Videos, Live Events, & Webinars

Below is a list of my videos, live events, and webinars showcasing various aspects of Persian cuisine. These engagements represent some of my efforts in bringing Persian flavors and food of Iran to life.

2024-03-18 -- Persian Culinary Manuscripts: From Legends to Cuneiform Tablets to Cookbooks
Sponsored by the New York Culinary Historians
- In this live webinar presentation, I took the audience on a culinary journey through time, exploring historical cookery manuscripts that have profoundly shaped contemporary Persian cuisine and cooking techniques.

2023-12-11 -- The Persian and Indian Culinary Connection
Sponsored by the Kitchen Lab program of the Oxford Food Symposium
- A 2-hour live program featuring me and Professor Samar Khatiwala (Oxford University) delivering a joint presentation titled “Exploring Commonalities and Similarities between the Two Food Cultures” and demonstrating the preparation of two Persian and two Indian dishes.

2023-05-18 -- Historical Cookery Manuscripts influencing Contemporary Persian Cuisin
Sponsored by the Food History Seminars, Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London.
- In this live presentation, I surveyed historical cookery manuscripts that, over the centuries, had had influence defining contemporary Persian cuisine and cooking practices.

2022-12-12 -- Chelow – Traditional Persian Steamed White Rice
Sponsored by the Cultures Group as part of their December 2022 “Salt and Ceremonies” program series.
- I produced a video program about “Chelow” which is the traditional Persian steamed white rice. In preparation of Chelow, rice is cooked twice – initially parboiled and then steamed. Another culinary significance of Chelow is that salt is used three times during its preparation, in three different stages, in three different ways.

2022-12-12 -- Shab-é-Yaldã - Persianate World Celebration of Winter Solstice
Sponsored by the Cultures Group as part of their December 2022 “Salt and Ceremonies” program series.
- I produced a video program about “Shab-é-Yaldā” which is the celebration of winter solstice by Persians around the world. The video discusses the background and significance of and demonstrates the preparation of an elaborate food spread associated with the subject celebration.

2022-05-15 -- Role of Arts in Redefining the Identify of Iranian Immigrants
Sponsored by the Davis International House.
- I was invited to be part of five-person panel discussing topics related to the role of visual arts, culinary arts, poetry, and music in redefining the identify of Iranian immigrants.

2022-02-26 -- The Changing Diet of the Iranians – From Quasi-Vegetarians to Quasi-Carnivore
Sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies, the University of British Columbia.
- In this live webinar, Willem Floor - an Iranologist - spoke about the subject and I was invited to serve as the program's discussant as a Persian culinary subject matter expert.

2022-02-24 -- Waiting for Norooz - A Foodways Video Series
Sponsored by the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University.
- I produced a video program composed of eight separate segments each about a different element of Persian New Year and associated culinary practices.
- (i) Introduction and overview
- (ii) Spring cleaning
- (iii) Buying and wearing new clothes
- (iv) Growing spring greens
- (v) Fire jumping
- (vi) Norooz table
- (vii) Family visits
- (viii) Picnicking outdoors

2021-10-28 -- Divine Yogurt
Sponsored by the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University.
- This was a 2-hour long live webinar discussing different aspects of traditional Persian-style yogurt including history, food science, literature, and gastronomical information.