SCRF 2019 Cookery Corner to Host World Renowned Chefs

Thirteen top international celebrity chefs will be sharing some of their favourite recipes with visitors at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival’s cookery corner, during its 11th edition, from April 17-27, at Sharjah Expo Centre.

Held under the theme ‘Explore Knowledge’, SCRF’s 11-day event will feature 130 culinary activities and cooking station will showcase the creative skills of these chefs through a wide range of healthy and new recipes. Top nutritionists, will also share healthy diets and tips for visitors of the festival, through a series of workshops and seminars.

Anissa Helou, from Lebanon, an author and consultant, specialising in Mediterranean cuisine will be sharing her expertise and unique tips. She has numerous award-winning cookbooks under her belt, one of which is, the ‘Lebanese Cuisine’. She is also known for running culinary tours around various Mediterranean countries and organising  cooking classes.

From Syria, comes chef Sabine Nicola, a young girl with huge culinary potential. Born in Kuwait, Sabine has been an outstanding student with an outgoing personality and several artistic interests. Sabine developed an interest in cooking during her early years and had the opportunity to display her culinary talent in a famous TV show, ‘Little Big Shots’, with renowned television personality, Ahmed Helmy, which later went viral.

With over 8-years of experience in the food industry, Filipina Jacqueline Chio-Lauri, has launched and managed restaurants at several deluxe hotels, such as Shangri-La and Sheraton. While based in Dubai in the 90s, she was one of the five professional young women, who featured in the Emirates Woman magazine in a special report titled, ‘Why the Future Is Female’.

Coming all the way from Australia to Sharjah in the UAE, is chef Scott Gooding. Known for championing and encouraging cooking at home, he breaks down barriers by cooking healthy food with his simple, affordable and nourishing recipes. He is a big advocate of high fat and low carbohydrate diets and hopes to contribute to changing the current food landscape. He has currently published 8 health books and is the curator of the ‘Good Place’, a local Australian food chain. He also manages a website dedicated to his health programmes.

Famous American chef, Dario Stephen, found his calling in the culinary world by working with children and helping them find creative ways to express themselves. Over the years, he has become an indispensable asset to  the world of culinary arts education, bringing his multicultural palate and creativity to everything he touches. He is very passionate about designing culinary experiences that are both healthy and tasty.

Compatriot chef Ellie Krieger, host and executive producer of the cooking series, ‘Ellie’s Real Good Food’ and her Food Network show, ‘Healthy Appetite’, Krieger is a leading go-to nutritionist in the media today. She has published 6 books that have won her two James Beard Awards.

Inspired by her favorite characters, American chef, Lara Starr, has authored many cookbooks for children. Her book titles include, ‘The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Pies’, ‘Clone Scones and other Galactic Goodies’, and Disney Disney’s ‘Frozen Icicle Pops and Cool Creations’. 

Taking part in SCRF 2019 from the Asian continent, is child prodigy from India, chef Nihal Raj, better known as Kicha, who is a grade 3 student in Kerala. At the age of 4, Kicha launched his Youtube channel KICHATUBE HD. He rose to fame when his Mickey Mouse Mango Ice Cream video was bought by Facebook for US$ 2,000, resulting in a huge spike in followers of his channel. He was also invited to appear on Ellen DeGeneres’ show.