Finding Home and Community Through Food with Nasim Alikhani

Chef Nasim Alikhani discusses how, even 35 years after leaving Iran for New York, she constantly looks for ways to connect back to her homeland, her culture, and the home she has left behind. In this talk she elaborates on her journey to opening her restaurant Sofreh and the ways in which it has empowered her to express herself, her culture, and what home means to her.Nasim Alikhani was born and raised in Isfahan, Iran, and is the executive chef and owner of the critically acclaimed Iranian restaurant Sofreh in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sofreh: A Contemporary Approach to Classical Persian Cuisine (Penguin Random House, 2023). In 2023, Nasim was named a James Beard Foundation Finalist for Best Chef: New York State, and was invited to cook for President Biden, the First Lady, and their guests at a special Nowruz reception at the White House.Part of the Stanford Festival of Iranian Arts: https://iranian-studies.stanford.edu/initiatives/stanford-festival-iranian-arts