New Arab encounters: Ayesha Karaji, owner of Queen of Cups restaurant, which has been enthralling Glastonbury with its unique mix of Middle Eastern flavours.
What's your earliest food memory? Chef Aisha Karaj recalls sitting at her grandmother's kitchen table eating shish kabarak surrounded by jars of bright pink pickles.
“I've always loved food. I have pictures of myself as a little girl sticking my head in a bowl,” she recalls.
Currently, Ayesha serves up grilled nabulsi cheese with Persian black lime honey at Queen of Cups restaurant in Glastonbury, which serves up unique and delicious dishes influenced by her Jordanian roots.
From Iraqi pita to black tahini and black cardamom ice cream, Queen of Cup's goal is for customers to leave with a full stomach.
A career in the kitchen wasn't necessarily planned for Aisha, who actually earned a degree in Middle Eastern studies, studying the languages, history and politics of the region.
“I was set to work on the frontline as a war correspondent for Al Jazeera but had low hopes for my future. It was then that I seriously considered food as a viable career,” she says, adding that she began to connect with her roots through food.
Raised in the UK with a British mother, Aisha says she did not grow up in a traditional Arab household: “I grew up feeling very Westernised.”
While her family spent summers in Jordan, Aisha couldn't speak or read Arabic, and although she loved Middle Eastern food, it didn't feel familiar to her as an adult, so she began studying it as part of her degree.
“My grandmother cooked for the whole family every day and was always in the kitchen. For me, there was a direct connection between family and food, and it was matriarchal, with the whole family eating meals. Connecting food with teta was something that was easier for me to connect with in terms of my Jordanian tradition.”
While finishing her dissertation on the semiotics of Middle Eastern food, Aisha pored over 13th-century cookbooks and fuelled on labneh-topped meals from British students.
“It's interesting to see how many of the ingredients and recipes are still similar,” she points out. “The dishes I'm making aren't just from my grandmother or a generation before her, but are hundreds, even thousands of years old. These books contained poems about asparagus, descriptions of food in the royal palace, and stories of poets from all over the country coming to speak about the medicinal properties of camel spleen.”
Camel spleen may no longer be on the menu, but there's no denying the Queen of Cups' celebration of food and feeding as a sign of honor and affection.
“I love cooking, but what I love most is feeding people and giving them joy through cooking. Food is delicious and fun, but it's also the nourishment it gives. There's something special about how we treat others when it comes to food and drink. I want to bring people together and create a space where people stop. There's a sense of awareness about what they're eating and actually having a conversation with someone.”
Aside from satisfying hunger, Aisha aims to encourage restaurant guests to experience new flavour combinations as they view them from her open kitchen.
She says she was “amazed” that people would drive hours to eat her food, especially given the current economic situation, but it's clear Glastonbury was in desperate need of something innovative.
Aisha stands out in a food scene dominated by European and modern British cuisine in the region – not only are these Middle Eastern flavours foreign to Glastonbury, but the way she presents her food is unlike anyone else's.
“My path to food and my journey of self-identity means that my food is uniquely my own. I've never claimed to be authentic or traditional – it's a respect, but some people might be horrified if I put laverbread, a Welsh seaweed, in my falafel. I grew up in North Wales so that's my interpretation. My interpretation is not that classical.”
Sustainability and seasonality are important to the chef, so while baba ghanoush is a year-round dish in the Middle East, at Queen of Cups it's only available in summer, when eggplant is in season.
Aisha tries to use British suppliers wherever possible, and although she does have some spices in her suitcases from trips abroad, she is currently working with farmers in Somerset to grow Aleppo chilli peppers and Syrian za'atar.
“The za'tar plant is available throughout the Middle East but not in this country. Now it's available and it's fantastic. I remember visiting my grandmother's house and seeing za'tar spread out on newspapers drying in the sun. Now I do it in my kitchen at home in Somerset. I tried to grow mulukhiyah but the weather didn't work out this time.”
All these factors have forced Aisha to try to reconcile her dual identities as British and Jordanian: “It's exciting for me as an outsider to the culture,” she says with a smile.
While not a traditionalist, she aims to showcase the wonders of Middle Eastern cuisine: “There's so much more to Middle Eastern cuisine than baba ghanoush and hummus. There are pulses and spice blends, not to mention desserts. Middle Eastern cuisine can be sophisticated, aromatic and delicate, alongside big, bold meat dishes.”
“I love changing people's opinions by combining new flavors with traditional dishes.”
Think knafeh, made with Somerset cider, brandy and sugar syrup, or the familiar beurre blanc, with arrack.
Feeling hungry? So is Aisha, and after appearing on BBC's MasterChef, her love for leopard print shows no signs of stopping.
“I want the cookbook, the TV show, I want it all! Most of all, I want to continue expressing myself, my cooking, and what Middle Eastern cuisine can be.”
Isabella Silvers is an award-winning editor and journalist whose work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Refinery29, and more. She also writes Mixed Messages, a weekly newsletter about mixed race identity.
Follow her on Twitter: Follow
