Rose Previte, of Michelin star restaurant Maydān, releases her debut cookbook
Dec 14, 2023
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Rose Previte, owner of Michelin star restaurant Maydān, shares recipes from her debut cookbook inspired by diverse influences. She discusses growing up in a Lebanese-Italian home, traveling across Russia and the Middle East, and the significance of breaking bread across cultures.
Recipes passed down through generations may vary, reflecting the dynamic nature of culinary traditions.
Cookbook showcases the combination and evolution of flavors from diverse cultures like Tunisia, Georgia, and Oman.
Deep dives
The Challenges of Passing Down Food Traditions
Rose Prevett discusses the challenge of getting cooking recipes from relatives, highlighting how our ancestors' food traditions are not always reliable. She emphasizes that recipe variations occur as they are passed down, reflecting the dynamic nature of culinary traditions.
Cultural Mixing and Mingle
Rose Prevett's debut cookbook, Mai Don from Lebanon and beyond, exemplifies how cultures mix and shift. By drawing inspiration from homes in Tunisia, Georgia, Oman, and more, Prevett showcases the combination and evolution of flavors in the recipes in her cookbook.
Bringing People Together Through Food
Rose Prevett's goal with her cookbook is to bring people together around a table. She shares recipes adapted for home cooks from her Michelin-star restaurant and family dishes from her Lebanese Italian American heritage. By sharing stories of how she learned these recipes, Prevett aims to emphasize the importance of hospitality and creating connections through food.
Today's episode takes us inside the kitchen of Washington, D.C. Michelin-star restaurant Maydān. There, owner Rose Previte walks NPR's Asma Khalid through several recipes in her new cookbook, Maydān, which focuses on family dishes from a diverse array of influences. Previte and Khalid get to talking about how growing up in a Lebanese-Italian home in a small Ohio town — and later traveling across Russia and the Middle East with her husband, former NPR host David Greene — shaped her understanding of breaking bread across cultures.