The inaugural National Geographic Traveler Food Festival took place at in London on July 20-21 featuring a selection of some of the UK’s most well-known chefs. From John Torode of Masterchef fame to Gennaro Contaldo, whose protégé Jamie Olivier is a household name.
New on the scene is a British-Indian Muslim lady, Asma Khan, who began with a supper club for just 12 diners and by 2015 was listed as one of the best restaurants in London.
Asma spoke in conversation with host Katrina Ridley to an audience of excitable men and women of all ages, sharing anecdotes, motivations, experiences and more. Indeed, we were all so enthralled by her calm demeanor that many of us were captivated, mesmerized by her down-to-earth disposition.
After a lengthy book signing of her recently published text, Asma’s Indian-Kitchen, my associate Dr. Reem and I spent some moments speaking with Asma.
On Cooking
“I love cooking biryani,” she began.
“It’s a spiritual experience. You can feed people in abundance. I’m excited not by cooking so much, but by feeding the people I have cooked with the biryani.”
And there, in the first moment, we are given a glimpse of what makes Asma more than just another person who cooks great food, to one who has philanthropist tendencies.
Asma’a restaurant Darjeeling Express is famed for hiring a team of all-female chefs, the average age for whom is 50.
In February 2019, Asma appeared in Netflix’s hit TV production Chef’s Table which has made booking a space to dine in the evenings almost impossible due to the vast number of bookings.
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