ARTIST CONVO:
IFRAH F. AHMED
DISCUSSING HER NEW COOKBOOK, SOOMAALIYA, AND HER EXPERIENCES CONNECTING WITH SOMALI COMMUNITIES THROUGH FOOD AND CULTURE
INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY MERON MENGHISTAB
Though we’re both originally from Seattle, the first time I tried Ifrah F. Ahmed's cooking was when we were both living in New York City, at a Brooklyn pop-up in a rented space. Something that still sticks with me from that experience are the questions people asked: some cross-referencing recipes they'd learned from their own families, others entirely new to the cuisine of Somalia, inquiring merely to learn more about the culture and flavors they were actively experiencing. Ifrah is often quite intentional in wearing some elements of Somali garb when presenting her dishes as well, every detail culminating in a conscious effort to create a space for many to come and feel a sense of pride, and enter a space to learn, through shared plates with strangers and friends.
Many years have passed since that first delicious meal, and Ifrah’s pop-ups led to the inevitable birth of her first (of what I imagine will be many) cookbooks, SOOMAALIYA. A collection of Somali recipes, the book — please forgive me for this pun — feels two parts ingredients and one part history lesson, and left me wandering throughout the chapters, hoping to learn more about the coastal nation and Ifrah’s travels throughout it. Family photos, cultural references, and historical anecdotes fill every corner of this book, which holds clearly and boldly that food is the entry point to something greater: love, pride, and tradition.
In April, back on this coast, I attended an event that was hosted by Ifrah’s mother to celebrate her daughter's massive accomplishments; it was one of the dozens of events Ifrah would be attending as part of her multi-week promotion blitz. That night, the Tukwila Ramada event center was full of members of the Somali community sharing food and speaking to what SOOMAALIYA means to the greater diaspora. They were also ready to dance and sing in celebration of Ifrah. A couple weeks later, when she had a moment to catch her breath before jumping on a plane to London, Ifrah and I got on the phone and had a chat to discuss all things SOOMAALIYA.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Meron Menghistab: Something that's interesting to me — and this is a little Seattle-specific — is that the Somali and Habesha communities are both really big in the greater Seattle area. And I feel like when I've left Seattle, not a lot of people have known that. When you're meeting Somali communities in different major cities and in different countries, how surprised are people that you’re from this part of the country?
Ifrah F Ahmed: It's not really Somali people that are surprised, it's usually non-Somali folks. Somali people have a general awareness of where our diasporic populations are. It's very common to be like, "Oh, I'm from here,” and then someone will say, "Oh, my cousin lives there, my aunt lives there,” you know? Everyone has at least one relative in each of the diaspora cities or communities.
But I would say if I'm talking to like non-Somali people about Seattle, that there's a massive Somali community, people might have no idea. I'm sure you deal with that as well. I would say sometimes even Seattleites lack an understanding of the city’s East African communities, and our populations literally being their neighbors.
MM: You’ve done more than 15 events as part of your book tour. Have they all been as centered around food as your dinner party was in Seattle?
IFA: It's been such a mix. I really like to have a diverse set of experiences and not have it feel like just a traditional book tour in bookstores. We had a dinner in Seattle that I cooked through, I did a potluck in LA, and then I did a James Beard dinner in New York as well as another pop-up. And then I've curated a lot of cultural and artistic programming in every city, and have really tried to make it super intergenerational.
Like the first Toronto event, for example, was with children: kids as young as five, six years old all the way to like their early 20s, and their parents, and it was just an event to kind of get to know them, teach them about the book, have a conversation about Somali culinary traditions, and eat some Somali food. In Seattle, we had the massive cultural party, a cooking class, and then a traditional bookstore event.
MM: There were a few speakers at the party your mom threw here, and I thought that was interesting. People would kind of come up and say their piece. I don't speak Somali; I was curious if you could expand a little bit on some of the things people were saying or were bringing up in the context of a homecoming party.
IFA: I think the speakers were a really nice touch and were my mom's idea, so that it wouldn’t just be a party, but also a way to also share information, and for each speaker to talk a little bit more about what they do, and explain their relationship with me, or to the book. So really varied from, like, university staff, to professors, to former politicians, to local activists. They introduced themselves, their own work, and then also talked about their relationship with my book or with me, and what the book means to the Somali community in Seattle and globally.
