# Silvena Rowe > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Silvena_Rowe > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Silvena_Rowe.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvena_Rowe > Source revision: 1353837318 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Bulgarian-British chef}} {{Infobox chef | name = Silvena Rowe | birth_name = Silvena Lauta | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1964}} | birth_place = [Plovdiv](/source/Plovdiv), [Bulgaria](/source/Bulgaria) | spouse = Malcolm Rowe }} '''Silvena Rowe''' ([née](/source/n%C3%A9e) Lauta, born in [Plovdiv](/source/Plovdiv), [Bulgaria](/source/Bulgaria)) is a [Bulgarian](/source/Bulgarians) [chef](/source/chef), [food writer](/source/food_writing), television personality and [restaurateur](/source/restaurateur).{{cite news |author=The New York Times|title=A London Chef Looks to a Different East|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/dining/28rowe.html|quote=ON the BBC’s Saturday morning cooking show, “Saturday Kitchen,” last month, the British chef Silvena Rowe, |accessdate=2011-06-25|date=2010-07-27}} ==Biography== Rowe was born in [Plovdiv](/source/Plovdiv) to a [Bulgarian](/source/Bulgarian_people) mother and a [Turkish](/source/Turks_in_Bulgaria) father.{{cite news |author=The Guardian|title=Silvena Rowe's meze recipes|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/16/mezze-recipes-silvena-rowe|quote=Like so many ethnic Turks, Rowe's father, a highly regarded newspaper editor, Bulgarianised his name. But in the kitchen at home he remained Turkish. "My father would come back from work for lunch and cook the most amazing things," Rowe says. "Börek of thinly sliced aubergine sandwiching cheese, then deep fried, or of course the baklava, which he had learnt from my grandmother."|accessdate=2011-06-03|location=London|date=2010-05-16}} Rowe's father, who was a newspaper editor of the largest [citation or source needed?] Bulgarian newspaper, [Bulgarianised](/source/Bulgarisation) his name due to Bulgaria's communist government. He instilled in Rowe a love of cooking and passed down the traditions of the [Ottoman cuisine](/source/Ottoman_cuisine).{{cite web |author=Harper Collins|title=Silvena Rowe|url=http://www.harpercollins.com/author/index.aspx?authorID=38005|accessdate=2011-06-03}} At the age of 19, she moved to [London](/source/London).{{cite web |author=BBC|title=Silvena Rowe|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/silvena_rowe|accessdate=2011-06-03}} Silvena cooked in the kitchen of the [Notting Hill](/source/Notting_Hill) bookshop Books for Cooks, which led her to cook for [Princess Michael of Kent](/source/Princess_Michael_of_Kent), [Ruby Wax](/source/Ruby_Wax) and [Tina Turner](/source/Tina_Turner). She also met [Malcolm Gluck](/source/Malcolm_Gluck) and the two began to write a regular food column for [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) newspaper. In 2007, she was the food consultant on [David Cronenberg](/source/David_Cronenberg)’s 2007 film [Eastern Promises](/source/Eastern_Promises). She has become a regular guest on the BBC's ''[Saturday Kitchen](/source/Saturday_Kitchen)'' and ITV's ''[This Morning](/source/This_Morning_(TV_series))''. In 2007, her book ''Feasts'' won the [Glenfiddich Food and Drink Award](/source/Glenfiddich_Food_and_Drink_Awards). After her father's death she wanted to rediscover her heritage so she travelled through [Turkey](/source/Turkey), [Syria](/source/Syria), [Lebanon](/source/Lebanon) and [Jordan](/source/Jordan) tracing her Ottoman roots; this resulted in her cookbook ''Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume''.{{cn|date=May 2020}} On 7 June 2011, her restaurant Quince opened at [The May Fair](/source/The_May_Fair) Hotel in [Mayfair](/source/Mayfair), [London](/source/London).