Felicia Campbell: From US army private to kitchen

Sharjah - An IACP award-nominated food writer and former staff editor at the nationally acclaimed American food and travel magazine Saveur, began her adult life as a 17-year-old private in the US Army.

From the world of weapons to the culinary world, Felicia Campbell, armed with fearlessness and determination, shared her passion for Middle Eastern cuisine at the Sharjah International Book Fair. In a cooking demonstration, Campbell, a former private in the US Army, shared a recipe to make a crispy, paper-thin bread from Oman, a recipe she features in her book, The Food of Oman: Recipes and Stories from the Gateway to Arabia.
The bread made from three simple ingredients (flour, water and salt) is common in the GCC, she said, explaining that in Oman and other neighbouring countries it is cut into small pieces and mixed with a stew - what Emiratis call "Thareed."
In addition to recipes, her book includes personal anecdotes from the time she spent in Oman. During her demonstration in making the bread, Campbell told tales of skilful Omani women who churned out hundreds of "perfectly-round" pieces of bread and a story of a man who spread the dough with the cover of an old cassette tape.
Campbell, an IACP award-nominated food writer and former staff editor at the nationally acclaimed American food and travel magazine Saveur, began her adult life as a 17-year-old private in the US Army. She was deployed to Iraq as a member of the initial invasion in 2003, and her experiences there transformed her perspective on the world.
"I connected with Iraqis over food and it is there that I started to see reality in a completely different way. I fell in love with people and their hospitality," she said adding that to her life is all about people and cooking is one of the ways through which creating connections is possible.
In addition to promoting her book, Campbell said she has additional scope from her participation in the Sharjah International Book Fair. "I really hope that people in the GCC will be inspired to write about their food and their culture," she said.
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• Sharjah International Book Fair
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