Noda Marvani: 'there's not much awareness about Iranian culture or cooking'

Tell us about #CookForIran

Our aim is to raise awareness of humanitarian issues in Iran.​​ The widespread protests and civil disobedience taking place there are in the news less at the moment, but the movement is continuing to gain momentum. It’s very important that we keep shining a light on what is going on. The Iranian Government controls the news media and posting content related to the protests on social media in Iran is very risky. Our goal is to keep the movement alive while the Iranian people and the community find a solution.

What can people do to help?

Sharing content on social media is key. If those outside the country don’t discuss and share what is going on, nobody sees. As part of the #CookForIran campaign, restaurateurs, chefs, bakers, café owners and food writers from around the world are invited to share Iranian recipes, put an Iranian twist on a signature dishes, create a new dish, or show support via social media platforms. Awareness is key. There were some small protests in Bristol and some of the comments were quite negative. A lot of people don’t understand what is going on. Women are on the streets risking their lives for change. They are fighting for equal rights and to be free to do what they want. If it were happening anywhere else in the world it would be talked about more. I’m Iranian, but I hesitated to get involved in #CookForIran because many people see Iran and the wider Middle East as a problem and think that women being treated badly there is the norm. 

What’s the format of the next #CookForIran event?

It’s a collaboration between #CookForIran, Zanaee (a multidisciplinary agency representing female Iranian talent) and Iranian restaurant Berenjak (part of JKS Restaurants). As the movement in Iran is very much female-led, we are bringing together senior female Persian leaders across food, arts, fashion and business to discuss the situation and try and raise awareness. It’s taking place at Berenjak next Monday (27 March). JKS Restaurants is very kindly providing the food.

Tell us about your background prior to launching Koocha

I was born in Iran but grew up in Bristol. I worked in recruitment, latterly at Turtle Bay (the national Caribbean restaurant group) as a talent manager. My dad had a restaurant in the Gloucester Road area and was looking to retire. I asked him if I could do something with the site, and he said yes. We launched Koocha in 2018 and moved it to larger site in the midst of the pandemic, which proved to be quite tough.

Iranian cuisine is rich and big on animal fats and dairy. Has it been difficult to make it vegan?

Yes. I use herbs and spices to try and replicate certain flavours. But it's very hard to recreate the taste of lamb fat in a vegan restaurant, to take one example. It’s true that Iranian cuisine uses a lot of meat and dairy, but we take influences from across the Middle East, which makes things a bit easier. When we launched our hero product was a seitan-based doner kebab but the concept has now been tweaked following the popularity of our mezze selection. But kebabs remain our bestseller, and we have now developed a vegan version of the Persian classic koobideh (similar to kofta kebab).

Do you hope to scale Koocha?

Yes. At Turtle Bay I worked closely with Ajith (Jayawickrema, the group's founder and director) he has mentored me and also has shares in the business. It's my dream to expand, but it's not something I will do myself because my skill set is cooking and the creative side of things rather than growing a business. There's not much awareness about Iranian culture or cooking, I hope Koocha can play a small part on changing that. It’s so sad it is not a place people go - Iran is a beautiful, hospitable place. I’m not even able to go there as I don’t have an Iranian passport

Are you hopeful about the situation in Iran improving? 

Yes. It feels different this time. There have been protests in the past but they have never been this consistent and on this scale. I am hopeful. I feel like we can't stop now. People have lost their lives, that can't be in vain. There has to be change now, we can't go back.