Hi. I’m Anna Ansari.
An Iranian-American, I am former New York international trade and customs attorney, now living in East London with my husband and toddler. I cook a lot. I try to write a lot.
Currently, my days are spent working on a Silk Road cookbook/historical tome/family memoir, inspired by my father’s childhood in Iran, his travels through Central Asia, and my time living and working in China in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I’m drawing on the historical, cultural and economic factors that link the foods, flavours and ingredients of the pan-Turkic world, from Baku to Beijing, across generations and continents. In 2021, my proposal for this project was shortlisted for the prestigious Yan-Kit So Award. It’s gonna be great. Just you wait.
I am also the London City and Community Lead for the #CookforIran campaign, which aims to bring attention to rights issues in Iran through the sharing of food and culture. This means I put on #CookForIran supper clubs, and raise money to help Iranian trauma survivors.
My background is in Asian studies, with a BA in Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures from Barnard College, Columbia University, and a MA in East Asian Studies from Yale University. My law degree is from Brooklyn Law School.
I am represented by Emma Bal at the Madeline Milburn Literary Agency.
You can follow my cooking adventures on Instagram at @thisplacetastesdelicious
