NASSIM, ISFAHAN, IRAN

 For Nassim, cooking is inseparable from family. With Qashqai roots - a traditionally nomadic people of Turkish origin – Nassim grew up in Isfahan, a big city of turquoise domes in central Iran, where mountains merge with the desert. Here, her family home was alive with morning conversations and laughter,  tempting a young Nassim’s appetite for curiosity and making it impossible to sleep in! Her summers were spent waking up at 7am for breakfast and black tea - a must in any Iranian household! Together, her grandmother, her mother and Nassim would cook until the early afternoon, three generations of strong women preparing daily feasts to be shared with almost 30 people! Nassim’s grandmother was a revolutionary in her own community. She lived in a small village where girls were mostly uneducated, and for almost 20 years, she ran a secret school, teaching them how to read and write. It was Nassim’s grandmother who also encouraged Nassim to study too, despite cultural expectations. Before moving to Australia in 2022, Nassim studied law and worked as a lawyer – fighting for the rights of others in the same way her grandma did. Nassim’s food is fuelled by this fight, this want for people to know about the Iran she calls home – her language, her hospitality, her people.