Anissa Helou (born 1 February 1952) is a London-based chef, teacher and author. She specialises in cooking and writing recipes for Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. Her cookbooks have won numerous awards. She currently lives in London and runs a cooking school, Anissa's School.
Biography
The daughter of a Syrian father from Mashta al-Helu and a Lebanese mother, Helou left her home in Beirut at the age of 21 to study interior design in London.
Following completion of the Sotheby's Works of Art course, Helou started working for the auction house, becoming their representative for the Middle East. At the age of 24, she opened an antique shop in Paris. Shortly thereafter, she became a freelance art consultant based in London. Then, between 1978 and 1986, Helou lived in Kuwait acting as an advisor to members of the ruling family, before returning to London in 1986.
Helou was inspired by the Lebanese Civil War and a friend in the publishing industry to write a cookbook. Her first work was titled, Lebanese Cuisine, and it was published in 1994. Robert Irwin described it as "no mere utilitarian manual, but a wistful evocation of feasts and picnics held in an easy going, Levantine environment which all but came to an end in 1975". The book was shortlisted for an André Simon Award.The Taste of Future –
In 1999, Helou changed her life by selling a number of collections at Christie's. She also sold her Victorian house and bought a two-story warehouse loft in Shoreditch, which she then converted into a modern, minimalist living and working space. She then opened Anissa's Kitchen in this location.
In 2013, Helou was listed by Arabian Business as one of the "500 most powerful Arabs in the world:, and one of the "100 most powerful Arab women".
Her book Levant was published in 2013 and was selected as one of The Observer Food Monthly's "20 food books of the year, one of "best books of 2013" by Gourmet Traveller , one of the "14 best cookbooks of 2013" by BuzzFeed and one of Marie-Claire Digby's "top 10 food books of the year" in 2013. Her book Feast: Food of the Islamic World was published in 2018.
Books
Savory Baking from the Mediterranean (2007) Modern Mezze (2007) The Fifth Quarter: An Offal Cookbook (2005) – "Most innovative UK food book", World Gourmand Awards 2005 Mediterranean Street Food (2002) – "Best Mediterranean in the English language", World Gourmand Awards 2022 Cafe Morocco (1999) Lebanese Cuisine (1994) – Andrew Simon Book Awards shortlist Levant: Recipes and memories from the Middle East (2013) Feast: Food of the Islamic World (2018) Lebanon: Cooking the Foods of My Homeland (2026)
References
External links Official website Modern Mediterranean Kitchen: Anissa Helou, Food & Wine, 1 March 2004 Comfort Food of the Chefs: Anissa Helou, Cooking Light, 17 February 2012 Breaking the Fast, Saveur, 4 August 2011 Anissa Helou's Last Supper, The Guardian, 3 May 2014