Halawiyat Meriem
A portrait of Meriem Aïssaoui, home cook · one-woman kitchen — Leeds.
Meriem cooks every order herself, in a small kitchen with a window onto Béjaïa harbour. She started by feeding her neighbours; now she feeds families in five countries, but she still answers the door, still tastes every pot.
"If I cannot taste it before it leaves the kitchen, it does not leave the kitchen."
A few quiet rules in the kitchen.
Food made for one person, then another, then another. I have never cooked for a crowd in my life — I do not know how, and I do not want to learn.
A recipe passed by hand.
The recipes belong to her mother, Yamina, and her grandmother before that — Berber Kabyle home cooking, written down in a single school notebook that lives on the shelf above the stove.
From the hand,
to the box.
One woman, one stove. A handful of orders a day — when the kitchen is full, the shop closes.
- 01
Couscous rolled grain by grain on a wide wooden tbak
- 02
Sun-dried on the rooftop, under muslin, for two full days
- 03
Chorba simmered overnight on the lowest possible flame
- 04
Tasted, adjusted, tasted again — always by Meriem herself
- 05
Sealed warm into glass jars and shipped within twenty-four hours
Every ingredient has an address.
Hard durum from a co-operative of women in Akbou, lamb from a single farm in the hills above the city, herbs from her own balcony.
What this house is known for.
Have a question for Meriem?
Custom orders, gift notes, allergens, a wedding tray — write directly. Meriem answers herself.
Write to the kitchen