{{cite web|author=The Commercial Kitchen|title=Quince opens at the May Fair for Silvena Rowe|url=http://www.thecommercialkitchen.co.uk/2011/05/quince-opens-at-the-may-fair-for-silvena-rowe-in-june/|accessdate=2011-06-03|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326152428/http://www.thecommercialkitchen.co.uk/2011/05/quince-opens-at-the-may-fair-for-silvena-rowe-in-june/|archivedate=2012-03-26}}{{cite news |author=The Independent|title=Quince, The Mayfair Hotel Stratton Street, London W1|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/quince-the-mayfair-hotel-stratton-street-london-w1-2297794.html|accessdate=2011-06-03}} Her restaurant is influenced by her Turkish heritage- homage to her grandfather Mehmed, who used to cook the dishes for her father.{{cite web |author=Visit London|title=Quince Restaurant Launches at The May Fair|url=http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/eat/london-restaurant-news/2011/05/quince-restaurant-launches-at-the-may-fair|accessdate=2011-06-03}} Currently Silvena shares her time between [Dubai](/source/Dubai), [Sofia](/source/Sofia), [New York](/source/New_York_City) and London.{{cn|date=May 2020}} Silvena Rowe is also a Charlton Athletic Supporter.{{cn|date=May 2020}} ==Awards== *2007: [Glenfiddich Food and Drink Award](/source/Glenfiddich_Food_and_Drink_Awards)-London *2011: [Gourmand Award](/source/%3Ade%3AGourmand_World_Cookbook_Award) - Paris{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} *2017: Commitment to Healthy Eating, Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards- Dubai{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} ==Television appearances== *[Food Network](/source/Food_Network)"Chopped" guest judge S18 Episode 225 05/13/2014 * [BBC One](/source/BBC_One)'s ''[Saturday Kitchen](/source/Saturday_Kitchen)'', a regular guest * [BBC Two](/source/BBC_Two)'s ''Country Show Cook Off'' S01 E16-20 (2013) * [ITV This Morning](/source/This_Morning_(TV_series)) * [Let's Dance for Comic Relief](/source/Let's_Dance_for_Comic_Relief) * Screen expert/judge on BBC ''Young Chef of the Year'' (2009) * [Come Dine with Me](/source/Come_Dine_with_Me) * [Great Food Live](/source/Great_Food_Live) * [Soapstar Superchef](/source/Soapstar_Superchef) * [Time Machine Chefs](/source/Time_Machine_Chefs) * [A bit of salt](/source/A_bit_of_salt) - bTV (2013) * [Masterchef Bulgaria](/source/Masterchef_Bulgaria) on bTV - Judge in Season 5 (2019), Season 6 (2020) and Season 7 (2021) ==Books== *''Supergrub: Dinner-party Bliss on a Budget'', HarperCollins, ({{ISBN|9780007176120}}, 2004) *''Feasts: Food for Sharing from Central and Eastern Europe'', Mitchell Beazley, ({{ISBN|9781845331566}}, 2006) *''The Eastern and Central European Kitchen: Contemporary & Classic Recipes'', Interlink, ({{ISBN|1566566789}}, 2008) *''Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume: Cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean'', Hutchinson, ({{ISBN|9780091930967}}, 2010) *''Orient Express'', Hutchinson, ({{ISBN|9780091930950}}, 2011) *''My Kitchen'' (Моята кухня), A&T Publishing, ({{ISBN|9786197430516}}, 2021) == References == {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb name|2974294}} * [http://ishitaunblogged.com/2014/06/13/omnia-gourmet-by-silvena-decadence-deliciousness-a-lot-of-expectations/ Omnia By Sylvena - An interview with Sylvena Rowe] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Silvena}} Category:Living people Category:British chefs Category:Bulgarian chefs Category:Food writers Category:Bulgarian emigrants to England Category:Bulgarian people of Turkish descent Category:Writers from Plovdiv Category:British people of Turkish descent Category:1967 births Category:Bulgarian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Silvena Rowe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvena_Rowe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvena_Rowe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.