A Culinary Journey through al-Andalus

Professor Daniel Newman holds the Chair of Arabic Studies at the University of Durham. His research interests include Arabic travel literature, 19th-century Arab reform movements, Islamic medicine, and medieval Arab culinary history. He is the author of the best-selling An Imam in Paris; Account of a stay in France by an Egyptian cleric (1826-1831) , and was the co-recipient of the World Award of the President of the Republic of Tunisia for Islamic Studies for the book entitled Muslim Women in Law and Society. His book The Sultan’s Feast. A Fifteenth-century Cookbook received the Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2021. His most recent book is The Exile’s Cookbook: Medieval Gastronomic Treasures from al-Andalus and North Africa . He maintains a blog eatlikeasultan and instagram account medieval_arab_cooking where he shares his passion for bringing medieval Arab dishes to life by recreating recipes.

Fiona Dunlop has been writing books and articles for over 35 years, mainly on travel and food culture, and now lives in London..

After graduating with a B.A. (Hons) in French, she spent 18 years in Paris, writing and teaching. Her discovery of Spain came with writing National Geographic’s guide to the country which inspired her first cookbook, New Tapas. Andalucia, in particular, seduced her for its unique fusion of North African culture with European. This led to a holiday home in the olive groves where she and her partner often retreat.

Other books include The North African Kitchen, Mexican Modern and Andaluz: A Food Journey through Southern Spain. This investigates the influence of the Moors on Andalucia’s culinary heritage. Each book combines history, travelogue, profiles of chefs and recipes. She has been much inspired by her repeated travels and stays in the Arab world from Morocco to Libya, Tunisia, Syria and Palestine.

Adela is a big fan of the Bradford Literature Festival and has been attending for many years! She is an international breaking-news reporter for The Washington Post based in London. Previously, she has worked for NBC News, Al Jazeera English, Thomson Reuters and The Associated Press. She is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, with a degree in Law, and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Before pivoting to journalism, she spent four years as an international corporate lawyer in London, Dubai and Libya. Adela is interested in China and Africa and has traveled to more than 70 countries, including reporting trips to Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Jordan, the United States and much of Europe. Adela grew up in Manchester, Kent and London but also spent long stints in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, where her father was born.