Every day of our lives we spend time on our kitchens, cooking family dinners, meals for our kids, experimenting with our best recipes when we expect friends or family gatherings. We laugh, we drink wine, we pair cheeses with craft beer, and we tell stories. Let us tell you a story about unique and extraordinary project in London. The project of passion, a tribute to London and its risk-taking, innovative chefs who support our local farmers, build community around the table, and change lives one bite at a time. Meet Forest City Cookbook and its publisher and creator Alieska Robles.
“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”
- George Bernard Shaw
Casa London: Hi Ali! Please tell us what is Forest City Cookbook? How was the idea born?
Ali: The Forest City Cookbook is a tribute to London and a special way to say “thank you” to all the dedicated chefs and producers that work very hard each and every day providing us with great food. It is a labour of love and this is a small way to show our appreciation. This project is about great people, doing great things, for a great city. The idea came to me in January, I guess as a sort of a new year's resolution. I decided that wanted to use my photography as more of a tool to make a positive impact – not just make a living. I moved to London not too long ago and as I started to discover the city and the great people that live here, I thought it would be a great idea to share these new discoveries with more people, build community and create deeper relationships between farmers, the restaurants and Londoners in general. I'm very thankful to London and I hope my journey as a newcomer will make a lot of people realize just how beautiful this city is! Also creating a cookbook has been one of my biggest dreams, I grew up surrounded by them and I truly believe there's something magical about cookbooks. Something no online recipe or blog will ever be able to provide. So I started this cookbook as a passion project and I’ve been completely in love with the journey ever since. It is difficult to give a simple answer, because too many have come together for this idea to be born!
Casa London: Is it only you behind this project? What is your background?
Ali: At this point, I can't say I'm the only face behind this project, we have an amazing production team, more than 30 local chefs, sous chefs, professors, cooks, 30 local producers, 4 craft breweries and the support of countless people in the community are behind creating this cookbook. It is truly a community-wide effort and it will be a tribute to our city, made possible by the people in our city. As for my background, I came here from Venezuela, a country currently very divided with an increasing violence and food poverty, which has played a role in shaping my love of bringing people together - and what better way is there to do it that than through food. It is a very powerful thing!