village from which they originally hailed.

El-Haddad argues that food is the “last sanctuary which Palestinians still have control over” even when they have lost control over all other aspects of their lives; their freedom, possessions, etc. They view the book not only as something which champions the unique and rich cuisine of Gaza, but as a ‘Trojan Horse’ – in essence a point of entry for opening up dialogue in the West about the political and humanitarian situation in Gaza.

 ‘The Gaza Kitchen’ carries the message that in the face of unimaginable adversity on so many levels, the tenacity and humanity of the Gazan people reigns.

Response to the book in the USA has been unexpectedly and overwhelmingly positive. El-Haddad claims that staunch Zionists have read the book and admitted it was “eye-opening”. The Washington Post published an article by a Liberal Zionist on ‘Israeli Ma’loubeh’ on Nakba Day – they included a quote by El-Haddad who explained how doing this was deeply offensive. For a US audience, it is difficult to discuss Palestine, even to mention the word ‘Palestine’, so for a national newspaper to talk about the Nakba and give a Palestinian viewpoint demonstrates, in the view of the authors, the shift in the Western world, where dialogue is becoming more open.

Tasty result of the live demo - two versions of Dagga salad 

At the end of the presentation, people were able to purchase copies of ‘The Gaza Kitchen’ which the authors were signing. There was also a live demonstration of  how to make the Gazan salad ‘Dagga’, which means ‘crush / mash’, with audience volunteers (myself included!) 

Dagga is a hot salad made with green chilli peppers, garlic, salt, ripe tomatoes, and the key ingredient of dill seed or fresh dill in large quantities. The ingredients are all mashed together in a zibdiya (pestle and mortar), and doused in a healthy glug of olive oil to cut through the heat of the chillies, and then eaten with khoubez (Arabic bread).

Getting involved in the live demo!

You can also add tahini, lemon or cucumber to the salad – in fact in Gaza each household will have their own variation and argue with you over which recipe is the best!

"Gaza has a unique, delicious and marvellous cuisine" - Maggie Schmitt

‘The Gaza Kitchen’ is on sale now – you can buy it here.

Leila 

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