Cookbook Writing: Tell Stories Through Recipes
Influences
A course by Sumayya Usmani , Creative Writer and Food Educator
About the video: Influences
Overview
“Now I’ll tell you about the writers that influenced my food writing and how I tap into my senses to find food memories and stories. It’s about trusting yourself to tell a story that is both true to its source and inspires others.”
In this video lesson Sumayya Usmani addresses the topic: Influences, which is part of the Domestika online course: Cookbook Writing: Tell Stories Through Recipes. Take readers on a journey of culture and flavor by creating a cookbook that combines recipes with storytelling.
Partial transcription of the video
“Influences In this lesson, I'll talk a bit about my influences. My first influence is the food writer, Tessa Kiros. The Finnish and Turkish Cypriot influences in her cooking and heritage come through in one of her cookbooks called "Falling Cloudberries," which is a world of family recipes. This is one of my favourite cookbooks by her and is one of the books that inspired me to write my own. All the recipes in this book are delicious food and recipes to cook and also beautiful food memories. That to me is the perfect cookbook. One that is filled with flavour and lovely stories you can connec...”
This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.
Course summary for: Cookbook Writing: Tell Stories Through Recipes
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Category
Culinary, Writing -
Areas
Creative Writing, Non-Fiction Writing, Storytelling
Sumayya Usmani
A course by Sumayya Usmani
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, award-winning creative writer and food educator, Sumayya Usmani, spent her early childhood travelling the world with her parents. She explored various cultures, countries, ingredients, and cuisines and watched in wonder as her mother lovingly prepared meals. Later, when the family settled back in Karachi, Sumayya observed grandmothers and aunts cooking with ‘andaza’ - an Urdu word for using instinct and estimation. These experiences created Sumayya’s strong foundations and connections to cooking and in her adulthood she found she could cook by simply following her own intuition and senses.
Sumayya went on to practice law for 12 years in London and Pakistan. However, in 2012 she quit law in pursuit of her passion; food writing and teaching. Now based in Glasgow, her life-long love for writing, along with her natural flair, has led her to publish award-winning cookbooks. Her latest book is a food memoir, and ventures further into creative writing, which has won the Scottish Book Trust’s Next Chapter Award in 2021. Sumayya regularly appears at multiple book festivals such as the Edinburgh Book Festival, she has written for and appeared in numerous publications including in The New York Times, The Guardian, and on BBC Food, amongst others. She’s a guest speaker on many podcasts and a regular on BBC Radio. Sumayya also hosts cooking classes, and is a committee member of the Guild of Food Writers.
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