How Chef Yasmin Nasir Is Revolutionizing Survival Cooking in Gaza's Food Crisis

Celebrity chef Yasmin Nasir has launched an innovative culinary initiative to support Gaza families in maximizing their limited food resources during the ongoing crisis. Through her campaign, she addresses the harsh reality of food scarcity in the region, where every meal has become a significant challenge.

Utilizing social media platforms, Chef Nasir shares educational content featuring modified traditional recipes that incorporate basic, readily available ingredients. Her short instructional videos demonstrate creative food solutions such as transforming cactus leaves into green beans, making fries from broken rice, preparing date cake without eggs or sugar, creating coffee from chickpeas, and fashioning chocolates from sugar remnants.

"If you have one coal and a bit of lentils, boil it so we can make kebab, ground beef and burgers too," Chef Nasir explains in one of her widely circulated videos.

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A post shared by Yasmin Nasir ياسمين ناصر (@yasmin.nasir)

Her detailed tutorials, which have gained significant traction on social media and been featured in various publications, provide comprehensive instructions for creating satisfying meals using fundamental ingredients such as flour, water, dates, and seasonings.

Describing her approach as "thinking more like an engineer than a chef," Yasmin focuses on addressing the practical challenges Gazans face rather than presenting elaborate culinary creations. "I speak to the people in Gaza directly because I want the insights. I want to respond directly to their reality and not just offer generic ideas," she explained in a CNN interview.

Many of her recipes feature plant-based alternatives to animal products. A notable example is seitan, a protein-rich food made from flour and water, commonly known as "vegan chicken." By testing recipes with the most affordable flour options, Yasmin ensures that her audience doesn't waste their scarce resources on unsuccessful cooking attempts.

"I find it extremely sensitive to make them waste the only resources they have... Let's be very honest. They're sick of alternatives," she noted.

The food crisis in Gaza has evolved from concerns about nutrition to basic survival. As famine conditions intensify, families have resorted to collecting even small snails to share as meals.

"They don't want alternatives or substitutes to chicken or meat. They want chicken and they want meat, and they want eggs. But this should not be happening in the 21st century," Yasmin emphasized.

The chef speaks candidly about the root causes of the crisis: "Famine is not natural. It's man-made and it's being used as a weapon of war. What I want the world to remember is that Gaza's families are not statistics."

"They are mothers, fathers, and children who deserve dignity. Gazans just want to survive. They want to live," she added, highlighting the human dimension of the crisis.

Chef Yasmin Nasir holds credentials as a Certified Chef de Cuisine (CCC) and graduated with honors from Le Cordon Bleu London, earning a Culinary Level Diploma de Cuisine. Her recent focus on sharing accessible recipes using simple ingredients has resonated with Gaza residents, who have begun replicating her culinary creations.

For nearly two years following the October 23 Hamas attacks, Israel's military response has devastated the 362 square kilometer Gaza Strip, creating conditions that have pushed the population toward famine. Reports indicate that over 65,000 Palestinians, predominantly children and women, have lost their lives in what United Nations investigators have characterized as genocide.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which operates independently from the UN and has faced criticism from Israel, has concluded that "genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur," according to commission chief Navi Pillay in a statement to AFP.

"The responsibility lies with the State of Israel."