Ali Khan
FT: Tell us a bit about your
childhood years. What was it like
growing up? Were you always
interested in food as a career
path?
AK: My childhood? In a phrase: straight outta the
Midwest, circa the 1980s. Being a first generation
child of immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, I
thought every Indian kid’s parents were doctors and
we (the kids) were all living out a predestined course
where we were to become doctors as well. I guess, I
was fighting like hell from that happening since day
one. But shaking your parents’ wishes is no small task,
especially when you live under their roof.
I loved to eat and it showed. This was before the days
where one could proudly declare themselves as a
foodie and not get teased for just being overweight.
Thankfully I had humor and a penchant for
performing/theater to help round out my overall
image. Some of my fondest memories growing up
revolved around food. My mom wasn’t a great cook
and my dad didn’t enjoy cooking much, but we all
three loved to eat, and eat out. I picked up on cooking
as soon as I was tall enough to reach a stove. One
Saturday morning, when I was 10, my dad came home
from work and found me cooking some eggs and
heating up a grill pan. First he asked “are you cooking
eggs?” I replied, “Yes.”
Then his jaw dropped as I dropped three lamb loin
chops onto the now scorching grill pan. “Are you
cooking lamb chops?” I again replied, “Yes.” What
10-year-old kid has lamb and eggs for breakfast?! And
so the world first encountered Ali Khan. There were
a few times when my dad genuinely marveled at my
sheer passion in cooking and suggested I go to culinary
school to become a chef, but taking those steps never
really took root. While I always loved to eat, cook,
seek out restaurants and share the experiences, it
wasn’t until well into adulthood when I would merge
these passions into my career path.
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FoodTraveler l Winter 2016