Falafel balls

Emirati cuisine is a blend of many Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines.

The modern diet of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is cosmopolitan, featuring dishes from around the world. A lot of people confuse Levantine food as being Emirati/Khaleej, but shawarma, hummous, tabbouleh, and mixed grill, whilst having similar characteristics, are fairly recent additions and do not do justice to the "soul food" that makes up the Emirati menu.

Due to harsh desert conditions, the traditional food of the United Arab Emirates uses a lot of meat, grain, and dairy. Vegetables are easy to grow in some areas, and are strongly featured in the diet. Traditional dishes include Ma'louba, Margooga, Harees, Machbous, Frsee'ah, Fireed, Jisheid, and Mishwy. Meats traditionally used were chicken or small fowl, such as Houbara bustards, and goats. As camels are highly prized for their milk and transporting ability, the eating of camel meat is normally reserved for special occasions.

The dishes are usually like stews, as everything is often cooked in a single pot. Saffron, cardamom, turmeric, and thyme are the core flavors used in Emirati cookery. The introduction of rice to the diet came when the traders moved to the region. Leaves from indigenous trees, such as the Ghaff, were also used to stuff small birds, releasing their flavor during the cooking process.

Breakfast in the UAE usually features breads like raqaq, khameer, and chebab, served with cheese, date syrup, or eggs. These were made over a curved hot plate, resembling a stone, which would have been used by the Bedouins. Balaleat is another dish, but its advent again with the traders, who introduced pasta.

Sweet options include luqeymat, a deep fried ball of pancake batter that is rolled in sesame seeds and then drizzled with date syrup. Other desserts include khabeesa, which is flour bread crumbs blended with sugar, cardamom, and saffron or bethitha, a semolina blended with crushed dates, cardamom, and clarified butter.

At the close of the meal, it is usual to be served with a red tea infused with mint, which aids the digestion. Other traditions to the meal include a welcome with dates and gahwah (Arabic coffee), which are offered on arrival and are kept available through the guests visit.

Food[link]

Traditional Emirati tea

An example of lamb kebab sticks sold by a street vendor

Seafood has been the mainstay of the Emarati diet for centuries. The United Arab Emirates cuisine is a reflection of a great Arabian heritage and vast exposure to civilizations over time. Muslims are prohibited from eating pork, so it is not included in Arab menus. Meat, fish, and rice are the staple foods of the Emirati cuisine. Lamb and mutton are the more favored meats, then goat and beef.

Popular beverages are coffee and tea, which can be supplemented with cardamom, saffron, or mint to give it a distinct flavor.^[1]

Hotels frequently have pork substitutes such as beef sausages and veal rashers on their breakfast menus. If pork is available, it is clearly labelled as such.

Alcohol is generally only served in hotel restaurants and bars (but not in Sharjah). All nightclubs and golf clubs are permitted to sell alcohol. Specific supermarkets may sell alcohol and pork, but are sold in separate sections.^[2]

Dishes forming part of the Emirati cuisine include:^[3]

References[link]

Cherie Blair QC
Cherie Blair
Personal details
Born	Cherie Booth (1954-09-23) 23 September 1954 (age 57) Bury, Lancashire, UK
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Tony Blair (1980–present)
Relations	Antony Booth, Lauren Booth, Booth family
Children	Euan Blair (born 1984) Nicholas Blair (born 1985) Kathryn Blair (born 1988) Leo Blair (born 2000)
Alma mater	London School of Economics
Profession	Barrister
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website

Cherie Blair QC (born 23 September 1954), known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister practising in England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter.

