The 35th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), taking place on November 2, at Expo Centre Sharjah, will include a Cookery Corner Programme featuring a group of renowned celebrity chefs from across the world as part of its many activities and events. Visitors to the SIBF will be able to explore new dishes which tell of the tastes, habits and history of different cultures. Chefs will also sign their publications about global cuisine and cooking. 

The SIBF has organised the programme in line with its vision of raising cultural awareness through their guests’ international culinary expertise. This year, Cookery Corner hosts Henrietta Inman, an expert on pastry and gluten-free food from the UK, Sarah Al Hamad, Gulf cuisine specialist from Kuwait and the UK, Pradeep, chef and film producer from India and Morena Leite, an expert on Brazilian cuisine.

Henrietta Inman is a renowned pastry chef and businesswoman, who specialises in delicious pastries made with whole, natural, nourishing real food ingredients. After gaining a distinction in the Professional Patisserie Scholarship at Westminster Kingsway College, she trained and worked at London’s prestigious Lanesborough Hotel and the Michelin-starred Apsley’s restaurant.

Henrietta presents baking demonstrations and cookery classes at festivals and events, whilst revisiting her native Suffolk in England for classes, demonstrations and markets whenever she can. Her first book, ‘Clean Cakes, Delicious Patisserie Made with Whole, Natural and Nourishing Ingredients and Free from Gluten, Dairy and Refined Sugar’, was published in February 2016 by Jacqui Small.

Sarah al-Hamad is a writer and photographer who divides her time between London and Kuwait. Passionate about the food and cooking traditions of the Gulf, she has researched family archives to write the award-winning ‘Cardamom and Lime: Flavours of the Arabian Gulf’. Her latest book, ‘Sun Bread and Sticky Toffee: Date Desserts from Everywhere’, is a journey from Arabia to California in the footsteps of date palms and sticky puddings. She is also winner of the 2014 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for pastry and sweets.

Indian chef Pradeep is celebrity chef, producer of popular movies and Chairman and Managing Director of ARC Hospitality Group. With ambition, vision and hard work, he has built his business empire with operations spanning sectors including restaurants, bakeries, catering, facilities management and education.

His culinary philosophy and passion reflect the growing trend towards a healthier and more simple lifestyle. Pradeep, who holds a degree in hotel management, is a native of Parali in the Palakkad district. He came to Dubai in 1995 where he became executive chef at the Al Habtoor Group. He has held a senior position in the Chefs’ Association, hosted cookery shows on the Asianet channel and was a judge of ‘De Chef’, a programme which the ‘Mazhavil Manorama’ channel broadcast over 100 episodes.

Chef Morena Leite grew up among the pots and pans of her parents’ restaurant in Trancoso, a city in the state of Bahia, Brazil. In 1999, she became a chef and confectioner at ‘Le Cordon Bleu’ in Paris, one of the oldest and most respected cooking schools in the world.

In 2000, she moved to São Paulo and started leading the kitchen at the Capim Santo restaurant and a year later took her cooking techniques to Chicago for a Latin-American food festival. The same year she made the cover of Veja SP magazine. She is a regular culinary festival-goer travelling around the world, in countries as diverse as Portugal, the UAE, Germany, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and France.

She launched her first book, entitled ‘Brazil: Rhythms and Recipe’, and her second book entitled ‘Capim Santo: Recipes for Entertaining Friends’ in 2011. She opened her second restaurant, Santinho, in the same year, at the Tomie Ohtake Institute. In 2012, she launched her third book in partnership with Otavia Sommavilla, called ‘Doce Brasil Bem Bolado’ (Sweet Well Baked Brazil). In 2013, she opened her third restaurant, another Santinho, at the Brazilian House Museum and in 2014, she published her fourth book, ‘Mistura Morena’.