IN-PERSON EVENT

Join us for an evening at Essex Market Teaching Kitchen exploring the lesser known Pakistani-Sindhi cuisine and its history.

Food Studies Professor Krishnendu Ray will be in conversation with chef and educator, Kausar Ahmed, whose culinary career has been rooted in educating and empowering communities through food, with a focus on women and children. Born and raised in Karachi, Kausar was always intrigued to learn more about the role that women play in the communities, culture, and various cuisines of Pakistan. This curiosity led her to work with the fishermen communities who came generations down the Kolachi-Karachi journey. Kausar and Krishnendu will be talking about the unexplored Sindhi cuisine, diversity, communities, the role of women, and how it has evolved with time.

Kausar will be teaching her recipe for Palla Fish, which all attendees will have the opportunity to taste. Your ticket includes a tasting of palla fish along with sides and a glass of wine. Unfortunately, allergies to fish cannot be accomodated.

This is an in-person event. Tickets must be purchased online in advance. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the door.

Please note that attendees aged 12 and older who attend programs and events at Essex Market will be required to show proof that they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use by the FDA or WHO, and are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings. More information about vaccination proof for indoor activities (Key to NYC) can be found here.

You must show photo ID and proof of COVID vaccine to attend this event.

KAUSAR AHMED

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Kausar Ahmed is a food stylist, chef, and cooking instructor with over 25 years of experience in culinary arts. The Karachi Kitchen is her debut cookbook and features the authors favorite recipes from the crossroads of South Asia, and her new product line of traditional Pakistani Chutneys and Spice blends has drawn a large number of consumers.

Kausar is perhaps best known for her work through “Kitchen Craft”, an organization she founded in 2009 that offers free nutrition and cooking workshops to women and youth in high-risk communities around Karachi, with the goal of promoting healthy eating and hygiene habits amongst poverty struck families. Hands-on culinary workshops teach students about cooking, nutrition, kitchen safety, personal hygiene, gardening, eating well on a small budget, and more. Workshops for children are focused on improving language, reading, motor, memory, and interpersonal skills.

Kausar is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and also offers culinary workshops and freelance food and prop styling, recipe development, and food consulting services. She currently lives in Seattle WA, and works as Chef instructor at a non- profit Project feast, where their mission is to transform the lives of refugees and immigrants by providing pathways to sustainable employment in the food industry, and to enrich communities through intercultural exchange.

KRISHNENDU RAY

Krishnendu Ray is a faculty member in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University. He was the Chair of the department from 2012-2021. He is the author of The Migrant’s Table (2004) and The Ethnic Restaurateur (2016) and the co-editor of Curried Cultures: Globalization, Food and South Asia (2012). He is an Editorial Collective Member of the Food Studies journal Gastronomica. He was formerly a faculty member and the Associate Dean of Liberal Arts at The Culinary Institute of America (1996-2005) and the President of The Association for the Study of Food and Society from 2014-2018.

ESSEX MARKET
Essex Market is New York City’s most historic public market. Our mission is to foster small business, and to serve the community with fresh and high quality food & services.