Connect with Chefs

Chef Mary

Tell me about yourself.

“I’m originally from Iran; I’m a Kurdish person. My primary language is Kurdish, but I can speak Persian as well, and some Turkish. I’m 38 years old. I have two children, and I have been here in the United States for about 10 years. I came with my husband and my children -  the first one is a boy - he is 6 years old, and the second is a girl - she is 4 years old.”

Who is the most influential person in your life?

“My husband is the most influential person in my life. He never gets disappointed; he always has some way to find success. I was disappointed, and had given up on some things in this country, but he never did that. He would give me ideas of what to do and ways to be successful in this country; he is really intelligent.”

What brought you to Chefs Club?

“I have been a part of Chefs Club for not too long, maybe 2 or 3 months. I have a friend who works at Chefs Club; she talked to me about this program and knew I would like to cook,  and she likes the food I make, so she told me about this program.”

What do you like to cook?

“I like to cook any Iranian foods I can, and Persian foods, mostly rice, stews, and soups. When we came to this country, me and my husband would have loved to have our own restaurant or food service but we never got any connection or any one to help us, and we found another way to live.”

What is something that people would be surprised to know about you?

“We were actually photographers and mediographers, but we changed jobs in this country. I went to the medical college and my husband is a mechanic - we had to 100% change and now have different jobs, but now I’m happy to get to the things I wanted to do in this country like being a chef and cooking and I’m happy to be with Chefs Club.”

Chef babita

Tell me about yourself. 

“I moved to the US 4 years back, I am from North India married to a South Indian family. My mother is a great cook so I used to watch her cook and I would help her in the kitchen and eventually I did cook when I was 16. And when I went to do a job after I finished my studies, that’s when I actually started getting into food and because I moved to South India it was a totally new cuisine for me. I worked for almost 11 years in the non-profit sector in India. I was a fundraiser, and for my job I had to travel to remote areas across India and I saw and ate a lot of different kinds of food. From there on my interests started in bringing together different ingredients and cooking techniques, and I was totally fascinated because something we would do in North India would be done totally differently in a different part of India. The result would be amazing. After I got married I ventured into different cuisines. When I was expecting my son who is 9 now, I quit my job to be with him and now I’m a mother of 2; my daughter is 7. I started creating my own recipes and new techniques and I had enough time for experimentation. I loved feeding people, and people would ask me to start a business.” 

Why did you join Chefs Club?

“I moved to the US and did some courses from the Georgia non profit university and met some people working with Refugee Women’s Network and I got interested in this issue and the work that is happening here in Atlanta with the refugees. I made friends who were from all across the world and I realized that food is one thing that could bring people together. A group of us started doing informal cooking classes and it was very interesting because everybody enjoyed, everybody learned something new and ate great food. It crossed my mind that I should set up something so that i’m not just focusing on my cuisine and the food I cook but the amazing food that other people can cook. I set up a kitchen with the idea to showcase the culture and cuisine of refugees and immigrants - very similar to Chefs Club but my focus was also cooking classes and pop- up lunches. People would come and experience a new cuisine and not just learn how to cook it.”

How long have you been with Chefs Club?

“I have been volunteering with RWN for over a year now where I helped them in fundraising and then I started talking with someone and a project was proposed that I helped take forward. In January, we gave shape to the Chefs Club and had our first class. I have been there since the second phase of Chefs Club and have initiated it and taken the lead in working with the chefs, and organizing the cooking classes.”

What is one of your favorite things to cook?

“I have my signature dish chicken curry which I love to cook and  working with sourdough bread is my new obsession. I think more than the dishes it’s the spices that I love to work with. Food is a quick way to understand more about the culture of a country, and community. If more people start venturing out and trying these new foods which typically you don’t get in restaurants, I think they’ll have a whole different perspective to people around them and how we all are a part of one single community.”