Susan Friedland

Another of my food heroines who commissioned my first US publication

My first proper entry into the food world was at the Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery back in 1992 when my then literary agent, Caroline Davidson, daughter of the great Alan Davidson, took me there to introduce me to many luminaries in that world (including Julia Child) who attended not to mention those, such as Caroline’s father, who were the founders of this remarkable foodie yearly event. It was there that Susan and I first met and became instant friends. However, it wasn’t until a few years later, soon after the publication of my second book on Moroccan street food that we started talking about me writing a book for her — she was then and for many years after, one of the most influential and powerful commissioning editors of cookbooks.

That year, I had presented a weird and wonderful animated film by Jan Svankmajer called Food to go with the theme, Food and Art. It was a rare occasion for me because I didn’t usually present, preferring to attend talks and panels and just hang out with friends. As we were talking after the presentation, Susan mentioned that she liked my Moroccan book, and I said that I wished I could have expanded it to include the street food of the whole Mediterranean. She found the idea interesting and suggested I send her a proposal. I was thrilled at the possibility of being published by her given how brilliant she was, and how new I was still to this world. It seemed like a distant dream.

Still, I thought I would give it a try and got down to writing my proposal as soon as I returned to London — Offal was supposed to be my third book but I put it off to write Mediterranean Street Food. I knew the subject well as I was already obsessed with street food (my mother never let me have any when I was a kid in Lebanon) and I had already travelled a fair amount all around the Mediterranean. I sent the proposal to Susan and waited with bated breath, wondering whether she would like it. She did! And when she called to tell me she wanted me to write the book, I was beyond excited.

Now, on top of being friends, we were going to work together. She had a reputation of being fierce but I found her to be a perfect editor, improving my work without interfering with it. And she gave me the chance to take my own photographs for the book. I just regret that I was not confident enough then to take colour photographs. As a result, I suggested doing black and white ones which Susan was happy with. It was my third book and one I really enjoyed working on, from the travelling I did for the research, to writing it, to testing the recipes, to finally sending it off feeling really happy with it without any sense of anxiety about how it would be received. I was right not to worry. Susan liked it, and when it was published everyone else did too. And from that day, most of my work was published in the US before the UK.

I did another book with Susan , on savoury baking in the Mediterranean, but sadly by the time I had finished it, she had left HarperCollins and I was passed on to another editor. Nevertheless, Susan and I stayed friends and the above picture of her (by Sophie Minchilli) was taken at my 60th birthday party, which I had dubbed ‘one foot in the grave’!

Because Susan was such a great editor, I always asked for her help which she graciously gave both for articles, and then for later books, help for which I did not always give her sufficient credit. Even if I don’t see her much these days, she remains a heroine, both for giving me my first chance in the US and for helping me become a better food writer.