Leila - North Iran
When you meet Leila, you will feel you have made a new lifelong friend. Leila's generous hospitality and passion for people and cooking is infectious. There is nothing Leila loves more than introducing her recipes and food to new friends.
Read Leila's Bio Below
Rasht, Iran
Leila
“The way to anybody's heart is through their stomach!”
I was born in Rasht, Iran.
Rasht is a very unique area of Iran and is near the Caspian sea.
Both of my grand mothers had roots connected to Baku (Capitol of Azerbaijan).
I was raised in a mixed food culture, two very strong food cities (Rasht and Tabriz)
My grandpa moved from Tabriz (a city at the border of turkey) to my city to start a rice exporting business, later my dad took over the business and I grew up learning what is the best rice and how to cook it.
Since I was a little girl ,my mom had an older lady who helped her at home, l would always sit next to her in the kitchen watch her and my mom do all the preparations. My mom is a very patient lady, she would let me cook and bake and make a huge mess.
I love to cook and bake it¹s therapeutic for me. I love to mix ingredients and create new recipes,I really enjoy cooking for friends and family it¹s very satisfying for me.
I love to use saffron, we call it the happy spice. Eggplant, I can make endless dishes with eggplant, last but not least RICE!
Iranian cuisine is special because we have lots of varieties ,lots of whole foods, great use of spices and lots of nutritional foods.
Yup the famous one! The way to anybody's heart is through their stomach :)
