The Hinckley chef talked about her debut book and stories from her childhood
Eleanor Fleming, PA and Tom Mack Senior Reporter
10:00, 15 Mar 2026
Madeeha Qureshi lives in Hinckley and has written a new recipe book(Image: Patricia Niven/PA)
When Madeeha Qureshi’s father, Gulzar Ahmed Qureshi, died, the BBC MasterChef finalist “couldn’t cry afterwards” – for three years.
Referring to him as Aba Jan, he died in 2018, but it took writing her first cookbook for Qureshi to fully grieve her loss.
The mother-of-three who lives in Hinckley said: “I cried endlessly writing this book.
“Every single memory was coming from my heart – I’ve cut my heart open and I’ve poured it physically into this book.”
Through writing and finally releasing her emotions, Qureshi, 44, said she had learned that “grief is a final form of love” and hopes that, while also inspiring people to cook, she can “normalise” conversations on grief and loss, too.
“Having that part of grief in you is not wrong, and we shouldn’t be hiding it, we shouldn’t be masking it,” she said. “We should normalise it, the feeling of grief, because it is part of love.”
Qureshi captivated audiences with her unique blend of traditional and modern culinary techniques when she appeared on MasterChef in 2021.
Her debut book, The Red Sea Cookbook, is devoted to Saudi cuisine and includes stories from her childhood in Jeddah, where she grew up. Born in Pakistan, the family moved to Saudi Arabia when Qureshi was just three months old.
She said: “I am someone who is ethnically both Arab and Asian, so I am a sandwich of culture.
“Saudi Arabia is the place which is my spiritual homeland. This is where I got my memories, this is where I grew up, this is who I am. The people there shaped me into who I am.”
She said that, from the outside, citizens of Saudi Arabia might seem “closed” but they are in fact “the most hospitable and generous people” she has ever come across.
She said they were “incredibly kind, generous and hospitable”, and she still visits Saudi Arabia today, having moved to the UK in 2007.
She said: “Saudi Arabia is a treasure trove that is just waiting to be explored. Even though there are developments happening, you will still find it very serene, very natural.
“The Red Sea, the reason it’s famous is the iconic red coral reef which is visible from a distance, and the sapphire blue water, clear as crystal – you will forget the Maldives.”
Some of Qureshi’s earliest and fondest memories involve cooking – and one recipe that stands out is an orange loaf cake, the first cake she ever made.
Taught to her by her neighbour and family friend Umi Qamar when she was 11 years old, she knows the recipe so well that she could now make it “with one hand tied behind [her] back and blindfolded”.
She bakes the cake, which is made with fresh orange juice, every single week and said it was the first recipe that went viral on social media.
It features in her cookbook, which has more than 100 recipes, each with personal stories from Qureshi’s life.
“That cake has been part of my life from a very early age,” she said.
“I can remember from my earliest memories, in November, December, Navel oranges used to flood from Egypt across the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia and there were open fruit markets.
“My dad used to bring absolute buckets of oranges – I never recall a day where my dad brought anything in a small bag – and those oranges and their smell, they were so intoxicating.
“I remember I used to peel them with my little hands, even though they were damaging my nails, my cuticles, and I baked the orange cake in a Danish biscuit tin because that was what we had at that time.
“The smell, the waft, just reminds me of Saudi Arabia and my home, my parents, my dad, and now my kids love it.”
Saudi lamb kebabs over charcoal (Image: Patricia Niven/PA)
Other “nostalgic” recipes that feature in the book include chicken livers, inspired by her father, and watermelon pith jam, which she used to eat by the spoonful as a child in Saudi Arabia.
She explains that, in the 1980s, watermelon pith jam in tins was widely imported into Saudi Arabia from Iraq, where it originated.
However, during the Gulf War, which took place between 1990 and 1991, the supply chain vanished, leading her father to find someone’s family recipe for the jam so they could make it themselves.
“[At the] time, as a child, I didn’t understand the calamity of war… I was just fixating on losing my regular supply of watermelon pith jam,” she said.
“Whenever I make it, I’m reminded of that whole situation, that grim time, and that gesture of humanity – that someone came forward and gave that recipe to my dad who was struggling with a very young child who was being picky about this jam.”
Qureshi said one general misconception about Saudi cuisine is that it is “very meaty, bland, beige and boring” – but she said it was “the polar opposite”.
Madeeha Qureshi(Image: Patricia Niven/PA)
She described the food as “zingy, punchy and zesty” and said key ingredients include black lime, green cardamom and mastika.
“Saudi food is very flavourful, but it’s not spicy,” she said.
“It’s so diverse, but the warmth and the love that is poured into Saudi cuisine, that is one common thing in their food across the region – you can taste the food if it’s without love.
“It’s the effort and the way they make it, that’s the key.”
The Red Sea cookbook features everything from small plates and salads to main dishes, breads, sweet treats, drinks and spices – including a tuna and butter bean salad and baleela, described as “a lip-smacking, slurpy Saudi street food”.
Qureshi wanted to include recipes which are easy to make, with readily available ingredients that can be found in supermarkets, and do not require large budgets.
Along with her personal stories, she wants the cookbook to be “relatable” and “accessible” to everyone and says the bright heritage carrot salad is the perfect recipe for a beginner.
The book is out now(Image: Patricia Niven/PA)
While grieving and writing this book, she said it reminded her how her father taught her to “see human beings as human” and added: “It’s beyond any class, creed, colour, race… this book is for the citizens of the world.
“I have gone through all the ups and downs of life. I’ve seen peace, I’ve seen war, I’ve seen civil unrest, I’ve seen everything.
“So, I would suggest, read the book, enjoy the stories, and when you feel like you’re ready to give a go to the recipes, please do so.
“One lesson that I’ve learned from life is just keep on going, do not stop.”
The Red Sea cookbook by Madeeha Qureshi is published by Nourish Books, priced £32.
