Experience

Having previously owned a company importing wine from Italy to Germany, my love for Italian cuisine inspired me to study at the Scuola di Arte Culinaria 'Cordon Bleu' in Florence.

In Italy, I worked under amazing chefs such as Vito Mollica (one Michelin star) and Emanuel Capelli before moving to Santiago in Chile to become executive chef at Amicci, one of the city's most celebrated Italian restaurants. Then I came to London, as head chef at the Chelsea Arts Club, before launching a chain of pan-Asian restaurants from Dubai in Tehran. Yes, a lot of travel!

Following the launch, when I was back in Iran, I traveled to Singapore and worked alongside the brilliant Taiwanese chef André Chiang at Restaurant André (two Michelin stars). It was a fantastic opportunity to upgrade my culinary skills with a real master of his trade.

Now I'm back in London, a place I love, and my culinary tale has taken an exciting new twist: home-cooked Persian food delivered to your door. Persian cuisine is my great passion and my first love. Persian flavors are part of me – deep in my soul – but it's really hard to find authentic Persian food, the homemade food I remember from my mother's kitchen in the restaurant unless of course, you're lucky enough to be invited to an Iranian's home.

The History

The history of the major ancient Persian cities contains names of many food products, ingredients, beverages, herbs, spices, and wine, an important ceremonial and religious drink. Basil, mint, cumin, cloves, saffron, and coriander were traded along with olive all over the ancient trade routes (Silk Road). The trade records from the Parthian and the Sasanian period have been mentioned the goods such as walnut, pistachio, pomegranate, cucumber, broad bean, pea, and sesame.
Persians consumed a balanced combination of fruits, vegetables, poultry, herbs, seeds, and mixed petals and blossoms of roses to have a healthy diet and a strong body and mind.

Women have had a significant influence and played a major role in the history of cooking in Iran. The best chefs were and still are women. From the palaces of the Persian kings to the average housewife, women have had fabulous skills preparing exquisite cuisines. Most men do not cook but expect the best food from their wives or mothers. In the history of Persia homemade food is precious and more appreciated. Even for weddings and major parties, the food is expected to be as the same quality as the best homemade food.

The staple dishes

Iranian restaurants both inside and outside of the country prepare a very small selection of Iranian cuisine. The choices are very limited and most are popular for rice and kebabs are known as Chelo kebab.
There are numerous rice dishes in Persian cuisine which contain different ingredients such as almonds, pistachios, glazed carrots, orange peels, and raisins; others with vegetables and spices; occasionally with meat. Usually perfected and finished by the saffron from Iran and cooked slowly to have a hard crust at the bottom (tah dig). Other recipes include stews and stuffed vegetables accompanied by different sauces.

Iranian food is varied from area to area. Rice is a major ingredient and is cooked very differently from Indian or oriental rice. The dishes of Iran mostly are prepared from scratch and are often very time-consuming, slow-cooked affairs.