Sharjah Book Fair to host 35 live cooking sessions

The 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2025) is turning up the heat with a flavour-packed programme of 35 live cooking sessions during the 12-day cultural festival.

From Nov.5 to 16, the Cookery Corner will serve up a daily helping of culinary creativity, where 14 chefs from around the world will bring their signature dishes and unique journeys to the table.

On Nov.7 to 9, Chef Hisham Assad brings bold Lebanese and Palestinian flavours to the spotlight with three live sessions.

Chef Fadi Kattan follows from November 14 to 16, plating up three dishes rooted in Palestinian heritage.

Meanwhile, on Nov.7 and 8, Lebanese-Australian Chef Philip Khoury gives classic desserts a plant-based twist, reworking tradition with modern flair.

Somali-American Chef Hawa Hassan stirs up East African heritage with recipes from her book ‘In Bibi’s Kitchen’, live on Nov.6 and 8. From November 11 to 13, Ashia Ismail-Singer serves dishes shaped by her Memon Indian roots in Malawi and the UK, and seasoned by her life in New Zealand.

Mexican Chef Susana Villasuso brings the heat from Nov.10 to 12, dishing out bold, vibrant South American flavours.

From Nov.5 to 7, Chef Noor Murad puts a fresh spin on the bold traditions of Gulf, Persian, and Indian cooking with inventive, modern touches. Chef Woldy Reyes takes the spotlight from November 8 to 10, blending heritage and seasonality in his contemporary take on Filipino classics.

On Nov.14 and 15, Chef Mama Wafaa brings the comfort of Egyptian home cooking to life with recipes steeped in warmth and nostalgia.

Indian Chef Anand George takes to the kitchen on Nov.8 and 9 with his signature flair, crafting a selection of dishes that balance tradition and innovation.

On Nov.12 and 13, Chef Nasrin Rejali brings the warmth of Iranian home cooking from her Manhattan restaurant to Sharjah. Sharing the same dates, Chef Rachana Rimal serves up time-honoured Nepali recipes, each one a link in the chain of generations.

On Nov.12 and 13, Chef Diaa Alhanoun brings Syrian home cooking to centre stage, drawing on deep roots in Damascus to revive bold, comforting flavours. Rounding off the programme on Nov.15 and 16, Chef Parth Bajaj showcases the taste of Nagpur with inventive recipes that reflect his journey from engineering to the kitchen.

SIBF 2025 will be home to more than 1,200 cultural, artistic, and creative events featuring over 250 authors and creators from 66 Arab and foreign countries under the theme “Between You and a Book.”

Meanwhile, the SIBF will welcome an exceptional line-up of global authors, including Nigerian literary icon Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Italian theoretical physicist and bestselling author Carlo Rovelli, and Irish Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch.

The line-up also features Indian International Booker laureate Banu Mushtaq, British psychologist and social media figure Dr Julie Smith, and American thriller writer Chris Pavone, alongside a new wave of digital-era storytellers redefining modern literature.

Representing diverse cultures and disciplines, this year’s edition reflects SIBF’s mission to celebrate the power of literature in bridging languages, ideas, and generations.

From Africa, Adichie, one of the most influential literary voices of her time, will debut at SIBF with her latest novel Dream Count (2025). Her acclaimed works Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun have been translated into more than 55 languages and have earned numerous global honours, including the MacArthur Fellowship and the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Europe’s literary presence will include Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Order of Time, who continues to merge science with philosophy, and Lynch, whose Booker-winning Prophet Song was praised for its emotional depth. The UK’s Dr Julie Smith, author of the international bestseller Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, and historian David Wengrow, co-author of The Dawn of Everything, will also take part.

From Asia, Mushtaq, the first Kannada-language writer to win the International Booker Prize, will present Heart Lamp.

She will be joined by Indian digital creator Prajakta Koli, Pakistan’s Mira Sethi, author of “Are You Enjoying?” and veteran Urdu playwright Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi.

WAM