Some Of The Best Food Blogs In The Middle East

Source: Urai Gurerra/Creative Commons Lic

If someone had told me 3 years ago that cooking was an art, I would have laughed and gone on my way. It wouldn't have been a condescending sneer but one of fear because I, like many others, was terrified to think that I could cook one day. Well, safe to say that with all the food blogs on the internet, cooking does not seem as intimidating as before. Being in the Middle East, one thing that you’re sure not to miss out on is the unique cuisine out here. Middle Eastern cuisine might taste the same for someone new to the region but slowly and surely you will begin to notice that every country in the Middle East has its own unique style of cooking. Thanks to all the food blogs online, they have made it easy for us to venture into food world. It's hard to imagine a world without food bloggers. Before the wealth of food blogging came to be, cookbooks and family recipes were a way of life. Some of the most talked about food blogs in the Middle East have been listed below.

Café Fernando is written by a Turkish food blogger who calls himself ‘Cenk’. He takes gastronomy to new heights and provides us with probably one of the best Turkish recipes found on the internet in my opinion. What makes this food blog interesting is the categories section. Besides having the usual food varieties, he also has a section that talks about tips and tricks, about various places in Turkey, the famous restaurants in Turkey and the cherry on the icing is his ‘Photo Blog’. Dirty Kitchen Secrets written by a Lebanese American Food Blogger known as Bethany who has had many praise reviews written about her Blog. It got me wondering what set her apart from the rest. Her recipes are concise and leave plenty of room for visualizing what your food will turn out to be. Without the usual dramatic stories but with a hint of humour, allows this blog to make the most interesting read besides providing you with recipes that cannot go wrong. Bethany also runs food tours across Lebanon and hosts an international food blogging conference.

Yemen Kitchen is an interesting blog that gives you insights into Yemeni culture, their history and daily life. It is rightly quoted ‘A story of Yemen's History right from the Kitchen’. It forms a unique sense of allowing you to grow into a recipe. It gives you a structured approach into making a dish all the while explaining its origin.

Olive Juice is a Syrian Food Blog written by Tony Tahhan. He needs no introduction as his Blog has been talked about and referred to in many other food blogs. My favourite Blog entry is “Bless your hands” were he shows us how to make Fatayer. Fatayer has never been my favourite but trying out this recipe converted me into Fatayer Loyalist. The labelled pictures of ingredients, eye-pleasing printable recipe cards, and accompanying descriptive prose led me to believe that the food I made tasted hopefully as awesome as his would have turned out. His video on Fox News on how to make Baklava has saved me across many occasions. Fooderati Arabia was written by a group of Food enthusiasts in Dubai, UAE. It gained momentum due to the fact that it not only talks about Middle Eastern cuisine but it is a collection of multinational cuisines from across the world. It ranges from Korean to French to wide variety of Middle Eastern Food. It is a collection of all the best Food Blogs, Reviews in the UAE. MidEats is a blog run by two American Egyptians, Heba and Brenda. The flow chart on this blog reminds me a lot of how I passed my time trying to guilt myself into cooking. It’s worth a look for those of you still walking the walk of shame of not knowing how to cook. The blog gradually introduces you into Middle Eastern style of cooking. Accompanied with beautiful images, makes it a very encouraging beginner’s guide. Anissas has been one of the most unique Food blogs that I have come across. She is a chef, a food writer and a cookery teacher. She leads culinary tours across Syria, Turkey and Morocco. She presents us with many different recipes across a variety of cuisines and provides us insights to her interests. The ‘celebrations’ category is particularly interesting with a blog entry on Bea’s Presepio. It’s not one to be missed. The Pomegranate Diaries, Chronicles of Persian Cooking is written by an Iranian known as Farnaz. She says in her blog that’ If you’ve never experienced Persian food I can guarantee that you will love it. It is delicious and aromatic with a great variety of stews, rice dishes, meats, salads and desserts.’ Persian cuisine is one of the most ancient cuisines in the world and a fundamental part of Persian heritage. Make sure to read her ‘Pantry Essentials’ before you commence on your Persian culinary journey, it will definitely come to your aid. These are just a few of Middle East’s favourite Food Blogs. Every day a new Food blogger attains his citizenship into this world. It is only a matter of time before this list would have to be revisited. For now, Bon Appetite, my fellow Foodies!