Sumayya Usmani

{{Short description|Pakistan-born Scottish food educator}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Sumayya Usmani is a Pakistani-born author, memoirist, food writer and writing mentor based in Scotland.{{cite news|title=My Glasgow: food writer Sumayya Usmani on her love affair with the city|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/my-glasgow-food-writer-sumayya-usmani-on-her-love-affair-with-the-city-a7349851.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/my-glasgow-food-writer-sumayya-usmani-on-her-love-affair-with-the-city-a7349851.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|accessdate=1 November 2016|work=The Independent|date=7 October 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Bryant|first1=Amy|title=Sumayya Usmani: why the cuisine of Pakistan needs a louder voice|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/recipes/sumayya-usmani-why-the-cuisine-of-pakistan-needs-a-louder-voice/|accessdate=1 November 2016|work=The Telegraph|date=2 April 2016}}

Biography

Usmani was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and moved to England in 2006, and to Glasgow in 2015. Her early childhood was spent on board ship as her father was a merchant navy captain. She practised law for 12 years before developing a career as a food writer, with a blog called My Tamarind Kitchen.

Her first published book, Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes & Memories From Pakistan (2016, Frances Lincoln) was listed by The Independent in its "11 best new cookbooks 2016", described as "spellbinding" and "an unprecedentedly authentic snapshot into the culinary culture of this often overlooked country".{{cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Rhian|title=11 best new cookbooks 2016|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/food-drink/best-new-cookbooks-2016-autumn-a7365566.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/food-drink/best-new-cookbooks-2016-autumn-a7365566.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|accessdate=1 November 2016|work=The Independent|date=17 October 2016|ref=williams}} Her next book Mountain Berries and Desert Spice: Sweet Inspiration From the Hunza Valley to the Arabian Sea with photographs by Joanna Yee was published in 2017.{{cite web|title=Books by Sumayya Usmani|url=https://www.quartoknows.com/books/9780711238527/Mountain-Berries-and-Desert-Spice.html|publisher=Frances Lincoln|accessdate=1 November 2016 }} Her third book, a food memoir called Andaza for which she won the Scottish Book Trust's Next Chapter Award 2021,{{cite web |title=Press Release: Scottish Book Trust Announces Recipient of Next Chapter Award 2021 |url=https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/about/press-releases/press-release-scottish-book-trust-announces-recipient-of-next-chapter-award-2021 |publisher=Scottish Book Trust |access-date=14 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215111046/https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/about/press-releases/press-release-scottish-book-trust-announces-recipient-of-next-chapter-award-2021 |archive-date=15 February 2021}} is to be published in April 2023. {{As of|2023}} she was studying for a master's degree in creative writing at the University of Glasgow and working on a book which she describes as "a braided narrative of folklore, food and history from an ancient city in my homeland".{{cite web |title=More about me |url=https://www.sumayyausmani.com/more-about-me |website=Sumayya Usmani |access-date=14 February 2023}}

Selected publications

  • {{cite book |last1=Usmani |first1=Sumayya |title=Summers under the tamarind tree: recipes & memories from Pakistan |date=2016 |publisher=Frances Lincoln |isbn=978-0-7112-3678-3 |url=}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Usmani |first1=Sumayya |title=Mountain berries & desert spice: sweet inspiration from the Hunza Valley to the Arabian Sea |date=2017 |publisher=Frances Lincoln |location=London |isbn=978-0711238527}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Usmani |first1=Sumayya |title=Andaza: a memoir of food, flavour and freedom in the Pakistani kitchen |date=13 April 2023 |publisher=Murdoch Books |location=[S.l.] |isbn=9781922616197}}

References

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