Ghillie Basan

Writer, broadcaster, and food anthropologist

Sundays were special to Dina Begum when she was a child - her dad took her to Brick Lane market. Also known as 'Bangla-town' and famed for its concentration of curry houses, it is where East meets West. Sundays are still special with street performers and community commaderie, a buzz of people and food from different culinary cultures - Tibetan momos, Korean grills, Jewish beigles, New York wings, Argentinian, Vietnamese, vegetarian and vegan. Dina guides us through the markets and tastes of Brick Lane, bringing the the aromas and atmosphere to life with Bangladeshi home-cooking, traders' recipes, her mother's dishes and her own twists on classics. She describes the book as a 'labour of love' and it clearly is as Brick Lane has played a big role in her life and she shares that with a generous heart.