From Beder’s Kitchen

This project began in mid-2020 when we embarked on a collaborative process with the founder of a mental health awareness charity to create a cookbook that would support their hugely important work. Razzak Mirjan and his family founded Beder in memory of Razzak’s younger brother, who very sadly took his own life at the age of 18. Focused on raising awareness around mental health and suicide prevention, the charity uses education and wellness initiatives to reach people across all walks of life. From Beder’s Kitchen was one of these initiatives, a special project designed to create the first charity cookbook of its kind which not only shared delicious recipes but reflections on mental health from an incredible 90 contributors across the food and drink industry.

Razzak compiled this list of contributors, reaching out personally to gather recipes and reflections from each individual. These included Gordon Ramsay; Yotam Ottolenghi; Atul Kochhar; Hawksmoor chef Carla Henriques; chef and TV regular Romy Gill; host of Korean Food Made Simple Judy Joo; author and creator of Symmetry Breakfast Michael Zee; author of Palestine on a Plate Joudie Kalla; Great British Bake Off 2019 winner David Atherton; and many more. We then edited all the content to a high standard and oversaw a photoshoot that Razzak had organised with a photographer of his choice to create the beautiful imagery for the book in a consistent style and colour palette.

The book was published in November 2020 and saw some fantastic press coverage with features in Marie Claire, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Waitrose Weekend, BBC Good Food Magazine, and The Telegraph Online. It has been stocked in Harrods, Selfridges, Waterstones, Wholefoods, Waitrose, and many independent shops around London, where the charity is based. Following this success, Razzak published a second book, Eat With Beder, with us in 2022, this time including notable personalities from many different industries with recipes created by established food writers.