Who wouldn’t want to know
how life in Iran, the country between Iraq and Pakistan, is? The Canadian Jennifer
Klinec spent time in the country and wrote about her experiences in The
Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran.
“Jennifer
Klinec abandons a corporate job to launch a cooking school from her London
apartment and travels to countries most people are fearful of, in search of
ancient recipes and delicious things to eat.
Her quest leads her to Iran where she wraps her hair in a scarf and hunts out a local woman to teach her the secrets of the Persian kitchen.”
Her quest leads her to Iran where she wraps her hair in a scarf and hunts out a local woman to teach her the secrets of the Persian kitchen.”
Food? Travel? Intercultural competence? I had to read the book
When Jennifer Klinec, she
is a bit of a serial-traveller (for her cooking school she went to places like Burma,
Ethiopia and Yemen), talks about travelling you instantly want to go and see
more of this world. The way she describes food makes you hungry. Her raw
honesty feels overwhelming at times. Jennifer talks about things in a through and
through humble way, she never sensationalizes her time in the Islamic republic.
Jennifer learns from her hosts and respects their beliefs. She envy's their
community spirit, and is elated when she is invited (and if only for the time
being) to become part of it. At the same time the reader feels that she knows
what she wants.
Reading the book you learn
that people in Iran are indeed open to dialogue with foreigners, and that they
find ways to brave restrictions imposed on them. Jennifer’s story is a somehow
bizarre one, but also so very ordinary, it could happen to literally everyone. On
the very last pages, and up until the moment when tears roll down your cheeks,
and not one moment sooner, you will read how her story ends.
Finishing the book, you will have a strong desire to know what she is up to now. A sequel would be fantastic.
Finishing the book, you will have a strong desire to know what she is up to now. A sequel would be fantastic.
Jennifer Klinec lives in
London, England and was so very lovely to tell us about her hometown.
------------------------
THE TOURISTIN: Three words
that characterize London?
Jennifer Klinec: Loud,
proud, ever-changing.
THE TOURISTIN: How do you
get around London?
Jennifer Klinec: I walk
everywhere. I'll even walk an hour each way to the cinema. It's good for my
head and because London is always changing it's the best way to try and keep
track of all the new places constantly cropping up.
THE TOURISTIN: What is the
best kept secret about London?
Jennifer Klinec: The
Finnish Church in Rotherhithe. It's a beautiful post-modern church that doubles
as a cultural centre. They have a sauna you can book by the hour, a cafe
serving cinnamon rolls, and a shop where you can buy liquorice and Finnish pine
oil soap for cleaning the house. I try and go twice a month in the winter to
have a sauna.
THE TOURISTIN: What is your
favourite borough/suburb/area in London and why?
Jennifer Klinec: Bloomsbury.
It's only 10 minutes’ walk from where I live and yet it feels a bit like a
village. It's full of beautiful Georgian houses and has a long history of
rebelling against convention. Even to this day it has almost no chain stores -
Lamb's Conduit Street is full of independent stores, everything from bicycle
shops to a bookshop publishing only books by mid-20th century women authors.
THE TOURISTIN: The best
place for a coffee or hot chocolate in London?
Jennifer Klinec: I love The Espresso Room on Great Ormond
Street. It's tiny - not much bigger than a broom closet but the staff make
wonderful coffee and tea and have none of the attitude you get in some of
London's other barista coffee places. And at exactly 3:30pm every afternoon the
benches outside get the full afternoon sun. I call it my London beach.
THE TOURISTIN: What is one
restaurant we must try out while in London?
Jennifer Klinec: The Baozi Inn in Chinatown which serves
unapologetically authentic Chinese soups, dumplings and cold dishes like
ginger-juice spinach. The prices are extremely reasonable and for most people,
it's a huge awakening to how good proper Chinese food can be. They do a sour
and hot pigs intestine soup that I eat regularly and I haven't caught the flu
since!
THE TOURISTIN: Where would
we meet you on weekends?
Jennifer Klinec: If the
weather was nice, I'd probably be on the Ridgeway.
It's an ancient footpath that people used to use to drive their livestock to
the market and I like to walk it in 30 kilometre stretches on the weekends. You
can take the bus heading towards Oxford and the driver will let you off
halfway, basically dumping you at a junction of the motorway. From there it's
only a 10 minute walk to join the Ridgeway where you'll find yourself in
woodland or barley fields. It's magical and only 45 mins from Central London.
In bad weather, I'd be watching a film at one of the Curzon Cinemas.
THE TOURISTIN: Do you have
a favourite museum/gallery we all have to visit when in London?
Jennifer Klinec: The Museum of London is always fascinating.
They have really immersive exhibits where they'll recreate a London street from
the 1850s or a restaurant from the 1700s and the detail is amazing - everything
from the cooking vessels to the kind of paper and font used on menus. I always
learn so much when I go there and appreciate the incredible journey London has
been on as a city.
THE TOURISTIN: What are
some of your favourite places to shop for A) groceries and B) clothes?
Jennifer Klinec: a) I try
to avoid supermarkets if I can. I love going to the London Farmers Market in
Marylebone on Sundays. To Neal's Yard Dairy for bread, milk and cheese. And of course, London has lots of little
Turkish corner shops that don't look like much from the outside but inside will
have great watermelon, cherries, herbs and vine tomatoes.
b) For clothing, I love Folk on Lambs Conduit Street. Their own-label clothing is really unique but
wearable and in colours and materials that you don't see everywhere. They also
buy in some nice labels like Humanoid and Sessun. I bought a pair of
mustard-coloured linen trousers there recently and I just love them. I buy all
my shoes from the Natural Shoe Store because they sell my favourite brand
Trippen from Berlin.
THE TOURISTIN: What
souvenir shall we bring back from London?
Jennifer Klinec: Alcohol!
London is home to such a distillery and micro-brewery scene it would a shame
not to pack a few bottles of beer or gin into your luggage. The Borough Wines
shops carry a great range of artisan spirits, many made in London, as well as
fill-it-yourself growlers with revolving beers on tap.
THE
TOURISTIN: Thank you so very much Jennifer. I wish you all the best of luck
with the book and hope to meet you soon for coffee somewhere in the world, or
in either Berlin or London.
------------------------
I read the paperback but you can also get the Kindle edtion. Please buy the book and let me know what you think. It will be published in USA in February 2017.
The Temporary
Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran
Paperback: 288 pages
Language: English
Publisher: Virago (3 Sept. 2015)
From Berlin with love