Asma Khan breaks a lot of fine dining’s unspoken rules. She is the chef and owner of London’s beloved Darjeeling Express, an Indian restaurant whose entire kitchen is staffed by women. Her kitchen has no hierarchy, and her chefs were trained as home cooks. Asma’s advocacy for women has won her a spot on Time magazine’s 100 most influential people list, and her kitchen has been widely profiled and acclaimed. Yet she remains extremely candid about her industry’s problems, speaking out about bullying, sexism and racism in the world’s top kitchens. Today, we bring you Lilah’s conversation with Asma, which was recorded live onstage during the recent FT Weekend Festival in London.

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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– Check out Asma’s ode to the dried red chilli in the FT here: https://on.ft.com/3XtemvF

– Asma Khan is on X @Asma_KhanLDN and Instagram at @asmakhanlondon

– You can learn more about her in Season 6 of Netflix’s Chef’s Table

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Asma Khan, the chef calling out restaurants’ bad behaviour

Life and Art from FT Weekend