Third Culture Cooking by Zaynab Issa with Christina Chaey

Zaynab Issa launches Third Culture Cooking, a collection of everyday multicultural recipes that meld the old with the new and the familiar with the unfamiliar to create bold flavors and new classics for the next generation of cooks. In conversation with Christina Chaey, followed by a signing.

PLEASE NOTE: RSVPs are encouraged but not required. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 pm.

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The food that author Zaynab Issa cooks—inspired by her East African and South Asian roots, the American suburban delights she grew up eating, and her international travels—is packed with unique and flavorful riffs.

Her affectionate homages to the chain restaurants we love are reflected here: fluffy cinnamon rolls that rival Cinnabon's, Baskin Robbins-inspired almond fudge squares, and an artichoke dip that recalls TGI Fridays' delights that will make you want to stay in.

To complete the collection, Zaynab looked to her primary inspiration, the women who've fed her, and meticulously recorded her favorite traditional dishes from each of them.

Beyond the recipes, Zaynab shares her tips on establishing yourself as a confident cook--one who prepares food consciously, hosts with pride, and is never without a well-stocked pantry.

The book includes sections like "Set Yourself Up for Success," which outlines Zaynab's essential kitchen tools and ingredients, "On Food & Feelings" to guide the reader through cooking based on their mood, and "Host with the Most" featuring suggested menus and Zaynab's method for executing any organized dinner. Finally, look to "Eating with Your Eyes" for her philosophy on serving beautiful food.

For extravagant entertaining as well as weeknight ease, Third Culture Cooking is a love letter to American home-cooking and the many influences that make it so.

Zaynab Issa is a cookbook author, recipe developer, and content creator based in Brooklyn, New York. After publishing a zine that formalized her family’s Khoja recipes, she worked as a food editor at Bon Appetit, contributing culturally rooted recipes and stories to their archive. She is now a contributor at New York Times Cooking, and has developed recipes for King Arthur Baking, The Kitchn, and Food52.

Christina Chaey is a recipe developer, home cook, and writer based in Brooklyn. She writes a popular Substack newsletter called Gentle Foods where she shares achievable recipes that inspire and essays that explore the intersection of cooking and mental health. She spent seven years as an editor at Bon Appétit, during which time she did a little bit of everything, from developing recipes to editing feature packages to starring in the brand's popular YouTube videos. When Christina isn’t developing recipes, she's riding all around NYC on her bike, experimenting with sourdough, or arms-deep in seasonal produce at the greenmarket.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Rizzoli Bookstore, 1133 Broadway, New York, United States