JEDDAH: Palestinian chef and restaurateur Salam Daqqaq has struck an emotional chord across the Gulf with the release of her debut cookbook, “Bint Maryam.” The owner of Dubai restaurants Bait Maryam and Sufret Maryam — both recognized with Michelin Guide Bib Gourmands — said readers have told her the book evokes memories of home and family.
She told Arab News: “People from the region connect to it because the food feels familiar, even if it’s Palestinian. And for Palestinians living here, it means even more. It reminds them of home. I’ve had people tell me it made them cry, that it reminded them of their mothers. That’s something I don’t take lightly.”
Daqqaq, who hails from the small town of Tarseeha, said the book was her “identity.”
“It reflects where I came from. My upbringing, my family, and the way I learned to cook. It’s honest, it’s simple and it’s deeply rooted in tradition. I didn’t want to modernize it too much or change it. I wanted it to stay true to what it is,” she said.
Some of the recipes in the book went back generations, highlighting the long lineage of the cuisine. “They are not new recipes, they are inherited ones,” she explained.
Two recipes that are close to her heart are musakhan and maqloba. Daqqaq said: “Musakhan reminds me of gatherings, of sitting together as a family, of olive oil season, of hands coming together over one tray. Maqloba is more than a dish, it’s a moment. The anticipation when you flip it, everyone watching, waiting. It’s something I grew up with, something that brings people together in the most simple and beautiful way.”
She added she felt a responsibility to preserve recipes after spending years building and running her two highly successful restaurants. The book, she said, was a way “to document it before it fades or gets lost.”
It took a few years to put the book together, with much “testing, writing and shaping everything into something meaningful.” Daqqaq, who was presented with the Middle East and North Africa’s Best Female Chef award by the World’s 50 Best organization in 2023, said: “It was an emotional process as much as it was a creative one.”
Besides recipes, she hopes people will feel something else when they read it: “If someone reads the book and feels warmth, nostalgia, or even curiosity about Palestine and its culture, then I’ve achieved something beyond cooking.”
During her career, Daqqaq has received accolades including: Chef of the Year — What's On Awards 2025; SevenRooms Icon Award — MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026; and Filmfare Middle East Most Influential Women Award 2024.
