Having been brought up in a very Western community, cooking Persian food with the memory of my Granny sitting on my shoulder helped to connect me strongly with my Iranian side and FEEL Iranian. It was my mission to create Iranian dishes that were Authentic and that tasted as if an Iranian had cooked it. Such was my zeal in this area that when I first started cooking Iranian dishes again as an adult, with no Granny alive to consult, I used to imagine her in the kitchen with me advising. I was then told by a clairvoyant that indeed my Granny was with me when I cooked and that she often laughed and tapped me on the hand when she thought I was putting it too much of this or the wrong spice etc … When my children’s Father moved in with me I learnt more recipes in which to use particular spices and seasonings in and I discovered what is done on a daily basis in Iranian households and what is done for that extra zing or presentation when making the meal for a large gathering of guests.

Over the years, just as my Granny had been, I became particularly known for my Persian Rice and as I mixed with other Iranians I learnt recipes that were specific to particular regions of Iran and that came from other Iranian family culinary traditions than my own. I bought books and tutted at any of them that used both fried onion AND fried Garlic in some of the dishes or that used an excessive variety of spices included in one recipe in order to fulfil the Western Publisher’s marketing objective of ramping up the Exotic aspects of Persian cooking .... as if it needed ramping up in the first place!! I asked friends to tell me how they made particular dishes and where the regional and familial variations made the recipe a little different to the standard generic one.

My daughter’s Father was a good cook who had learnt well from his Mother. His Mother grew up in the North of Iran in the province of Rasht and had been assigned the role of Cook on the family farm that she grew up on, so she knew LOTS of Iranian dishes including those that were from the region she grew up in and the specific techniques and seasoning tricks that would make the meal stand out. Needless to say, I learnt a great deal from my daughter’s Father which combined with my Azerbaijani Iranian Granny and my Persian friends from Shiraz, Isfahan, Tehran, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, North Iran and Lorestan has given me a full portfolio of Iranian culinary resources upon which to draw. It is this first hand learning which I find so so valuable and has given me a kind of discernment when I look at Persian cookery books ... I love to be able to sift the wheat from the chaff when it comes to identifying well informed authentic recipes.

As well as the incredible flavours that Iranian food boasts, it is also so healthy too with the Ancient emphasis on balancing heat producing and cold producing foods in the body so that the food keeps the body in balance and maximises the nutritional value that can be gained from eating it.

In Nov 2014, I opened my own Cafe/Restaurant/Bar/Events Venue called 'The Butterfly House at The Torrs' that specialised in Artisan in-house produced food created from scratch with only the most unprocessed of ingredients taken at source. Salads that combined Spicy, Sour, Sweet, Salty flavours in the one dish and a mixture of cooked and raw Vegetables with Salad ingredients, grains & pasta were served with Savoury Pastries and Soups with copious amounts of garnishes that were AS important as the actual Soup, became our signature dishes. I sometimes cooked Persian cuisine and when I did it flew out, especially the heavily Herb-laden Soup called Ashe Reshte which left a lingering and delicious smell in the cafe with its combination of Fresh Coriander, Leek, Parsley & Spring Onions that are sautéed until deep dark green and packed with aroma. Sometimes I cooked up a Persian Feast with a variety of Khoreshtes, Rice Dishes and accompanying side dishes and on the those occasions a big hit was the Persian Bakhlava for Desert which is so very easy to make.

For six and a half years The Butterfly House at The Torrs took up all my waking hours .. it was my baby and a labour of love, although when 39 hr, 27 hr and 23 hr shifts occurred it did at times feel like I was working down the mines!! Cheffing in my kitchen there was a chance for me to develop my own recipes and create inventive menus and dishes that were essentially vegetarian and vegan but that were complimented with roasted meats, meat pies and sauces. My aim was that regardless of whether the customer was vegetarian or vegan, that the dishes that laid the foundation of the menu were equally suitable for non meat eaters and that those who wanted meat could add meat to the range of salads , vegetable and mixed grain dishes that made up most of the menu choices. In this way, no one had to ask “have you got a vegetarian/vegan menu”? … it was all included on the one menu. It was also vital that each dish was something extraordinary in flavour, something that the customer felt they could not have created at home and was therefore worth coming out to my establishment for.

When Covid made it clear that continuing The Butterfly House would not be sustainable, I closed the business and created my online cookery school Jilah's Tiny Kitchen. I feel very fortunate to have been able to “pivot” as they call it now! Jilah's Tiny Kitchen is a place where I can share my passion for cooking and bring the deliciousness of Persian Cuisine to other foodies around the world. It has opened up to me a global community of chefs, cooking enthusiasts, foodies and other entrepreneurs and this is great! I now run cookery classes, teaching enthusiasts in their own kitchens from my tiny kitchen, I do lives on facebook and Instagram, I've started writing blogs and have just launched my Instagram TV Show 'Inside2Kitchens' where I meet with other chefs and cooking enthusiasts to prepare a meal and share our different approaches to making that same meal work for both Vegi/Vegans and Meat Eaters. We swop notes and share tips, have a laugh and hopefully inspire people to cook without fear and without boundaries.

There will soon be a 'Jilah's Tiny Kitchen Tribe', a membership club which will enable me to reach more people to teach in depth at an affordable price for them where they receive recipes, video lessons, live classes, support from email and phone communication, instructional blogs tailored to the Tribe's needs, webinars, opportunities to appear in live InstagramTV 1 to 1 cooking classes and live question and answer sessions each month.

'From my Granny's kitchen to my tiny kitchen to your kitchen'! It has been quite a journey xx