‘I fuse the two parts of who I am to create food that represents me’
Nadiya Hussain talks to Danielle de Wolfe about her culinary trip to the USA for her new show
Swapping the confines of the kitchen for the wide-open plains of North America, Nadiya Hussain has set out on an altogether different kind of culinary adventure.
Uncovering the way in which migrants have shaped modern American cuisine, new two-part BBC1 documentary series Nadiya’s American Melting Pot sees the former Bake Off winner exploring the culinary heritage of California and Louisiana.
What was it about the people and this adventure that really resonated with you?
“As a British Bangladeshi woman, born and raised in Britain, to immigrant parents, being British wasn’t important to my parents, but understanding our Bengali roots was.
“From the way we behaved, to the way we ate, to the way we interact to the way we dressed. It was all a part of who we were raised. As a child I never understood its importance but now, as a grown-up, I do.”
Did you have a favourite location on the trip?
“The Roots of Music in an area forgotten after Hurricane Katrina, it was just beautiful to see hope in these children’s eyes as they are freed through the music they play. I have never seen a marching band and to be able to walk with them and hear their music play was out of this world.”
You also visited a Guatemalan night market…
“People, mostly women, were cooking all sorts of delicious food, some off stoves and gas, but mostly makeshift grills, popped on top of shopping trolleys.
“There was something quite saddening about the situations that these people are in that has forced them to cook in a night market, but they also get to cook the food from their home countries they have fled from and they get to socialise, eat and have a great night and feed many, many people who are on their way home from work or out just to eat authentic Central American food.”
What were the most memorable dishes you tried?
“The Vietnamese crawfish boil was my absolute favourite, but the fact that is their equivalent of a Sunday dinner totally blew my mind.”
Were there any surprising moments?
"The rodeo girls really surprised me. The need to use their culture of girls riding to keep in touch with their Mexican heritage was something that really touched me emotionally.”
What did you take away from filming the documentary?
“When people move and set up home in foreign lands, it becomes their home and with them they bring a wealth of knowledge, culture and of course food. As a daughter of an immigrant, I hold my recipes from my parents’ homeland dear to my heart, but also appreciate the recipes that being British has taught me. Being a part of two worlds has meant I can fuse the two parts of who I am to create food that represents me.”
● Nadiya’s American Melting Pot starts on BBC1 on 10 December