Palestinian author to speak in Nunney

FROME Friends of Palestine will next week be welcoming a Palestinian journalist, author and activist to speak about the role of food in the war-torn region’s culture.

Laila el-Haddad will visit Nunney Village Hall on Monday 12th October, where recipes from her book The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey will be served.

Laila is on her way to the Frankfurt Book Fair to promote her latest book, Gaza Unsilenced, but will be stopping off at Frome en route.

Frome Friends of Palestine member Adam Stout said, “The images we associate with Gaza are of misery and desolation, massive destruction caused by Israeli blitzkriegs, people struggling to live amid the ruins, world leaders still reluctant to hold Israel to account or to help Gaza rebuild.

“Much less is said about Gaza’s cultural heritage, deep-rooted and sustaining, that underpins its people’s resistance. And at the heart of it all is food. Palestinians speak of cuisine with reverence, even urgency.

“Come and sample a meal made from Gaza Kitchen recipes, cooked by Frome Friends of Palestine’s team of gourmet chefs, and hear Laila talk to us about food and resistance.

“Treats in store include Ful Imdammas (smothered fava beans and hot garlic dressing), Fatayer sabinikh (savoury spinach pies), Qidra (richly spiced rice and lamb for special occasions) and Zibdiyit Gambari (shrimp in a clay pot, a speciality of Gaza), followed by Ma’routa (a date speciality), Mabrousha (bitter orange Streusel) and Knafa Arabiya (a uniquely Gazan pastry, made with walnut and cinnamon).”

Tickets to the event cost £10 from Frome Wholefoods on Cheap Street.