Food as a Bridge to a Person's Culture, Memories, and Identity

This novel is a love letter to food, which serves as a cultural binder and assists people in immersing themselves back into the happy memories they carry with them. Food is at the forefront of this book, perhaps even more important than the characters who prepare the dishes. Bijan uses this theme of food as a token of love and memories and provides readers with numerous vivid descriptions of just how enticing the entire process of cooking can be for a person. To begin, the novel is set in a perfect place for this theme. Café Leila is a historical café in Tehran where generations of family members have served generations of locals in the area. The café is the home base for these memories to stew in one’s life, and the kitchen is the...