“I’ve been compiling Sudanese recipes, facts, and stories to support a broader cultural understanding of Sudan.”
Omer Al Tijani is a British–Sudanese food archivist, activist, writer and chef whose work documents and promotes Sudanese culinary traditions, Working from a personal and archival approach, he has spent years collecting recipes, oral histories and photographs to preserve and share the diverse foodways of Sudan with English-speaking audiences. Up until the recent conflict in a Sudan, Omer was based between London and Khartoum.
Al Tijani approaches Sudanese food as a form of cultural storytelling: his materials combine practical recipes with historical context, interviews, regional variations and photography. The project aims to make Sudanese food accessible to both descendants of Sudanese communities living abroad and international food audiences, while serving as a cultural repository for food knowledge at risk from displacement and conflict.
The Sudanese Kitchen began as a long-term documentation project and website led by Omer Al Tijani; it developed into a landmark cookbook and cultural archive that collects over 100 recipes, contextual essays, and personal and field photographs to present Sudan’s culinary diversity. The project emphasises oral transmission of recipes and the cultural histories behind staple dishes such as asida and mullah. The book was published in 2025 and has been described in the press as one of the first comprehensive English-language volumes dedicated to Sudanese cuisine, combining recipes with cultural and historical commentary.
With press coverage from British Vouge, Okay Africa , Epicerie , Andariya and the Guardian and speaking events at Georgetown University Qatar , African Archiving at SOAS and multiple book signings across the globe, the want and need for such a publication has never been more previlant.