Discussion begins 6:30PM
Reception and book signing to follow

Join us for an exclusive conversation with Leila Heller to celebrate the launch of her new cookbook, Persian Feasts: Recipes and Stories from a Family Table, published by Phaidon. Moderated by Galerie Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline Terrebonne, this lively discussion will explore the rich culinary traditions and celebratory menus of Persian cuisine that date back 5,000 years. Leila will be joined in conversation by Andy Baraghani, award-winning Iranian-American chef and food writer, and Dr. Massumeh Farhad, curator of Islamic Art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.

 Born in the foothills of Tehran, Leila Heller grew up in a vibrant culture steeped in history and tradition. When her family left Iran in 1979 following the revolution, they brought with them the recipes and memories of their homeland. While Persians account for most of the country — Turks, Kurds, Baluch, Bakhtiari, Lur, Arabs, Armenians, and Assyrians — contribute to Iran’s highly diverse culinary profile across its many regions, each contributing their own unique textures, aromas, and ingredients to the national plate. 

Persian Feasts is an exquisite collection of regional delicacies by Leila Heller and co-authors Lila Charif, Laya Khadjavi, and Bahar Tavakolian in honor of Heller’s late mother, who was behind her family’s New York City dinner parties as a way to maintain their cultural ties with Iran — a tradition Heller continues today by hosting feasts at her home and art gallery. The book features 100 authentic dishes, stories of family and tradition, and three essays by art historians interspersed throughout the book providing historical accounts of Persian cuisine and culture.

Speakers

Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller is President of Leila Heller Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in New York and Dubai, featuring an international roster of artists. With food, art, and culture, she bridges the gap between East and West. She has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Art News, Art in America, Forbes, and The Financial Times. She is based in New York.

Andy Baraghani is a New York Times bestselling and a James Beard Award winning author of The Cook You Want to Be. His culinary journey began in the kitchens of renowned restaurants Chez Panisse, L'Arpège, and Estela, before he transitioned into food media. His vibrant and accessible flavors became his hallmark as an editor and video personality at Bon Appétit. Currently, he contributes to The New York Times and is working on his second book, which seeks to explore and redefine the concept of comfort food in America.

Dr. Massumeh Farhad joined the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, in 1995 as associate curator of Islamic Art. In 2004, she was appointed Chief Curator and curator of Islamic art. She is a specialist in the arts of the book from sixteenth-century and seventeenth-century Iran. She has curated numerous exhibitions on the arts of the Islamic world at the Freer and Sackler, including Art of the Persian Courts (1996), Fountains of Light: The Nuhad Es-Said Collection of Metalwork (2000), Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey (2005-6), The Tsars and the East: Gifts from Turkey and Iran in the Moscow Kremlin (2009), Falnama: The Book of Omens (2009-10), Roads of Arabia: History and Archaeology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2012), and The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts (2016). She received her PhD in Islamic Art History from Harvard University in 1987. Her publications include Slaves of the Shah: New Elites in Safavid Iran (2004), Falnama: The Book of Omens (2009), The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts (2016), and A Collector’s Passion: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar and Persian Lacquer (2017).

Jacqueline Terrebonne (moderator) has served as the editor in chief of Galerie magazine since 2018. Prior to that, she held roles at Architectural Digest, Gourmet,and Martha Stewart. She has also written six books on interiors and architecture with top design talents, including Richard Mishaan, Jeffrey Bilhuber, and Stewart Manger.

This program series is presented in partnership with Phaidon Press.