Early life[link]

Cherie Booth was born on 23 September 1954 at Fairfield Hospital, Bury, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), England,^[1] and brought up in Ferndale Road, Waterloo, north of Liverpool. She was christened Theresa Cara Booth. Her father, British actor Tony Booth, left her mother, actress Gale Howard (née Joyce Smith), when Cherie was eight years old. She and her younger sister, Lyndsey, were then brought up by their mother Gale and their paternal grandmother, Vera Booth, a devout Roman Catholic of Irish descent. The sisters attended Catholic schools in Crosby and Sefton. Cherie Booth attended Seafield Convent Grammar which is now part of Sacred Heart Catholic College, where she achieved 4 Grade A GCE A Level passes. Cherie and Lyndsey have six half sisters, including British journalist Lauren Booth. Cherie Blair is a practising Roman Catholic.^[2]

University, marriage, family[link]

Euan (left) and Cherie Blair at the Red Bull Air Race 2007, London

She studied law at the London School of Economics and graduated with First Class Honours. She later came at the top of her year in the bar exams,^[3] while teaching law at the Polytechnic of Central London (University of Westminster). In 1976, while she was studying to become a barrister, she met future Prime Minister and husband Tony Blair. She obtained a pupillage in the chambers of Derry Irvine ahead of him, although he was also taken on. Married on 29 March 1980, they have four children: Euan, Nicholas, Kathryn, and Leo.^[4][5] Leo was the first child born to a serving Prime Minister in over 150 years, since Francis Russell was born to Lord John Russell on 11 July 1849.

In July 1999 she was awarded an Honorary Degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.

Political attempt and views[link]

Cherie Blair successfully contested the seat of North Thanet in Kent for Labour at the 1983 UK general election, losing to Roger Gale (Conservative).^[6]

She has described herself as a socialist and at times has appeared to have views further to the left than those of her husband.^[7] In March 2008 she chaired the Street Weapons Commission on behalf of the broadcaster Channel 4. Booth and her team toured the UK and took evidence from people affected by street crime and published a report and practical advice in June 2008.^[8]

Legal career[link]

A member of Lincoln's Inn, she became a barrister in 1976 and Queen's Counsel in 1995. Until 1988, her head of chambers was George Carman QC. In 1999, she was appointed a Recorder (a permanent part-time judge) in the County Court and Crown Court. She was Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 1999–2006, and on 26 July 2006 was awarded the honorary title of Emeritus Chancellor. She is also Governor of the London School of Economics and the Open University. She is a founding member of Matrix Chambers in London from which she continues to practise as a barrister. Matrix was formed in 2000 specialising in human rights law, though members also practise in a range of areas of UK public and private law, the Law of the European Union and European Convention on Human Rights, and public international law.^[9]

She specialises in employment, discrimination and public law and in this capacity has occasionally represented claimants taking cases against the UK government.^[10]

Cherie Blair has appeared in a number of leading cases. A notable example before the European Court of Justice was concerned with discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.^[11] In November 2007, she expressed interest in becoming a senior judge.^[12]

Controversies[link]

In 2002, Blair purchased two flats in Bristol with the assistance, it was alleged but later denied, of Peter Foster, a convicted Australian conman and boyfriend of Blair's friend Carole Caplin, who negotiated a discount for Blair.^[13] Blair publicly apologised for her embarrassing connection to Foster, stating, "I did not think it was my business to choose my friends' friends".^[13]

Her relationship with Carole Caplin has given rise to headlines in some newspapers, as Caplin is credited with introducing Blair to various New Age symbols and beliefs.^[14] Reports of Blair's New Age practices included an account of her 2001 holiday in Mexico, when she and her husband, wearing only swimming costumes, privately took part in a rebirthing procedure that involved smearing mud and fruit over each others' bodies while sitting in a steam bath.^[15]

In 2002, she apologized after saying within hours of a Jerusalem blast that killed at least 19 people in reference to the Palestinian suicide bombers: "As long as young people feel they have no hope but to blow themselves up, we're never going to make progress, are we?".^[16][17]

Cherie Blair has demanded that the Catholic Church reconsider its hardline stance against contraception, suggesting it could be holding some women back from pursuing a career.^[18]

In January 2010, Cherie was alleged to have taken a man's religion into account when sentencing him for assault.^[19][20] The Office for Judicial Complaints released an initial statement saying they had "received a number of complaints in relation to the comments" and that the matter was under investigation.^[21] On 10 June 2010, the OJC released a statement saying that the investigation had "found that Recorder Booth’s observations did not constitute judicial misconduct" and accordingly "no disciplinary action is necessary".^[22] However a private letter to the National Secular Society said that the OJC had taken action in the form of "informal advice" from a more senior judge.^[23]

In George W Bush's autobiography Decision Points, Cherie Blair is briefly described as a fierce opponent of the death penalty.

Portrayals[link]

Played by Helen McCrory, Blair features as a character in the The Queen (2006), starring Helen Mirren, about the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and is portrayed as a fierce anti-monarchist. McCrory played her again in the 2010 HBO film The Special Relationship. Cherie Blair also features as a character in Chris Bush and Ian McCluskey's production TONY! The Blair Musical.^[24] Phoebe Nicholls played her in The Trial of Tony Blair (2007).

Robert Harris's fictional thriller, The Ghost Writer, features a pivotal character, Ruth Lang, inspired by Blair,^[25] who is revealed to be under the influence of the C.I.A. She is portrayed by Olivia Williams in the 2010 film adaptation by Roman Polanski.

Philanthropy[link]

Cherie Blair is a patron of Breast Cancer Care, a UK breast cancer information and support charity, and Jospice, the international hospice organisation based in her home town of Crosby, Merseyside.^[26] She is also involved with the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI UK), and is the organisation's patron.^[27][28]

Her foundation is called The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (CBFW).^[29]

Health[link]

On 16 July 2009, it was announced that she had been diagnosed with suspected swine flu. She cancelled many public engagements because of the illness and doctors gave her a course of Tamiflu. She also cancelled a visit to Liverpool's Hope University at which she was to receive an honorary degree for her work in human rights and support for the university.^[30][31]

Autobiography[link]

Blair wrote a book of her memoirs, published in late May 2008, entitled Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography,^[32] and the book was listed as a Sunday Times best-seller. Interviewed about the book by Carole MacNeil on the Canadian network CBC Television on 1 June 2008, Blair stated that she felt most of the controversy about her in the British media was due to her pioneering role as the first wife of a British Prime Minister who had her own career, with the media simply not knowing how to treat her fairly and objectively.^[33]

Styles[link]

• Miss Cherie Booth (1954–1980)
• Mrs Cherie Blair (from 1980)
• Cherie Booth QC (from 1995)

References[link]

Cited texts[link]

• Blair, Cherie (2008). Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography. Little Brown. ISBN 978-1-4087-0098-3. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Cherie Blair

The following links were last verified 14 December 2006.

• Cherie Blair - Personal website
• Matrix Chambers — Cherie Booth, QC
• First Lady of Downing Street speech
• Cherie Blair at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Tony Blair 6 May 1953 Politics Premiership · Blair ministry · Blair–Brown deal · Electoral history · Shadow Cabinet of Tony Blair Ideology Blairism · Third Way General elections 1997 · 2001 · 2005 Party election 1994 Shadow Cabinet elections 1992 · 1993 Post-premiership Quartet on the Middle East · Africa Progress Panel · Tony Blair Faith Foundation · Commission for Africa Books A Journey Family Cherie Blair  · Euan Blair · Nicky Blair · Kathryn Blair · Leo Blair  · Leo Blair (senior) · William Blair (judge) Cultural depictions The Tony Blair Witch Project (2000) · The Deal (2003) · The Regina Monologues (2004) · The Queen (2006) · The Trial of Tony Blair (2007) · The Special Relationship (2010) · The Hunt for Tony Blair (2011) Related topics Ugly Rumours · Respect agenda · Blatcherism · Cool Britannia · Blair babe Wikimedia: Wiktionary • Wikibooks • Wikiquote • Wikisource • Commons • Wikinews · Wikibook · Category