PROMINENT British Asian chef Asma Khan confronted a group of diners at her restaurant after they refused to be served by a black waitress, according to a report.
The incident took place at Khan's Darjeeling Express restaurant in London's Covent Garden.
When an Asian Indian family told a waitress they would prefer to be served by someone else, Khan made them apologise for their behaviour, the MailOnline reported.
"I wasn't aggressive, abusive or angry, or I would be just like them. If you don't call it out, nothing changes," she was quoted as saying by the newspaper. She reiterated that there is no place for race or gender in the hospitality industry.
Khan, 53, moved to Cambridge from Calcutta in 1991. She started Darjeeling Express as a supper club at her West London home in 2012. In five years, she moved to a place in Soho, staffed with an all-woman team before relocating to Covent Garden.
But, the restaurant was closed earlier this month as the landlord gave Khan a notice of eviction. According to the report, she is now struggling to find a new location.
"Women are invited as guests, they are not powerful and they're on the fringes. To the powerful, mainly white, mainly men who network with each other and know each other very well, you are an outsider," she told a recent podcast.
In her opinion, she could achieve something in life because of her luck.
Khan is among few women who are part of the Asian restaurant scene in Britain.
She studied law but got into the restaurant business after she began supper clubs that became hugely popular. She was the first British chef on Chef’s Table, a hit Netflix series.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)