Habeeb Salloum

Habeeb Salloum is a prominent Arab-Canadian freelance writer. Habeeb centers his writings on Canada, travel and the culinary arts, Arab and world history, with a specific focus on cooking and tourism. Currently, he has authored and co-authored seven books. He is currently completing four cookbooks, two on medieval Arab cooking and the others on the edibles of western Canada. He is also completing along with his daughter, Muna, a study of Spanish words of Arabic origin. Habeeb has written innumerable articles on history, food, travel, homesteading in western Canada and Arab-Canadian history. He is considered Canada's foremost expert on Arab cuisine.

During his travels, he has experienced the cuisine of hundreds of different countries and has written numerous articles about each country's food fare. Along with his writings on food, he has focused many of his writings on each country's history and travel. Much of his writings focus on the cuisine, tourism and history of the Mediterranean countries, Spanish (Latin)-speaking worlds, Canada, and Arabs living in Canada, specifically Arab pioneering and homesteading in western Canada. He has also delved into the impact of Arab / Muslim Spain on the advancement of world history and contributions of the Arabic language on English and Spanish vocabularies.

Bibliography

Most significant works

The Charm Unknown: A Translation of Iliya Abu Madi's al-Talasim, Toronto, January 1976
Journeys Back to Arab Spain. Middle East Studies Centre. Toronto. 1994
From the Lands of Figs and Olives: Over 300 Delicious and Unusual Recipes from the Middle East and North Africa (co-author James Peters). Interlink Books: New York. 1995
Classic Vegetarian Cooking From the Middle East and North Africa. Interlink Publishing: New York. 2000
Arabic Contributions to the English Vocabulary: English words of Arabic origin: Etymology and History (co-author James Peters). Librarie du Liban Publishers: Beirut. 1996
Arab Cooking on a Saskatchewan Homestead: Recipes and Recollections. Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina: Regina. 2005. This book won the Cuisine Canada and the University of Guelph's Silver Canadian Culinary Book Awards in Winnipeg in 2006.
Arabian Nights Cookbook: From Lamb Kebabs to Baba Ghanouj - Delicious Homestyle Arabian Cooking. Tuttle Publishing: North Clarendon, VT. 2010
Bison Delights: Middle Eastern Cuisine, Western Style. Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina: Regina. 2010
Scheherazade's Feasts: Foods of the Medieval Arab World. (co-authors Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum). University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia. 2013
Sweet Delights from A Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets. (co-authors Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum). I.B. Tauris: London, UK. 2013
Asian Cooking Made Simple: A Culinary Journey along the Silk Road and Beyond. Sweet Grass Books/Far Country Press: Helena, MT. 2014

Most recent cookbooks

Scheherazade's Feasts: Foods of the Medieval Arab World. (co-authored with Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia. 2013
Sweet Delights from a Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets. (co-authored with Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum). I.B. Tauris: London, UK. 2013
Asian Cooking Made Simple: A Culinary Journey along the Silk Road and Beyond. Sweet Grass Books/Far Country Press: Helena, MT. 2014

Chapters in books include

"A Birthday Party in Kuwait", in World Communities (ed. Elisabeth Plain), Toronto: Ginn and Company, 1977, pp. 180–199.

"Reception pour un nouveau-né au Koweit", in Villes et villages du monde, (ed. Elisabeth Plain), Toronto: Ginn and Company, 1979, pp. 180–199 (translation of 1977 publication "A Birthday Party in Kuwait", World Communities).

"George J.Salloum Family", in Neville, The Golden Years 1900–1980, Saskatchewan: The Neville Celebrate Saskatchewan Heritage Committee, 1980.

"Reminiscence of an Arab Family Homesteading in Southern Saskatchewan", Canadian Ethnic Studies, The University of Calgary, Volume XV, Number 2, 1983, pp. 130–138.

Contributor to The Recipes Only Cookbook, (ed. Carroll Allen), Toronto: Lorraine Grey Publications Limited, 1989, (7 recipes), pp. 57, 62, 89, 109, 126, 153, 208.

"Spanish Vegetarian Cooking Made Simple", Vegan Handbook, (eds. D. Wasserman and R. Mangels), Baltimore: The Vegetarian Resource Group, 1996, pp. 117–120.

"Satisfying Vegetarian Foods from Middle Eastern Lands", Vegan Handbook, (eds. D. Wasserman and R. Mangels), Baltimore: The Vegetarian Resource Group, 1996, pp. 121–125.

"The Wholesome Vegetarian Dishes of North Africa", Vegan Handbook, (eds. D. Wasserman and R. Mangels), Baltimore: The Vegetarian Resource Group, 1996, pp. 126–129.

The Syrians” in the Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples (P.R. Magocsi, Editor), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999, pp. 1241–1246.

"Why Travel", The Right Angle – English Skills For College Students, Anjou, Québec: Les Éditions CEC, Inc., 2000, pp. 38–42.

"Medieval and Renaissance Italy: Sicily", in Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe (ed. Melitta W. Adamson), New York: Routledge, 2002, pp. 113–123.

“Moroccan Mint Tea”, (ed. S.Bard, B.Nielson & J. Spear), Steeped in the World of Tea, Northampton, Massachusetts: Interlink Publishing Group, 2005, pp. 135– 137.

Habeeb is still creating new dishes at his home in Toronto, Canada and spends much of his time traveling the world and authoring articles with each visit. His publications can be found in newspapers and magazines across North America, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

Personal life

Habeeb was born to Jiryas Ya'qub Salloum (father) and Shams (née Saliba)(mother) in the Qaroun within Syria (Note that after his birth this section of Syria became part of modern day Lebanon). A few months later he and his mother and older brother immigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada to join his father who had emigrated six months earlier. Habeeb has three brothers and four sisters.

Habeeb was raised in Saskatchewan on his family's homesteaded farm. During World War II from 1943–1945, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. When he finished his time with the RCAF, Habeeb came back to Canada and started a new life in the city of Toronto. In 1950, in Toronto, he married Freda (née Abourezk (Bourzk). In Toronto, he worked for Revenue Canada, Customs and Excise, while at the same time pursuing his interests in literature, cooking and academics. Many years later, after retiring from Revenue Canada, he was able to become a full-time freelance writer and author. Once Habeeb began his new profession, he began his widespread travels around the world.

Habeeb has three children, Muna, Leila and Raji. He has four grandchildren, Laith, Mazin, Jinaan and Shaadi and four great-grandsons, Bilal,Tamer, Khadeen and Kiaan and a great-granddaughter, Layal.

References