Lebanese Salma Hage, from Mazarat Tiffah (Apple Hamlet) in the mountains of the Kadisha Valley in north Lebanon, has more than 50 years of experience of family cooking. She learned to cook from her mother, mother-in-law, and sisters-in-law, and spent many years working as a professional cook. This is her third book, after The Lebanese Kitchen and the James Beard Award-winning The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook.