Reem Kassis

Career

Business Prior to her career in writing, Kassis worked as a business consultant at McKinsey & Company. She also worked with the World Economic Forum and in executive search. After the birth of her daughters, she decided to leave the business world and pursue a writing career.

Writing Kassis writes on issues of culinary appropriation, food history and culture.

The Palestinian Table

Her debut cookbook, The Palestinian Table, was published in October 2017 by Phaidon Press. The volume moves beyond recipes, using anecdotes and food history to explore Palestinian culture and preserve traditional Palestinian dishes. Journalist Jehan Alfarra called out Kassis' anecdotes for providing "valuable cultural insight as well as specifics about how the local dishes are prepared and served". The book contains 150 recipes. Photography was shot in Jerusalem. Anthony Bourdain called it an "essential book". the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, and was a winner in the Eugenie Brazier awards in Lyon. It won the First Book award by the Guild of Food Writers and was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award in the International category.

The book has been translated into German and French. Multiple outlets, including The New York Times, Eater, Food & Wine, and CNN, listed it as one of the best cookbooks of 2021.

We Are Palestinian We Are Palestinian was published in 2023 by Interlink Books. It is an exploration for younger readers of the culture and history of Palestinian people.

Selected works

Books

The Palestinian Table (Phaidon, 2017), The Arabesque Table (Phaidon, 2021), We are Palestinian (Bonnier Books, 2023),

Chapter Contribution

The Best American Food and Travel Writing (Harper Collins, 2025) - They Ate at My Table then Ignored My People Sing the Truth: The Kweli Journal Short Story Collection (Author's Equity, 2025) - Farradiya, A Short Story Resilient Kitchens (James Beard Winner) (Rutgers University Press, 2022) - The Lost Year Making Levantine Cuisine (University of Texas Press, 2021) - Even in a Small Country like Palestine, Cuisine is Regional Breakfast: The Cookbook (Phaidon, 2019) - Middle Eastern Breakfast Chapter Intro

Selection of newspaper articles

They Ate at My Table, Then Ignored My People, The Atlantic (2024) What Home Cooking does that Restaurants Can’t, The Atlantic (2023) The Best Olive Oil in the World? This Village Thinks So, The New York Times (2021)