Cooking and entertaining have always been a passion of mine, and how could they not be, given that I grew up in a home where dinner parties, which took the place of camping trips, were organized by a hostess who was the magna cum laude of her graduating year at Le Cordon Bleu Academy in Paris...My mother...my inspiration - Lady Jane Kobani. Why Paris? That was one of the many places we had the pleasure of living in when my father, Ambassador George Kobani (now retired), was a diplomat representing the Nigerian government. Hence, my international traveling career started at 7 months old. In Nigeria, the art of cooking and eating food is a very important and central part of family life. It is considered an abomination to visit a relative or friend and not be well fed before you leave. I still have very fond memories of lovely evenings spent with my family at the dinner table, with Mum's delicacies and Dad's great conversation, and classical music playing in the background. It is not surprising then that my cooking career started rather young - when I was 4 years old and just barely letting go of Mum's apron strings. My Mum gave me a very pretty set of red pots and pans in which I relentlessly made my own dinners while Mum prepared the actual edible dinner for the rest of the family. The first time I got anyone to try one of my concoctions; I was 8 years old and had cooked a soup from a Nigerian vegetable known as 'bitter leaf' (so called because it is literally really bitter!). What I did not realize at the time is that the leaves need to be thoroughly washed in order to remove the excessively bitter taste and develop a slight sweetness, which results in a rather delicious soup. I did not do this, and yet my poor big brother humored me by eating an entire bowl of my soup! I only realized what had happened about 5 years later when I became a very proficient cook, occasionally making the evening meals for Dad and my brothers during the school holidays, while my older sisters were away at university. Then university and a busy international career came along and took priority over cooking. As such, I stopped cooking in my early twenties and only rediscovered this passion when I met fell in love with and subsequently married my soul mate. A couple of years ago my husband and I decided to explore one of our passions - traveling. So we gave up our apartment, put our belongings in storage and took a year off to travel the world. Inspired by the fabulous food and fresh ingredients, I decided to combine this wonderful adventure with another passion - Food. The result, my book - 'World Cuisine - My Culinary Journey Around the World' Volume 1, 2 & 3. Having lived in 9 countries and visited over 50, I have had the opportunity to try dishes from all over the world. I feature dishes from 20 countries enabling me to merge two of my great passions food and traveling. Most of my recipes have been inspired by places I have been and are associated with very special memories which I share in the book. My recipes are a combination of many of my own creations, some of my Mum's creations and some classic recipes with an added Juliette touch. This book is dedicated to my little baby son Erik Hägglund, who gives me a reason to laugh every day, and my husband Jens Hägglund, who has lovingly eaten every meal and given words of encouragement even to the less worthy dishes (not included in this book). I hope this book will speak to anyone whom loves to cook and enjoy food as much as I do. Join me for an amazing 'Culinary Journey Around the World' exploring healthy, delicious and vibrant dishes from all over the world that will dazzle your taste buds and awaken your senses. I hope you are hungry! Pick up your aprons... ready, steady, take off...
