Ali Esteghlalian (Beaverton) is a Persian storyteller and traditional cooking instructor. He has spent years listening to his Persian/Iranian elders, recording their stories, and connecting his family traditions with those accounts. He is a master of Persian cuisine whose practice is informed by his family’s culinary traditions and his own international lifestyle and expertise. He has made it his mission to preserve, revive and showcase his family recipes.
Bio
Ali Esteghlalian (Beaverton) is a Persian storyteller and traditional cuisine enthusiast. Esteghlalian’s family has deep roots in the art and culture of Isfahan, Iran. Their frequent and extended visits to Isfahan enabled him to experience the traditional art forms that were part of daily life for generations. He was immersed in the smells, tastes, and textures of Iranian art forms, and he learned to appreciate the diversity of Persian cuisine. Esteghlalian heard stories from family elders and nearby communities about how ‘things were done’ in older generations and more recently. Esteghlalian spent weeks recording the details of their stories and making connections between different aspects of his familial traditions and customs of Persian/Iranian folk culture. He researches old Iranian traditions and has traveled extensively within Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey to gain firsthand exposure to some of the origins of his family traditions and customs. Esteghlalian speaks several languages (English, Persian, French, some Arabic and Turkish), has traveled to over 70 countries, and has lived in four countries: the US, Canada, Iran and Turkey. Through his world travels, he has become a practiced host for international guests, and he enjoys using food to give people a home-away-from-home. For Ali, food is a way to showcase his skill while simultaneously telling a story through taste. The seasonality of Persian cuisine makes every dish an immersive experience into a particular environment— hot summers or frigid winters, but a taste of home in all. Now, he has made it his mission to preserve, revive and showcase his family recipes. One way he has achieved this is by teaching a class on Persian Foodways at Portland Community College. Instructional cooking also acts as a platform for Ali to share the stories and traditions of Iranian elders and to teach both Iranians and non-Iranians about authentic Persian culture as a whole. Esteghlalian is currently compiling the results of his research into a mixed fiction/non-fiction novel to preserve and disseminate his family history. He currently facilitates a monthly Rumi poetry reading circle for Persian speakers in Portland and delivers lectures on Persian and Iranian history and arts by invitation.
