'There's something magical about making something for people to eat'

She was born in Iran, but left the country with her family during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. But nothing stopped Ariana Bundy from connecting to her roots. Her father has played a crucial role in keeping her love for food alive as he owns restaurants and she closely watched him managing the food business. A successful chef, writer and television personality, this Iranian-American is the face of popular travel series Ariana’s Persian Kitchen and has written two prominent cookbooks Sweet Alternative and Pomegranates and Roses: My Persian Family Recipes. Now the 41-year-old is wooing people with a new series Ariana’s Iran on Fox Life which has been bringing culinary trails of international chef’s to the audience. In a chat with Metrolife, Bundy talks about her love for food and the need to preserve traditional recipes.

Excerpts:

Can you please elaborate on your culinary journey? It is interesting to know how you quit working at your mother’s boutique and shifted to food business.Growing up I loved fashion and clothes, and I loved working with my mom – she’s so talented and creative. But there was something about working in fashion that didn’t quite sit right with me. I guess I just wasn’t as passionate about it deep down as I was about food. There’s something magical about making something for people to eat. And I could talk about food all day and spend hours browsing in a supermarket or food market. I guess it’s just in my blood.

How much are you influenced by your father?
He was a true visionary and had a great eye for food (and other) trends as well as being fantastic with people. He always wanted his restaurants to be the best they could be and was very concerned about quality and service. He was also ahead of his time in terms of the kind of foods he ate himself – always very healthy with lots of salads and fresh fruits. So yes, he had a big influence on me.

What was the turning point of your life?
After I went to a business school in London, I moved to Los Angeles and for a while I was at a loss at what to do. Eventually my uncle said to me, ‘Listen, you’ve always been obsessed with food, you should go into the food business’. He told me he would pay for me to go to the best culinary school I could find. That was what took me to Cordon Bleu in Paris and I’ve never looked back since.

What are the important characteristics of Iranian food?
Iranian dishes are fresh tasting, aromatic and well balanced. Fresh ingredients are really important. We use a lot of spices but they are usually delicate ones like saffron, turmeric, cinnamon and rose petals. Iranian ingredients are classified into “hot” and “cold” according to the ancient Avicenna system (healthy food practices). This system is then applied to ensure that each dish is correctly balanced and also to determine which meals are best eaten at certain times of year or according to how you feel. It sounds complicated but most Iranians instinctively understand it as that’s how they were fed when they were kids.

Was there any resistance from the family when you informed them about your decision to take up food as a profession?
I had several family members telling me that it was not a done thing for a Persian girl to work in a kitchen. And they also said that it wasn’t really even a respectable profession for a man. That also said the veins would pop on my beautiful feminine hands and so on. They meant well and they were right in a sense in that working in a restaurant kitchen is one of the toughest jobs you can do. But I never let what other people say influence me too much. As a woman, it’s so empowering to know a real trade. If anything happens, you can start a business with a small kitchen and an oven.

What aspects of Iranian food have been sidelined?
Very few non-Iranians know anything about Persian cuisine unless they have visited the country or have Persian friends who have invited them to their homes to eat. Many people assume it’s the same as Arabic food or that it’s spicy like Indian food. Most are really surprised when they try it for the first time. And they always come back for more.

How important it is to document food history and what becomes the role of a chef in this?
For little known cuisines like Persian food I think it’s really important. That’s why, for my book Pomegranates & Roses: My Persian Family Recipes I concentrated on traditional recipes and explained the history and context of each dish. I have lots of ideas for recipes of Persian-inspired and fusion dishes, but I think first we need to document traditional Persian cuisine and our approach to food.

Can you elaborate on what aspects of food and culture you have touched upon on in Ariana’s Iran?
My main goal was to try to lift the veil of mystery that surrounds the country just a little bit by focusing on something everyone in the world can identify with – food. I travelled all over the country from the capital Tehran to the ancient desert city of Yazd and from the lush shores of the Caspian to the high northeastern plains where wild saffron grows. Everywhere I went I explored the food bazaars and restaurants to understand what the locals were buying and eating. I cooked mainly with women who were either local chefs and met with women food bloggers and also producers such as pomegranate farmers and rose water manufacturers. I think the viewers will see how incredibly hospitable Iranians are and how seriously they take their food.