31. Hawa Hassan on Grandmother Representation, Moving to the USA at Seven Without Her Mother, Food Storytelling, and Building a Hot Sauce Line

Hawa Hassan on Grandmother Representation, Food Storytelling, and Building a Hot Sauce Line

Hawa Hassan is a dynamic chef, a recipe developer and a James Beard award-winning cookbook author. She's the founder and CEO of Basbaas Sauce, a popular line of sauces inspired by her home country of Somalia. Her first cookbook-meets-travelogue, “In Bibi's Kitchen,” shares recipes and stories from grandmothers—or “bibis”—in eight African countries bordering the Indian Ocean. She also shares recipes and stories on her Food Network show, “Hawa at Home”.

Hawa is the ultimate storyteller. She was born in Somalia at the beginning of the civil war, and was the only family member who received sponsorship to come to the U.S. at age 7. Her life is full of miraculous adventures and we will get into them. We recorded this episode during the holy month of Ramadan, and just before, Hawa attended our annual At Your Service Iftar Dinner (which you can watch at www.ays.media/noordays). Now, we're cozied up on a Saturday afternoon in our Mandarin Oriental suite, overlooking Central Park. It is my honor to share this slice of Hawa's extraordinary life.

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📍 This episode was recorded in our comfy Mandarin Oriental Suite in Central Park, NY

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Transcripts + Listening: ⁠www.ays.media/podcastnoor/hawahassan ⁠

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🎶 Theme Music: "Thunderdome (W.T.A)" by Portugal. The Man / @portugaltheman

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~ Follow Hawa Hassan ~

⁠www.instagram.com/hawahassan⁠ 

⁠www.instagram.com/basbaasfoods ⁠

Hawa’s Book, “In Bibi’s Kitchen” + Basbaas Foods:

⁠https://linktree.com/HawaHassan⁠

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⁠⁠www.youtube.com/noor⁠

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Some Questions Asked In This Episode:

Do you remember how you were feeling when you were reunited with your mother?

How did you come to start choosing or start wearing the hijab at a young age?

How did you end up in New York?

How did you use food as a tool to piece together your story?

How does conflict impact the food of a place?

How does your Mother show up in the BasBaas Sauce  process and “In Bibi's Kitchen” cookbook?

What is your wish for future generations who feel disconnected from their ancestors and their elders?

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www.ays.media/podcastnoor