Setting a Place for Us with Chef Hawa Hassan

After fleeing civil war and resettling in Seattle at age seven, Hawa Hassan transitioned from modeling into the food industry. She is the founder of Basbaas Foods, a popular line of Somali-inspired condiments, and co-author of the acclaimed cookbook In Bibi’s Kitchen, which won the 2022 James Beard Foundation Award for Best International Cookbook.

In a conversation moderated by SFS Professor Lahra Smith, Hassan recounted her upbringing as a refugee from Somalia and how food became her vehicle for storytelling and education. She discussed the importance of intergenerational exchange in the kitchen, her grappling with the gendered reality of food preparation and how she centers gratitude in all of her work. In encouraging audience members to engage with the cookbook, Hassan said, “Come for the recipes, stay for the people.”