Last night saw the launch of Moroccan Soup Bar’s eagerly anticipated book, ‘Recipes of a Spoken Menu’.

Rather than just another celebrity chef cookbook whose primary intent is to drum up revenue, passionate owner Hana Assafiri describes the publication as the perfect vehicle to dispel recent media negativity surrounding Moroccan customs and immortalise traditional, word-of-mouth recipes for the new generation to connect with a culture whose principles celebrate hospitality, family and most importantly – women.

Assafiri’s no-nonsense, soulful approach to cooking seems to have worked, having received an award for outstanding contribution to Melbourne’s culinary scene at the Time Out Food Awards 2015 – one of the few women at the event to have received recognition for her efforts.

Nursing a strong desire to fulfil the social element of the business spectrum, Assafiri is blazing ahead to reclaim the domain of the kitchen for women, going so far as to specifically employ older women with a wealth of experience at her new Lygon St deli, Moroccan Deli-cacy – women who may not be the recipient of conventional work opportunities, but are tremendously skilled in the art of classical Moroccan cooking.

Recipes of a Spoken Menu retails for $44.95 and is available for pre-order at www.melbournebooks.com.au .

Moroccan Soup Bar recipes

Owner Hana Assafiri with the book