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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Bassem Mroue

Anissa Helou’s new book of recipes from Lebanon spotlights villages scarred by war

Lebanon Mideast Cooking - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All right reserved)

Before becoming one of the Middle East’s most acclaimed cooks and food writers, Anissa Helou had no intention of either path. She entered the world of cooking and writing almost by accident when she was in her late 30s.

Now 74, Helou has a wide following in the region and elsewhere and has released nearly a dozen books since the 1990s about food in the Middle East and beyond. Last month she received Britain’s prestigious Guild of Food Writers Lifetime Achievement Award.

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