Getting Behind the cause: Andy Beynon in his east London restaurant
(Picture: John Carey)Chefs Andy Beynon and Sally Abé are partnering up to cook a Persian-inspired meal as the pair raise awareness of the ongoing human rights abuses in Iran.
Beynon will play host to the event, which will take place in his Hackney restaurant Behind, on Sunday February 19. Behind found fame in early 2021 when it was awarded a Michelin star, after just 20 days open.
The six-course, £85 lunch, will begin at 1.30pm, and will see both chefs collaboratively work up a Persian-inflected menu which will include a number of riffs on traditional dishes, including Mast o moosir, ghormeh sabzi and gheymeh. All proceeds from the afternoon will go to the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, which helps trauma relief in Iran.
The lunch — which is part of the #CookForIran movement, launched last year — follows months of protests across the country about the state’s treatment of women and children. The protests, which the state has recently cracked down on, were sparked after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in September of last year while in the custody of the country’s Guidance Patrol, sometimes dubbed the “morality police”.
Amini had been arrested for allegedly not wearing a hijab; the protests that followed were the most significant to take place in more than a decade. The Iranian Human Rights group reported in December that more than 450 people had been killed during the upheaval.
The #CookForIran lunch has been organised and co-founded by Piers Zangana, who said of it: “What is happening in Iran is heartbreaking. The situation has only escalated as the world’s attention has waned. The Iranian community is so grateful to Andy and Sally for hosting this event to continue to help raise awareness of the ongoing issues.
“Cook for Iran was designed especially for this purpose; to use food as a vehicle for conversation about our country.”
Beynon added: “Through my own close personal relationships with a number of Persian people, I know how the situation in Iran has affected so many lives. Witnessing what has happened to so many women in Iran has been incredibly upsetting. This shouldn’t be happening in the 21st century.
“That’s why it is so important to me to be able to help and raise awareness in any way I can, and I hope the collaboration between myself, Sally and Piers will help to keep the situation in Iran at the front of people’s minds.”
