Reem Kassis

Reem Kassis is a Palestinian writer whose work focuses on the intersection of food with culture, history, and politics. You can find some of her writings in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times. Her debut cookbook, The Palestinian Table (2017), won The Guild of Food Writers Award and Gourmand World Cookbook award, was nominated for a James Beard Award, was short-listed for the Andre Simon Award and the Edward Stanford Award, and was picked as one of NPR's best books of 2017. Her second cookbook is The Arabesque Table (2021).

Reem holds two undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Wharton, and a MSc in Social Psychology from The London School of Economics. A former McKinsey consultant, today Reem’s work uses food and storytelling to share the narrative and culinary history of the entire Palestinian region with the world.

What's your desert island food?

"Pho or a bowl of Indian curry—nothing provides comfort like a good bowl of noodle soup or a bowl of rice with a rich fragrant curry on top."

What's your favorite condiment?

"Hot sauce! Pretty much any kind—shatta, sriracha, Frank's, green Tabasco. I love it so much, I basically eat hot sauce flavored with food instead of food flavored with hot sauce."