“Food made me feel no longer alone”: How Asma Khan found her voice in the kitchen

The Secrets of the Curry Kitchen host opens up about her journey from homesick migrant to world-leading culinary star, and using cooking as a way to speak about culture, politics and justice.

Asma Khan Credit: Craig Harman Fully Loaded TV Ltd

On a winter’s night in 1992, newlywed migrant Asma Khan was cycling through the cold streets of Cambridge, UK, when she chanced upon the aromas of parathas being fried wafting out from someone’s home. She stopped, stood on the side of the road and wept with longing.

In all its poignancy, this was the moment that catalysed a food career that has since garnered global acclaim and sparked social change across continents.

“It was that moment when ghee was being put on the pan, that aroma in the freezing cold hit me. I realised this is my way home,” says the India-born British restaurateur, cookbook author and host of Secrets of the Curry Kitchen. “Food made me feel the presence of my mother. I no longer felt alone.”

Soon after, she went back to her hometown of Kolkata, India, to learn cooking from her mother, aunts and family cook, and came back armed with a treasure trove of family recipes, the subconscious cultural knowledge of Indian food that was “in her DNA” and the will to experiment.

From supper clubs to one of London’s foremost Indian chefs

The rest of her journey is well documented. She started off with running small supper clubs from her Soho home in 2012, which kept growing and finally evolved into one of London’s best known Indian restaurants, Darjeeling Express– which has since acquired a Michelin guide listing and much critical acclaim.

Her restaurant has been staffed exclusively by migrant women from day one, and continues to be so – no amount of celebrity guests or TV fame has changed Khan’s steadfastness in holding on to this ethos.

“My initial group of cooks were people who came to take leftovers from my supper clubs. They were mainly nannies in neighbouring houses, and many have faced hunger as children,” Khan says. “In fact, we have an unspoken tradition in the kitchen – anyone who takes rice out from the container to prepare it, will always put back a fistful of rice back.”

This practice isn’t written into any training manual. It just is. And the seemingly small gesture represents the respect for food that defines Khan’s culinary philosophy.

“My approach to cooking is spiritual – I understand the privilege of eating,” she says. “Ingredients are a gift from the earth, we need to treat it with respect, and allow it to shine. For me, it’s about respect and gratitude. I’m still driven by that.”

A voice for women’s empowerment in hospitality

Counted as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in TIME magazine’s 2024 list, Khan is a chef advocate for the UN World Food Programme, and also the first patron of the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation.

In her restaurant, she has recreated the energy of a typical South Asian home kitchen, and this translates into the food that is served, which has been described as comforting and nourishing.

Asma Khan says "I understand the privilege of eating". Credit: Craig Harman Fully Loaded TV Ltd

“For centuries, this is how food was cooked. Not just in India, in so many cultures in the world. People just pick up roles, step in where they are needed,” Khan muses. “When women cook together, there is no hierarchy, there is no brigade system. The rhythm which we cook is different from traditional restaurants. It’s the most natural and familiar way for me to cook.”

Somewhere along the line, women stopped being celebrated for being the nourishers. And Asma Khan is determined to do her bit to change the patriarchy that exists in the realm of food, both in professional kitchens, and in many communities, homes too.

“It is deeply uncomfortable for me that our feminism and shakti [strength] is taken for granted,” she says. “I see this as a battleground for social justice.”

One way she is fighting that battle is by ensuring her all-female team of cooks were featured in her episode of Chef’s Table (no other chef has shown their team) and her SBS show Secrets of the Curry Kitchen. 

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“Food media is riddled with sexism and misogyny,” she says. “In this show, I had the liberty to celebrate my women – every episode has one of the characters. That’s why it’s so magical – the process was very organic, and it was based on this relationship of trust.”

Many of the episodes also showcase the diverse food of Bengal, a little-known regional cuisine of Eastern India – from kosha mangsho[1] to chicken momos and prawn malaikari.

“People have finally understood that Indian cuisine is not just one big blob of dal makhani and butter chicken!” Khan says. “Thanks to increased globalisation and travel, social media etc., there is a lot more awareness now. People have often tasted the regional food in a particular country, and palates have become more sophisticated. And this change has been from the top down – it is led by customer demand.”

As someone who can be credited for being at the forefront of pioneering this trend globally years ago, Khan is optimistic about the future of South Asian food in Australia too. “At some point I hope to come back there and cook Calcutta [the erstwhile name of Kolkata, which many locals continue to use] food there,” she says.

Meanwhile, she continues to be fiercely driven to use food as a vehicle for feminism and wants to explore more projects which encourage women to use cooking as a way out of poverty, a way to improve their life. “I already do this, but want to do it on a broader scale,” she affirms.

“The time has come for women to be recognised as a culinary force.”