I am over the moon! The German translation of PARDIZ has just won Best Travel Cookbook at the International Travel Trade Fair in Berlin. It is such a great feeling when a book you have put so much  passion and work into gets this sort of recognition.

The award reminds me of the great contributions by my collaborators on the book
Klarissa Pfisterer, our very talented  book designer,
Ebi Khadem Bayat, who took the fabulous pictures in Iran,
Simon Griffith, who did all the delicious-looking food photography,
Simon Davis, our meticulous project editor and
Jane Willson, the  publishing director at Hardie Grant.
My thanks again to you all .
Working on a new book is pretty demanding but I loved every minute of it. Our travel  for the book in Iran in early 2018 seem a long time ago now, but I have  warm memories of friendly, generous people, the depth and richness of the old culture and, of course, the wonderful food. I particularly remember the extraordinary hospitality, even to strangers, and the tradition of  sharing great spreads of dishes around the ‘sofreh’ (cloth on the ground) or the table.

These memories, mixed with more distant, rose-coloured ones from my early childhood in Iran ( in our own Pardiz garden ), are now very much part of me and influence how I think about food and how to present it.