by Nura Ahmed

Somali chef and writer Ifrah F. Ahmed grew up cooking with her mother, knowing the recipes like the back of her hand. Cooking became her first love, and she continued doing it well into her adult years. As she went on, the memories of cooking alongside her mother, sharing recipes, and learning more about her Somali culture became incredibly important to her, thus the beginning of her traveling pop-up MILK & MYRRH was born. The name MILK & MYRRH was inspired by a vintage Somali cookbook Ahmed found that contained the names that Somalia was once called, which included “The Land of Milk and Myrrh.” Rooted in her Somaliness, the name called out to her and became not just an ode to her motherland but to her upbringing and all the memories she had of sharing her love for her Somali culinary tradition with the ones around her.