Sharjah 24: A line-up of 11 celebrity chefs including restaurateurs, television hosts and authors of best-selling cookery books, will be sharing their expertise and demonstrating their culinary skills through 30 live cooking sessions at the forthcoming 40th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) to be held from November 3 – 13 at Expo Centre Sharjah.

The masterclasses hosted by the internationally renowned chefs and experts, hailing from 10 countries, are part of the fair’s popular ‘Cookery Corner’ programme that aims to facilitate positive cross-cultural experiences through an exploration into the tastes, flavours, and unique culinary history of various cultures. 

Featuring chefs who have cooked for heads of states and the royalty, the prominent culinary luminaries who will be participating at SIBF’s ‘Cookery Corner’ this year are Kunal Kapur (India), Judy Joo (Korean-American), Sherson Lian (Malaysia), Lina Saad (Lebanon), Roaya Saleh (Bahrain), Zina Abboud, (Syrian - Dutch), Malakeh Jazmati (Syria), Shonali Sabherwal (India), Ravneet Gill (UK), Becky Excell (UK), and Camila Loew (Spain).

SIBF 2021 visitors will have the golden opportunity to buy signed copies of the chefs’ latest cookbooks that feature hundreds of recipes celebrating both their traditional heritage and the diversity of global cuisines. 

Indian celebrity chef, restaurateur, and media personality, Kunal Kapur, is the winner of several culinary and television awards. He also trains underprivileged and unemployed youth in cooking. He will be joined by Shonali Sabherwal, Macrobiotic Nutritionist, chef and author. She is the best-selling author of The Beauty Diet, The Detox Diet and The Love Diet, and aims to bring about a shift towards a healthier lifestyle with a focus on building immunity via foods.

Considered a frontrunner in Korean cooking in the West, Judy Joo showcases the distinctive and vibrant culinary heritage of Korea on her TV show, Korean Food Made Simple. A restaurateur and entrepreneur, she is also the author of two best-selling cookery books.

Sherson Lian is a Malaysian celebrity chef and television host who has hosted the Amazing Food Challenge: Fun in the Philippines, and the popular Family Kitchen with Sherson cooking series.

Three-time winner of the International Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, Lina Saad is a Lebanese food and culinary heritage expert. Lina has three published books, Ramadan Express, The Land of White and Lebanon’s Heritage.

Bahrain’s Roaya Saleh is the owner of Villa Mamas restaurant and the first to present Bahraini Gulf cuisine to the world. Her speciality lies in fusing popular dishes with new flavours and tastes. Feed Your Senses is her first culinary work.  

Chef Zina Abboud is the first female Syrian migrant to open a business in the Netherlands, Zina's Kitchen, bringing with her the experience she gained from cooking in her grandmother’s home in Aleppo. Her first cookbook was published in 2018.

Syrian Malakeh Jazmati reinvented herself in Jordan as a TV chef where she earned the title, “queen of cooking”. Currently based in Berlin where she runs a restaurant, Jazmati has cooked for movie stars and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

Representing the UK are Ravneet Gill, who worked as a pastry chef for eight years most notably at St. JOHN, Llewelyn's, Black Axe Mangal and Wild by Tart, and Becky Excell is a full-time gluten-free food writer who receives over 1 million monthly views on her award-winning blog.

Spain-based Camila Loew is a chef, nutrition consultant and Food Studies instructor, and her cooking style emphasises seasonality and best quality ingredients.