Yasmin Khan: ‘The power of food is about connection – not just sustenance’

Khan draws on memories of her Iranian grandparents’ farm and her Pakistani father’s kitchen to create recipes rooted in comfort, culture and connection - (Jonathan Gregson)

Inspired by her husband’s vegetarianism and the food of her grandparents’ farm, chef and food writer Yasmin Khan wants to bring the Iranian and Pakistani flavours of her mixed heritage into plant-based cooking at home.

“I feel so passionately about sharing the positive, personal connections I have with the Middle East, which is such a beautiful part of the region, but which unfortunately only makes news for the wrong reasons,” says the 44-year-old, after airstrikes by Israel and the US on Iran, in the midst of the war in Gaza. “It’s so heartbreaking.”