Madeeha Qureshi : The Red Sea

Madeeha Qureshi : The Red Sea

From Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith by Gilly Smith

March 26, 2026 · 23 min · Season 25 · Episode 29

About this episode

This episode explores the cuisine of Saudi Arabia through Madeeha Qureshi's debut cookbook, 'The Red Sea'.

 This week we’re exploring the cuisine of Saudi Arabia in Madeeha Qureshi 's debut cookbook, The Red Sea. Madeeha who spent her first 18 years in Saudi, came to our attention on Masterchef when she reached the finals in 2021, impressing judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her fusion of Saudi Arabian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and modern flavours. Now, many of us will think of Saudi as a place which is repressive for women and the LGBTQ community, but this is not Madeeha’s story.  If Cooking the Books is a place to explore the secret kitchens from different culinary cultures, it’s also about the lived experiences of the authors who tell that story – many of them women. Gilly asks Madeeha to show us around  her  Saudi Arabia through her food moments.  Pop over to Substack for Extra Bites of Madeeha including a recipe from her book, and for Gilly's post about the complexity of telling stories about place and politics. And if you like what you hear on this ad and sponsor free podcast, you can give a little back by clicking here to contribute a little something, or here to become a paid subscriber on Substack. Hosted on Acast. See…

People in this episode

Host: Gilly

Guest: Madeeha Qureshi

Topics covered

  • Saudi Arabia
  • cuisine
  • cookbook
  • Masterchef
  • cultural experiences

Keywords

  • food
  • Middle Eastern
  • South Asian
  • women's stories
  • cooking

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Red Sea

Books & works: The Red Sea, Masterchef, Cooking the Books

Places: The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Saudi

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