Hawa Hassan

Hawa Hassan is a Somali-American author and chef. Her first cookbook, In Bibi's Kitchen, won the 2022 James Beard Foundation award for Best International Cookbook.

Hawa Hassan
Born1985 or 1986 (age 37–38)[1]
Somalia
Occupation(s)Author, chef
Notable workIn Bibi’s Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries That Touch the Indian Ocean

Early life and education

Hawa Ali Hassan was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, the second eldest of ten siblings; her early life was spent in Mogadishu.[1][2][3][4] Her family fled the country in 1991 during the Somali Civil War when Hassan was four years old, going to a United Nations refugee camp in Mombasa, Kenya.[5][6][3] Hassan was soon sent to Nairobi.[5] Her father returned to Somalia.[5]

In 1993, when she was seven, Hassan's mother sent her to Seattle, Washington, to live with family friends in the city's South End; the goal was for the rest of her family to join her eventually, but by the time she was in middle school she "realized no one was coming".[5][7][1] She later lived with a friend's family.[2] Her mother and siblings went to Norway.[5][1] She did not see them for fifteen years and has only seen her father once since he returned to Somalia.[5]

Hassan graduated from high school early and enrolled at Bellevue College when she was 16.[5][1]

Career

Hassan began modeling while attending high school and college.[5][8] She moved to Brooklyn to pursue modeling but soon started creating Somali sauces and chutneys using her mother's recipes, which she'd practiced while visiting Oslo for her first reunion with her family in fifteen years, with a goal of selling them.[1][3] In 2014 she opened Basbaas Somali Foods.[5][1] By 2015 she was selling several varieties.[5]

She hosted several programs for Bon Appetit's YouTube channel, including "Hawa at Home;” “Hawa in the Kitchen,” and “Spice of Life”.[5]

In Bibi's Kitchen

In 2017 Hassan met Julia Turshen, with whom she co-authored the 2020 cookbook In Bibi’s Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries That Touch the Indian Ocean, which won the 2022 James Beard award for best international cookbook.[5][1] Multiple publishers rejected the book, and only one, Ten Speed Press, entered negotiations.[2]

The book focuses on foods from African countries that border the Indian Ocean (Comoros, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania) and were important in the spice trade; the authors collected recipes from "bibis", the Swahili word for grandmothers,[6][2] and the book was photographed by Nairobi-based Somali Khadija Farah.[3] The New York Times named it one of the best cookbooks of 2020.[9]

Bibliography
  • In Bibi's Kitchen : the recipes & stories of grandmothers from the eight African countries that touch the Indian Ocean. Ten Speed Press. 2020. ISBN 9781984856739. With Julia Turshen.[10][6][11]

Personal life

As of 2021 Hassan was living in New York City.[1]

References
  1. Varriano, Jackie (2021-02-04). "How Seattle shaped the life of Somalia-born entrepreneur and cookbook author Hawa Hassan". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  2. Ulla, Gabe. "Hawa Hassan's Recipes Highlight the Diversity of African Cuisine". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  3. Regensdorf, Laura (2020-10-14). "Hawa Hassan on the Matriarchs of East African Cuisine—and the Merits of Banana with Pizza". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  4. "Basbaas Foods". Basbaas Foods. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  5. Mercer, Emily (2023-05-30). "How Hawa Hassan Is Making the World Smaller Through Food". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  6. Taylor, Elise (2020-10-12). "Hawa Hassan Shares the Spicy Somali Pasta Recipe From Her New Cookbook, 'In Bibi's Kitchen'". Vogue. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  7. Fabricant, Florence (2016-01-19). "Chocolate by the Book". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  8. Kevita (2019-06-15). "Hawa Hassan: The Hot Sauce Boss that Goes with Her Gut". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  9. "The 14 Best Cookbooks of Fall 2020". The New York Times. 2020-09-29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  10. Maloney, Ann (2023-05-21). "Dinner is fast and flavorful with these 30-minute gingery, garlicky chicken thighs". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  11. Ho, Soleil (1 July 2020). "Hawa Hassan will put Somali food in the spotlight — on her own terms". San Francisco Chronicle.
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