Nadiya Hussain urges to celebrate cultural diversity through food

• Pramod Thomas
• 28 January, 2022

By: Pramod Thomas

CELEBRITY chef Nadiya Hussain has stressed the importance of diverse representation in the food industry as she guest-edited the February issue of BBC Good Food magazine, a statement said. 

Besides, creating bespoke recipes for the cover and special features within the magazine, Hussain has written an impassioned plea stressing the importance of celebrating cultural diversity through food.

“There is so much work to be done but I believe we are headed in the right direction. To have a platform within BBC Good Food is a huge step forward, to discuss something that is clearly important in the world. We can share words and the food we love with others. On this slow but upward trajectory, we can all play our part,” she wrote In her feature: How food can bring us all together.

While talking about the importance of representation, Hussain said that she didn’t see a curry being cooked on TV by someone like her mother when she was younger.

“I didn’t read cookbooks that remotely resembled any of the recipes and ingredients we cooked with. There are still many cultures that don’t have a platform with which to celebrate their heritage and food. However, I believe that is changing. It is a steady incline but we must keep pushing on, so that going forward, generations of youngsters will see themselves represented in cookbooks, magazines and the wider media,” she said.

As guest editor, the chef shared stories from some of her favourite food producers, restaurateurs, and recipe writers, including Rob Allison, Mursal Saiq and Tiffany Chang.

She added: “As a child of an immigrant, eating the food that connected my parents to the land they called home, is a story I will always tell with pride. But change also comes through learning about new things. You may not have a Ghanaian auntie to teach you about jollof or an Italian nonna to show you how to make perfect pasta, but there are resources to find out about these things. We won’t discover new things unless we leave our bubble and explore.”

In the edition, Hussain also shared exclusive recipes she has developed for sweet and savoury bakes, including the banoffee traybake seen on the BBC Good Food cover, the statement added. 

She will be taking over Good Food’s Instagram @bbcgoodfood on Saturday (29).