Persian food and art delivered to your door

​Daniel Avazpour has no illusions about being a starving artist. The 32-year-old visual artist has been trying to establish a career, but in the current economy that’s been difficult. So Avazpour — who was born in Kansas City but is the son of Iran-born Parviz Avazpour — came up with a concept that combines his art and his passion for the cuisine of Persia:

“The art project that I’ve been calling The Hideaway has started as a Persian food delivery service … rather than calling this a job, I choose to call it a work of art. Along with this comes opportunity to collaborate creatively with the community … in purchasing my food you play a vital role in this conception of this artistic experiment…”

Avazpour’s art project works like this: For a donation ($30 for artists and $45 for advocates or art supporters), Daniel delivers a meal — each entree serves two — that includes either morg tanoori (an organic chicken stew with sauteed garlic, onion, raisins and spices) or morg fessenjan (organic chicken roasted in pomegranate walnut sauce). The entrees are served over sour barberry-infused basmati rice with almonds and pistachios and include an order of baklava. The main courses are delivered in a hand-made clay pot which Avazpour describes as “a personalized art object made in limited editions exclusively for Hideaway patrons.” The clay pots are oven-safe so they can be be re-heated before serving the meal. 

“Think of the pots as collectibles,” Avazpour says. “Made by local artists, each month there will be a new addition. Who knows, one day they may be worth money. In the meantime they are just cool tokens of appreciation for supporting a local artistic experiment.” 

The clay pots aren’t a gift, mind you: Avazpour hopes customers will exchange the “cool tokens” for a new set of pots the following month when new orders are delivered (the pots can also be purchased). “I trust people,” he said. Since starting the food delivery on January 12, Avazpour confessed, “I’ve only been stiffed once.”