About Ghillie

Internationally acclaimed cook and food writer, Ghillie Bažan is known for her informative and evocative books on the culinary cultures of Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Having spent her childhood in East Africa, followed by a Cordon Bleu Diploma and a BSc in Social Anthropology from Edinburgh University, and having worked in Europe and the Middle East as a cook, cookery writer, restaurant critic, English teacher and journalist, her interests and experiences have culminated in a variety of books and numerous articles on food and travel in different parts of the world.

Her first book, Classic Turkish Cookery, was short-listed for both the Glenfiddich and the Guild of Food Writers Awards and her second, The Middle Eastern Kitchen, was listed as one of 'The Best of the Best' by Food & Wine Magazine in New York. Her food and travel articles have appeared in the Sunday Herald, Scotland on Sunday, Sunday Times, BBC Good Food Magazine, and GustoTurkey. Ghillie has also been short-listed 'Pasta Journalist of the Year' and is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.

Aside from the food books and articles, Ghillie is the author of The Moon's Our Nearest Neighbour, an amusing account of her tough lifestyle in a remote outpost of the Scottish highlands from where she runs innovative and inspiring, hands-on cookery workshops exploring the tastes, methods, and utensils of the cultures she is familiar with. And, when not writing or running workshops, she teaches French, as a licencee of the international organisation 'La Jolie Ronde', to primary school children in Speyside.