MM: Something else that was cool to me was the age range was so wide; I felt like there was a lot of kind of intergenerational community at the Seattle event. While making the book, did you find that it was a new generation of Somalis trying to help connect the diaspora who primarily helped you do your research, or was it a lot of elders who were excited to keep these ideas and recipes going? Was there a particular generation that really stepped up to help make this happen, or was it super intergenerational?
IFA: It was very intergenerational, and one thing that I talk about on tour is how the book is a reflection of Somali cultural traditions and the ways in which we were all kind of raised. It's a very communal book, and not just in the context of who I'm interviewing, but also about who I could turn to. So I could turn to everyone from a Tumblr mutual from 20 years ago, to Barlin Ali, who wrote the last Somali cookbook, or Leila and Abdullahi of xawaash.com, who are essentially the pioneers. But then also everyday people — my mom, who’s all throughout the book, then also some of my aunties, who we could just call up, and ask for advice or information or tips — so it just was really of such a mix of resources and people that were helping of all ages.
“One unexpected thing was learning how much the book means to people of my parents' generation, and then also what it means to the next generation.”
“UNTITLED” - NAHOM GHIRMAY, 2025
MM: Even the way the book reads, it has this kind of multi-vocal feel to it. It felt like a historical piece, as much as it also includes straight-up recipes.
IFA: Thank you. Yeah, that was the intention.
MM: Well it was very apparent! On another note: We're part of our own subcultures within our diasporas, and I'm curious if you found that the recipes you grew up with were very different from the recipes you encountered once you went to Somalia.
IFA: What's interesting is, I think, most of Somali diasporic cuisine is pretty similar, and I think it goes back to that theory that I have about a lot of our culinary traditions being frozen in the time that our parents left. So if there are any variations in Somali diasporic cuisine, it's really like, you know, ingredient availability and geographical variations, like the abundance of salmon in Seattle. That’s what happens in terms of variations, but I would say a lot of Somali diasporic food is pretty similar across the board beyond those regional specificities.
MM: Yeah, it’s interesting, at your event, people were coming up to get their book signed by you, and I was wondering what was happening: if people were coming up and being like, you know, “I make this recipe with a little bit of cinnamon,” or things like that.
IFA: I feel like that's an online culture thing, but I think in real life there are so many more commonalities across the board than there are differences.
MM: That’s cool. It was really sweet seeing all these people come up and get pictures and get signatures.
IFA: It’s honestly been really sweet. In every city, I’m just really surprised, but also grateful.
MM: Are there any standout families you’ve met or people you’ve met on tour?
IFA: One unexpected thing was learning how much the book means to people of my parents' generation, and then also what it means to the next generation. From people of my parents' generation, the feedback has been one of pride, and they expressed their appreciation for documenting that point in time, and their experiences and memories growing up.
And then for people that are my age or younger, it's been a sense of pride and appreciation as well, but then also [other things]. Like in Toronto: I was talking to someone during the book signing, and they talked about how they grew up in the foster care system, and so they didn't have any access to their Somali family or the community. This was one way that they've been trying to reconnect with their cultural identity. I didn't even think about how useful the book would be for someone going through the foster care system. I was pretty blown away by that.
MM: For African American art as well as African diasporic art, a lot of times we get given the weight of, like, “culture wars,” but I think with this piece, I'm trying to emphasize how you came home and were celebrated, and I want it to be about that.
IFA: Yeah, and the last thing I'll say is, like, obviously with this book I was documenting all these traditions and doing the preservation work, but it's really also a book about my mom. At the end of the day, she's really throughout the entire book, it's definitely an ode to her. And so it was really meaningful to be able to come back and have this very non-traditional book party, but a very Somali traditional celebration. It was my dream book celebration.
It was really good to be able to experience that with her, and then to also stand up there, and give a speech in Somali. I talked about how incredible my mom is, and what a good job she did like raising us and keeping us connected to the culture. This is also her achievement. We both definitely got really emotional. My sister told me there were people crying in the back: They were there to celebrate me in the book, but they were also there to really celebrate my mom and her contributions. I'm glad that we were able to have that time of celebration, and she was able to get that recognition by the community.
You can order SOOMAALIYA online and in person; extra credit if you support local bookstores.
You can also follow Ifrah and learn about her upcoming events through her Instagram and website.