Roden was born in 1936 inCairo,Kingdom of Egypt, the daughter of Cesar Elie Douek and his wife Nelly Sassoon.[1] Her parents were from prominentSyrian-Jewish merchant families who migrated fromAleppo in the previous century; she grew up inZamalek, Cairo, with two brothers, the surgeonEllis Douek, and Zaki Douek.[9][10][6]
She was Egypt's nationalbackstroke swimming champion at the age of 15.[9]
In 1951 Roden moved to Paris and went to boarding school for three years. In 1954 she moved to London where she studied painting atSt. Martin's School of Art. She shared a flat with her brothersEllis Douek and Zaki Douek. In the London flat Roden, while preparing the meals for her brothers, started to experiment with cooking. She remembered family recipes from Alphandary, pies with aubergine and spinach, and mint and lamb. Both were foods not often cooked in London in that period and so finding ingredients in London was an adventure.[11]
She did not return to Egypt for a quarter of a century, well after her family and most of Cairo's Jewish community had been expelled; many of her books reflect her longing for the close communal culture that was lost, especially as expressed in the culinary arts and social occasions associated with them.[12][6]
Her first cookbook,A Book of Middle Eastern Food, was published in 1968, and issued in the US in 1972.[13] It presented the cuisine of her childhood in Egypt to a Western audience unfamiliar with Middle Eastern food.[13] The book, which has been updated several times, has influenced food writers and chefs such asYotam Ottolenghi[13] andMelissa Clark, who have credited her with playing a large role in introducing the food of Egypt in particular and the Middle East in general to Britain and the United States. Paul Levy classes her with such other food writers asElizabeth David,Julia Child,Jane Grigson, andSri Owen who, from the 1950s on, "deepened the conversation around food to address questions of culture, context, history and identity."[6] Her many cookbooks, Clark writes, have "produced a genre of works that is at once literary and deeply researched while still being, at heart, practical manuals on how to make delicious meals."[6]
Besides her numerous cookery volumes, Roden has also worked as a food writer and acooking show presenter forthe BBC.[14]
1999 -Prince Claus Award "in recognition of her exceptional initiatives and achievements in the field of culture." from thePrince Claus Fund, an international culture and development organisation based inAmsterdam.[11]
2005 - André Simon Memorial Fund Food Book Prize for non-fiction for The Book of Jewish Food.[21]
2005 - Glenfiddich Best Food Book award for Arabesque.[22][23]
Claudia Roden, entry by Joan Nathan inJewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia (Jewish Women's Archive), 20 March 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010
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