From Christine Vartanian Datian

Christine Vartanian Datian

Christine Datian, a Fresno native, is a copywriter and technical writer who has been published in Sunset and Cooking Light Magazines for over a decade. Christine is a graduate of California State University, Fresno (CSUF) with a Master of Arts Degree in Mass Communications. She attributes her accomplishments and interests in writing and creating new recipes to her mother Alice, and her late grandmother, Mrs. Peppy Sarkisian, a native of Adana, Turkey.

This St. Sarkis Halva recipe is featured in The Vegan Armenian Kitchen Cookbook published by Lena Tashjian and Siroon Parseghian in 2020. “The holiday celebrates Saint Sarkis, one of the[...]

This recipe appears in Cooking With Jon, the engaging cookbook written by award-winning chef Jon Koobation, the owner and head chef at the acclaimed Jon’s Bear Club in Reedley, Calif.[...]

In her respected culinary blog and multimedia project, Dining In Diaspora, Detroit-based journalist and writer Liana Aghajanian explores the intersection of forced migration, identity and cuisine, tracing the Armenian experience[...]

Mouth-watering lamb shish kebab is at the core of award-winning chef Jon Koobation’s Armenian heritage and family history.  This recipe came from Jon’s beloved maternal grandmother, the late Hatoon Bazarian. [...]

In 1986, Chef Kamal Al Faqih made his debut as the owner and head chef of Med Catering, Inc., the first exclusively Mediterranean catering company in the Washington D.C. metropolitan[...]

Persimmons are perhaps the most beautiful fruit of the fall and winter season. Persimmons can be eaten fresh, dried or cooked, and are commonly used around the world in jellies,[...]

Blanche Shaheen is an Arab American and network television host and reporter in both entertainment and news. She reported on the ABC entertainment program called “View from the Bay,” hosted[...]

In summer of 2018, the St. Paul Armenian Church in Fresno, California held a Pilaf Cook-Off Contest at the California Armenian Home on Kings Canyon Road. Long-time Fresno resident and[...]

FRESNO — In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Fresno had a thriving Armenian community in the southern part of the city known as Old Armenian Town. This was the[...]

Whenever award-winning chef Jon Koobation’s beloved grandmother, Almas Koobation came to babysit them as children in Dinuba, California in the 1950s, he and his sister Marilyn would beg her to[...]

Recipe and photos are courtesy of Joumana Accad, the talented creator of TasteofBeirut.com, the successful Lebanese food blog.  A native of Lebanon, Joumana is a trained pastry chef and professional[...]