Writing this cook book helped me grieve for my dad

Chef Madeeha Qureshi talks to ELEANOR FLEMING about her book devoted to Saudi cuisine and stories of her childhood

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WHEN Madeeha Qureshi’s father, Gulzar Ahmed Qureshi, died, the BBCI MasterChef finalist says she “couldn’t cry afterwards” - for three years.

Referring to him as Aba Jan, he died in 2018, but it took writing her first cookbook for Madeeha to fully grieve her loss.

“I cried endlessly writing this book,” says the 44-year-old. “Every single memory was coming from my heart - I've cut my heart open and I’ve poured it physically into this book.”

Through writing and finally releasing her emotions, Madeeha says she has learned that “grief is a final form of love” and hopes that, while also inspiring people to cook, she can “normalise” the conversations on grief and loss, too.

“Having that part of grief in you is not wrong, and we shouldn't be hiding it, we shouldn’t be masking it,” she says.

Madeeha, a mother-of-three who lives in Hinckley, Leics, captivated audiences with her blend of traditional and modern culinary techniques when she appeared on MasterChef in 2021.

Her debut book, The Red Sea Cookbook, is devoted to Saudi cuisine and includes stories from her childhood in Jeddah, in the district of Balad and Kandarah, where she grew up.