I was born and raised in Tehran in a family where home-cooked food was the norm, and my mother lovingly and patiently prepared all our meals. She prepared all of our meals using high-quality and fresh ingredients that created balanced and complex flavors and did so with tremendous care and love. Each meal was prepared and presented meticulously as if it were to be served to guests. Both my parents were born and raised near the shores of the Caspian Sea, in the northern part of Iran, in a beautiful city called Babol. We spent every long weekend, holiday, and summer by the sea in a small community called Daryakenar. I spent my early childhood building sandcastles, flying kites, and riding my banana-seat high-handlebar-bike. As I travel the world now and appreciate many beautiful corners of this planet, I still long for the day that I can once again be by the Caspian Sea, reliving the nostalgic, sweet and innocent memories of my childhood.
