As well as creating bespoke recipes for the cover and special features within BBC Good Food, she has written an impassioned plea stressing the importance of celebrating cultural diversity through food.
In her BBC Good Food feature: ‘How food can bring us all together’, Nadiya writes: “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.”
Talking about the importance of representation, and how it was lacking when she was younger, Nadiya says: “Growing up I didn’t see a curry being cooked on TV by someone like my mother. 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 adds: “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.”
As guest editor of BBC Good Food, Nadiya shares stories from some of her favourite food producers, restaurateurs, and recipe writers, including Rob Allison, Mursal Saiq and Tiffany Chang.
Nadiya also shares exclusive recipes she has developed for sweet and savoury bakes, including the banoffee traybake seen on the BBC Good Food cover, and she suggested the recipe writers, stylists and photographers who created content throughout the magazine. In her introduction to the magazine, she said: “It’s been an honour to work with the BBC Good Food team.”
Nadiya will be taking over Good Food’s Instagram @bbcgoodfood on Saturday 29 January.
The February issue of BBC Good Food guest-edited by Nadiya Hussain is available now.
Keep up-to-date with publishing news: sign up here for InPubWeekly, our free weekly e-newsletter.
