Bitter & Sweet Format: Hardback

Discover a world of flavors in this elegantly designed cookbook from Omid Roustaei—the Caspian Chef—featuring 75 mouthwatering recipes that blend Iranian dishes with global cuisines, accompanied by moving stories of Omid’s life and culinary journey from Iran to the US.

Bitter & Sweet is an elegantly designed cookbook featuring 75 mouthwatering recipes from Omid Roustaei, the Caspian Chef. Infused with moving stories, useful cooking tips, and gorgeous photographs, Bitter & Sweet teaches readers to experiment not only with Iranian dishes but also with the many cuisines and techniques that Omid has explored throughout his career. His welcoming prose and down-to-earth methods are sure to engage both practiced hands and total newcomers to the kitchen.

Recipes include Persian classics like Chicken in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce (Khoresh Fesenjun), Sour Cherry Rice with Petite Meatballs (Albalu Polo ba Ghel Gheli), and Rice with a Crispy Saffron Layer (Polo ba Tahdig) alongside international dishes such as Braised Burdock with Carrots (Kinpira Gobo), Creamy Smoked Fish and Vegetable Soup (Cullen Skink), and Fried Potato and Bulgur Kibbeh (Kibbet Batata bil Lahmeh).

ACCESSIBLE: Written in a conversational format that makes this complex and delicious cuisine easy to cook for anyone, regardless of experience.

IMPROVISATIONAL: Each recipe includes simple tips for modification based on what you have on hand, with deeper instruction on how to become a more mindful and intuitive cook.

NARRATIVE-DRIVEN: Each chapter features a moving story from Omid’s life and the impact it had on his culinary journey from Iran to the US.

INSPIRING: Bitter & Sweet is a love letter to food’s ability to bridge cultures, sparking curiosity and underscoring humanity’s need for connection and belonging.

Omid Roustaei is an Iranian-American chef and culinary instructor who has been deeply involved in the culinary world for more than 20 years. Born and raised in Tehran, he attended the School of Natural Cookery in Boulder, Colorado, where he studied the art of intuitive cooking. Omid now balances a career as a psychotherapist with his enthusiasm for teaching and writing. He shares Iranian culture and traditions through cooking and storytelling, using the power of food to foster connections and serve as a gentle form of advocacy and activism. His writing can be found at thecaspianchef.com, and he is a regular contributor to The Kitchn and The Spruce Eats. 

Lauren Ko is an artist, writer, self-taught home baker, and the founder of the popular Instagram account @lokokitchen, where she has amassed over 300,000 followers. Her colorful geometric style made all hell bake loose on the frontier of contemporary pie art, and her iconic signature spoke design has been dubbed the "modern lattice." Her work has been featured in publications such as Vogue, OMagazine, Buzzfeed's Tasty, and on-screen in Martha Bakes and CBS' Henry Ford's Innovation Nation. Her creations continue to inspire globally from Seattle, WA, where Lauren lives with her husband, Ben, and their bear dog, Santi.