Chef Asma Khan on unionising hospitality and empowering women: “We can never get anywhere alone”

Highlights

• Chef Asma Khan calls for an end to macho kitchens and celebrates older women in professional cooking.
  
• Advocates unionising hospitality and improving working conditions across the industry.
  
• Explains founding the Second Daughters Foundation to support girls’ education in India.
  
• Discusses the political role of food in promoting labour rights and dignity.
  

Redefining kitchens and leadership

In the latest episode of Shami’s Speakeasy, chef and campaigner Asma Khan joined host Shami Chakrabarti to discuss justice, feminism, race and the politics of food. Chakrabarti described Khan as “not so much a celebrity chef as a revolutionary chef.”

Khan highlighted her all-women team at Darjeeling Express, many of whom are grandmothers, calling it “a powerhouse.” Rejecting the macho culture of celebrity kitchens, she said the average age of women cooking in her kitchen is 50, demonstrating that older women are central to professional cooking.

Unionising hospitality and work-life challenges

Khan spoke candidly about labour conditions in hospitality and the impossibility of perfect work-life balance for shift workers and entrepreneurs. She called for restaurant workers to unionise, reflecting on exploitation during COVID and ongoing staffing pressures: “Without collective action, we can never get anywhere.”

She also shared her approach to parenting and entrepreneurship: “There is no word called ‘balance’ for some of us. The only way out is to forgive yourself and keep going.”

Second Daughters and food as a force for change

As a second daughter, Khan founded the Second Daughters Foundation, supporting girls’ education in India through school meals and practical assistance for those most likely to be kept at home.

Khan also described food as a political tool, using it to “shake the world gently” while emphasising labour, dignity and respect alongside ingredients.

Episode details

Shami’s Speakeasy: Asma Khan is available on all major podcast platforms from 15 October 2025. Additional resources and artwork inspired by the discussion will be shared in the Speakeasy Zine on the show’s website and to subscribers.

Asma Khan is the founder of Darjeeling Express, London, and an advocate for dignity in hospitality and women’s rights. Shami Chakrabarti is a human rights lawyer, legislator, and broadcaster who hosts Shami’s Speakeasy as a forum for honest conversations on values, ethics and social change.