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Donia Bijan

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donia Bijan
Born
Tehran, Iran
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
OccupationsAuthor, chef
RelativesAtefeh Amir-Ebrahimi (mother)

Donia Bijan is an Iranian-American author and chef based in California.[1][2] She is the author of the book Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen (2011) and the novel The Last Days of Café Leila (2017).[3][4][5]

Life and career

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Bijan grew up in Tehran, Iran, where her parents operated a maternity hospital.[6] Her father was a physician and her mother a nurse active in women’s rights.[7] In 1978, during the political unrest leading up to the Iranian Revolution, Bijan and her family left Iran and eventually settled in the United States.[8][9][10]

Bijan studied at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1984.[11][12] She later trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked as a chef in France before returning to California where she worked at many of San Francisco's acclaimed restaurants.[13][14][15]

In 1994, she opened her restaurant, L’Amie Donia, a celebrated French bistro, in Palo Alto, California.[16][17][18] Bijan sold the restaurant in 2004.[19][20][21]

Bijan published her food memoir, Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen in 2011.[22][23][24][25] In 2017, she published the novel, The Last Days of Café Leila.[26][27][28][29] The novel was translated in German as Als die Tage nach Zimt schmeckten, in Italian as La donna di Teheran,[30][31] and in Arabic. Bijan has also narrated audiobooks, including Pomegranate Soup, Rosewater and Soda Bread, and The Persians.[32][33][34][35]

Personal life

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Bijan is married to painter Mitchell Johnson.[36][37][38][39] They have one son.[40][41]

References

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  1. ↑ "Donia Bijan: Chef turns writer with publication of Maman's Homesick Pie". InMenlo. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  2. ↑ Batti, Renee (2012-05-02). "Author pays tribute to Iranian mother". The Almanac. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  3. ↑ "The Last Days of Café Leila: A Conversation with Donia Bijan". HuffPost. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  4. ↑ Tandoh, Ruby (2017-11-03). "Ruby Tandoh: the meaning of a food memoir". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  5. ↑ Sen, Mayukh (2021-04-21). "What Grief Tastes Like". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  6. ↑ Namdar, Asieh (2012-10-10). "Chef uses food to connect past and future". CNN. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  7. ↑ Walden, GraceAnn (2004-02-22). "COOK'S NIGHT OUT: DONIA BIJAN". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  8. ↑ Baer, Sheri (2023-03-04). "Appetite for Words". Punch Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  9. ↑ Drabble, Cody. "'The Last Days Of Café Leila': A Story Of Exile And Nostalgia". www.capradio.org. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  10. ↑ "She's Write: Four Writers On Powerful Topics". www.capradio.org. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  11. ↑ "Donia Bijan - View Profile & Connect | Movable Type Management". expertfile.com. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  12. ↑ Batti, Renee (2011-10-21). "Finding a place at life's table". Mountain View Voice. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  13. ↑ "Donia Bijan | Bookreporter.com". www.bookreporter.com. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  14. ↑ "Persian Recipes Recall Lost Way of Life". Voice of America. 2011-10-24. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  15. ↑ Bauer, Michael (Nov 24, 1995). "DINING UPDATES -- Friends of Good Food Flock to L'Amie Dona". SFGate.
  16. ↑ Bijan, Donia (2023-01-09). "Donia Bijan". Hachette Book Group. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  17. ↑ "Au revoir to L'Amie Donia (May 14, 2004)". www.paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  18. ↑ "Metroactive Dining | L'Amie Donia". www.metroactive.com. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  19. ↑ Gold, Amanda (2011-10-30). "Donia Bijan's recipes open window to family legacy". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  20. ↑ "Chef-author Donia Bijan to appear June 1 in Menlo Park". The Mercury News. 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  21. ↑ Walden, GraceAnn (April 14, 2004). "L'Amie Donia to close; La Cheminee waits in the wings". SFGate.
  22. ↑ "Trip Lit: Mamans Homesick Pie -- National Geographic Traveler". Travel. 2025-11-06. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  23. ↑ Batti, Renee (2017-08-31). "Friday: Author Donia Bijan under spotlight at Woodside program". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  24. ↑ "Author/chef Donia Bijan talks about her book Maman's Homesick Pie on May 6". InMenlo. 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  25. ↑ "Ringing In Norouz, A Time For Family And Good Eats". NPR. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  26. ↑ Hisam, Zeenat (2017-11-26). "FICTION: EXILE AND BELONGING". Dawn. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  27. ↑ Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (2017-11-01). "The Last Days of Café Leila by Donia Bijan + Author Interview [in Bloom] - BookDragon". BookDragon. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  28. ↑ "Book Review: The story of a woman on a quest to find herself". Arab News PK. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  29. ↑ Butzlaff, Lynn (2017-04-27). "Local author, Donia Bijan, releases her latest novel". M-A Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  30. ↑ Bijan, Donia (2018). Als die Tage nach Zimt schmeckten: Roman. Ullstein Taschenbuch. Translated by Goga-Klinkenberg, Susanne (Deutsche Erstausgabe, 1. Auflage ed.). Berlin: Ullstein Taschenbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8437-1796-0.
  31. ↑ "La donna di Teheran (Italian Edition)". Goodreads. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  32. ↑ "Donia Bijan". Essex Free Library. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  33. ↑ "Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran". app.thestorygraph.com. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  34. ↑ "Books by Donia Bijan". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  35. ↑ Crofts, Anita (2012-04-01). "Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen By Donia Bijan". Museums & Social Issues. 7 (1): 125–128. doi:10.1179/msi.2012.7.1.125. ISSN 1559-6893.
  36. ↑ "Author Donia Bijan turns to fiction in a novel set in her native Iran". InMenlo. 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  37. ↑ "In the swim: Regular pool workouts boost fitness, energy and endurance, local swimmers say (November 12, 2003)". www.almanacnews.com. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  38. ↑ "Menlo Park family gets caught up in World Cup fun in St. Petersburg". InMenlo. 2018-06-16. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  39. ↑ Nonnenberg, Sheryl (2018-12-11). "A Creative Union". nobhillgazette.com. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  40. ↑ "About the Author". MOVING FICTIONS. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  41. ↑ Bijan, Donia (Oct 17, 2001). "A passion for cooking / Local chefs tap their ethnic roots to create inspired menus / DONIA BIJAN: Her heart is in the kitchen". SFGate.
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