just a little before covid hit, i had an idea that i presented to my father. my baba jaan, an incredibly talented man, who is, above all, a phenomenal cook. his cooking is a bridge for me—a connection to a culture i’ve always felt in between, that of my birth country and my origin country.
this was my value add: to document the incredibly vast, sophisticated, and ultimately delicious cuisine of iran for the world. and here, we had the perfect vehicle—a man who has spent countless hours perfecting a traditional craft, in the time between working to provide and being an extremely caring and wonderful husband and father.
i asked if he wanted to showcase his talents to the world and help people like me learn the art of iranian (persian) cuisine.
in my mind, the audience wasn’t those already familiar with the food, but people like me—those who have always felt caught between two cultures—and, of course, anyone who simply wanted to learn how to cook what, to western eyes, might seem like an exotic cuisine.
so, “cooking with yousef” was born. now, we have thousands of viewers from all over the world, and it keeps growing.
this was just an impulse, but it had agency. and so, it grows…
thank you to everyone who watches, who sends beautifully kind messages to my father, and who shares the videos so that more people can discover the beauty of iranian cuisine.
this is our bridge, and we welcome you to cross it.
you can subscribe to his channel on youtube here, you can follow him on tiktok here, or instagram here. and if you want to support above and beyond, you can pick up some fantastic “cooking with yousef” baba merch.
