In this post I will explore work of Nadiya Hussain I have chosen while doing my research as she also inspired me to create my own cookbook. Nadiya Hussain - born 1984, is a British television chef, author and television presenter. She became famous after winning "The Great British Bake Off" in 2015. She has contracts with the BBC for documentary "The Chronicles of Nadiya" and TV cookery series. Nadiya, who was born in Luton to British Bangladeshi parents, currently lives with her husband, Abdal, and their three children in Milton Keynes. For her contributions to television and the culinary arts, she was given an MBE.
Nadiya Hussain - British chef
I will be looking at some piece of her work, she wrote 5 books already and first cookbook I will be looking at is called "Nadiya Bakes", published in 2020. The reason I will be looking at this book is to get inspiration, knowledge and also looking how the the recipes are constructed and getting inspiration with images.
First I would like to look at the cover page. Here she is using photograph of herself, she is smiling and looks happy, that means baking makes her happy and either shall we. She is holding kitchen objects like bowl and whisk and she is ready to bake. On the right side there are ready baked cake and dessert. I can see natural and pastel colors - mint and pink which create this image 'sweet'. This is what we call 'sugary palette' Also we have information in the circle about what we can find inside the book. In my opinion all of these colors working well together and make this cover beautiful.
The book starts with two pages with names of the authors of the book. Natural background on the image.
Then we have page with contents and also introduction, name of the chapter and also list of recipes.
Then we have list of recipes divided by sections, depending of what kind of cooking is that for example: tarts & pies, desserts. At the end there are thanks and index.
On the next page there is photo of the author and information about the author. Then she describes her life with cooking, it's a kind of journal, as we can read in her book: "baking has become such a massive part of who I am that there is no denying it. I live it, I breathe it, I whisk, stir, measure and bake it! For goodness’ sake, I dream about it! I really do." (Nadiya Hussain, 2020).
Now I would like to look at her recipes. This is her first recipe in the book:
On the left side there is preparation information such as time, servings and storage. The list of ingredients are divided for two, one for the cake and other on for the topping. Recipe start with family/historical background of the author and recipe and this is presented with color font. Then we follow the recipe step by step (five sections, not very long). It includes with preparation of the oven, what we need for cook and what to do with ingredients. The next page is a picture of ready cake. There are natural colors and background. Simple and beautiful.
MEDIA ASPECT
Another interesting aspect of looking at her profile and work is how the audience responses to her and her work. Hussain was asked how it felt to be expected to be a spokesperson of her community after her triumph on Bake Off during an interview with Radio Times magazine. She admitted that she didn't want to be identified by her heritage at first, but three years later, she recognizes the critical role she can play for a group of people who are underrepresented in the media. Hussain said: "I do identify as a Muslim and I do identify as a Bangladeshi girl, I identify as British, as well, and a woman and I’m a woman of color, and why am I ashamed of that? And I used to not want to talk about it. But that is me. But I understand the importance of being a brown, Muslim woman of faith who is in the public eye, because there aren’t that many of us. So I know that I’m representing a lot of groups and I know how important that is, especially for women.”(Hussain, 2018). In my opinion the author's character and her books create a message to the world, no matter what color we are, which gender or where we come from, each of us can achieve success and just be as we are.
From her piece of work came up to my mind idea of making photos including myself. I can show to the audience how I love cooking by expression on my face during stay in the kitchen. Also I have learned that colors we are using in our creations plays important role on how the audience will responding to it. Using colors we can address who we want to reach, for example children, women or men. I also think that with what we publish we can create a message to the world, I like that idea very much. I get the impression that people who are passionate about cooking are largely 'good' people and they wants to make the world a better place. Another things is that she is a real inspiration and motivation for other people, especially women, as she says:
I’m never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again. I’m never gonna say I can’t do it. I’m never gonna say ‘maybe’. I’m never gonna say, ‘I don’t think I can.’ I can and I will. (Hussain, 2015).
References
the Guardian. 2022. Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain: ‘I wasn’t thinking about representing Muslims, I was thinking about my bakes’. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/12/bake-off-winner-nadiya-hussain-muslims-britain> [Accessed 30 April 2022].
the Guardian. 2022. 'I can and I will': the best acceptance speeches ever. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/08/great-british-bake-off-nobel-prize-acceptance-speeches-nadiya-hussain> [Accessed 30 April 2022].
the Guardian. 2022. Nadiya Hussain’s cod and clementine recipe | A taste of home. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/04/nadiya-hussain-bake-off-interview-cod-clementine-curry-recipe?CMP=share_btn_tw> [Accessed 30 April 2022].
The Irish News. 2022. Nadiya Hussain says she now accepts she is a role model for Muslim women. [online] Available at: <https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/entertainment/2018/07/09/news/nadiya-hussain-says-she-now-accepts-she-is-a-role-model-for-muslim-women-1377978/> [Accessed 30 April 2022].
نور, م., 2022. Download book nadiya bakes PDF. [online] Noor-book.com. Available at: <https://www.noor-book.com/en/ebook-nadiya-bakes-pdf> [Accessed 30 April 2022].
Very good detailed work here on the analysis of this work - well done
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