A Journey of Love & Resilience
How one chef turned recipes into hope, and a kitchen into home
My love affair with food started in Tehran, in my grandmother's kitchen. I was just a kid, but I was mesmerized - the way she'd coax flavors from simple ingredients, the stories she'd tell while stirring a pot of ghormeh sabzi. By 15, I was running my own little cafe, bottling homemade jams, and serving dishes that tasted like home.
Life took an unexpected turn in 2014. I left Iran with my three children, first to Turkey, then to New York in 2016. We arrived with hope in our hearts and not much else. After some challenging months in a shelter, I found my footing at Eat Offbeat, a beautiful organization that gives refugee chefs like me a chance to share our heritage through food.
Every dish I cook carries a piece of my journey - the warmth of my grandmother's kitchen, the resilience of starting over, the joy of sharing Persian culture with new friends. I've been blessed to cook for companies like Columbia, HBO, and Google, and to share my story on Good Morning America and NPR.
But the real magic? It's watching strangers become friends over a shared meal. That's what keeps me cooking.
"Food is not just sustenance - it's a bridge between cultures, a vessel for memories, and an expression of love."
- Chef Nasrin Rejali
Starting Over in New York
Leaving Iran in 2014 was terrifying and necessary. With my three kids in tow, we set out into the unknown - first to Turkey, where we waited and hoped, then finally to New York in 2016. I won't sugarcoat it: arriving in a new country with nothing but hope is hard.
We lived in a shelter those first months. There were nights I wondered if I'd made the right choice. But my kids kept me going, and so did my cooking. Food has always been my constant, the one thing I could control when everything else felt chaotic.
Eat Offbeat changed everything. They didn't just give me a job - they gave me a platform to share my culture, my recipes, my story. Suddenly, I was cooking for some of the biggest companies in the city and telling my story on national TV. It felt surreal.
Every time I cook, I'm honoring my grandmother, my heritage, and the journey that brought me here. And every time someone tries Persian food for the first time and their eyes light up? That's when I know I'm exactly where I'm meant to be.
More Than Just Food
Sure, I've had incredible opportunities - cooking for big companies, sharing my story on TV. But you know what really gets me? Watching someone take their first bite of ghormeh sabzi and seeing their whole face change. That moment when food becomes a conversation, a connection, a bridge between two worlds.
That's what this is all about. Not just feeding people, but bringing them together.
Back to Where It All Began
After years of running a beloved restaurant in Manhattan, Nasrin's Kitchen is returning to its roots — and to what it has always done best. Catering isn't a pivot for us. It's where this story started, and where we've always felt most at home: in your spaces, cooking for your people, making your moments matter.