Anna Ansari

Bloomfield Hills native Anna Ansari’s interest in Asian culture was sparked at an early age growing up as an Iranian American. Her fascinating journey evolved into a career as a writer focusing on the Asian continent, the immigrant experience and “the intersection of food, family and history.”

“My father is originally from Iran, and my mother is from Michigan. They met at Mercy Memorial Hospital in Monroe where he was a doctor and she was a nurse,” she explained.

Her recently published acclaimed book, “Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing,” weaves together essays, family photos and recipes celebrating the rich cultures and flavors of the Silk Roads – a network of ancient Asian trade routes from China to the Mediterranean Sea.

Ansari didn’t start out her career intending to write about her evolving passion for food and how it “moves across borders, carried in the memories and pockets of travelers and transplants” – but her life’s path led her to this calling.

Ansari was born in Canada during her father’s surgical residency and her family returned to southeast Michigan. They lived in Grosse Isle until moving to Bloomfield Hills when Ansari was 12 years old, where she started middle school at Cranbrook Schools. In 1998, she graduated at age 16 and deferred attending Columbia University to experience life in China through School Year Abroad (SYA).

“The diversity of southeast Michigan and Cranbrook as well as my SYA experience had a massive impact on me, my view of the world and my family’s role in it. Cranbrook’s traditional and experiential learning approach especially in writing encourages you to see the world around you… The intermingled and wholistic approach of art, beauty, food, culture and the world changes your perspective on how you want to order your life. I’m indebted to my education and my parents and the sacrifices they made.”

While in China, Ansari recognized similar flavors and seasonings as those in some of her Iranian family’s dishes. The “regional culinary connections that still bind these cultures together” would later become the inspiration for her debut book.

After graduating from Barnard College/Columbia University with a B.A. in East Languages and Cultures, Ansari earned her M.A. in East Asian Studies at Yale University. She worked in the nonprofit world for several years before furthering her education at Brooklyn Law School.

While working in New York as an international customs and trade attorney, she met her Scottish-born husband at a New Year’s Eve party in Scotland. She moved to London, England, and ultimately was drawn to a writing career that combined her interest in cooking with the many facets of her global life experience.

In addition to cooking, traveling, and writing for various publications, she spends time skiing and has “embraced British life” with a discovered interest in gardening.

The East London resident enjoys returning to her home state and “untouched” high school bedroom: “I love the warmth and familiarity of Michigan and always look forward to sharing it with my son and husband…Detroit is a gorgeous evolution of innovation and immigration. It is satisfying to discover new things – personal, cultural, culinary – that this area offers like Eastern Market.”

She added, “The Detroit area has always been rich and diverse ethnically, culturally, socioeconomically. I am privileged to have grown up here.”

Of course, the irony of Ansari’s current life as it relates to her interest in the ways food, ingredients and flavors move across borders is not lost on her: “I no longer live in my home country so now I’m the immigrant.

“I’m excited to teach my son about Iranian food and culture. Since I don’t speak Farsi or Turkish, I don’t have the language along with the heritage, but I can engage and communicate through stories, cooking and feeding my son the food.”

Story: Tracy Donohue

Photo: Patricia Niven