«You can tell a lot about a place by talking about its food,» says Tim Mackintosh-Smith, a historian, traveler, and interpreter closely connected to the Arab world, when asked about the release of Bittersweet – A Story of Food and Yemen. This book, authored by Sayed Asif Mahmud and produced by the UN World Food Programme, explores the culture (especially the culinary culture) of Yemen. Through both black-and-white and color photographs, the book examines how food, specifically, is intertwined with Yemeni culture: from daily life to cooking and means of subsistence.

Sayed Asif Mahmud Tells the Story of Yemen

Sayed Asif Mahmud, originally from Bangladesh, has been working with the United Nations World Food Programme since 2019, while Marta Colburn and Jessica Olney have composed the critical text. The two authors have meticulously researched many of the practices, from those used by Yemeni fishermen to maximize their catch to the reason why honey is an integral part of Yemen’s national and spiritual identity.

Agriculture, trade, and identity are thus at the heart of this book, which also narrates the unique characteristics of this country from a landscape and architectural perspective. «This book is about tastes and smells, ingredients and dishes, culinary geographies and stories (past, present, future) of the country,» says Tim Mackintosh-Smith.