JEDDAH: Palestinian chef and restaurateur Salam Daqqaq has struck an emotional chord across the Gulf with the release of her debut cookbook, “Bint Maryam.” The owner of Dubai restaurants Bait Maryam and Sufret Maryam — both recognized with Michelin Guide Bib Gourmands — said readers have told her the book evokes memories of home and family.
She told Arab News: “People from the region connect to it because the food feels familiar, even if it’s Palestinian. And for Palestinians living here, it means even more. It reminds them of home. I’ve had people tell me it made them cry, that it reminded them of their mothers. That’s something I don’t take lightly.”
Daqqaq, who hails from the small town of Tarseeha, said the book was her “identity.”
“It reflects where I came from. My upbringing, my family, and the way I learned to cook. It’s honest, it’s simple and it’s deeply rooted in tradition. I didn’t want to modernize it too much or change it. I wanted it to stay true to what it is,” she said.
Some of the recipes in the book went back generations, highlighting the long lineage of the cuisine. “They are not new recipes, they are inherited ones,” she explained.
