Although this show’s focus is usually the American South, my own culinary borders -- and I suspect yours too -- are actually a lot more fluid. Today, I welcome you to explore that in conversation with two chefs from the recent Charleston Wine + Food festival who inspire me to be bold, have confidence, respect the reader and the guest, and always remember food is a language.  

 

Maryam Ghaznavi, the force behind Malika, South Carolina’s first-ever Pakistani restaurant, and soon-to-be-opened Ma’am Saab, is bringing a taste of Pakistani culture and cuisine to the Lowcountry. She and her husband, Raheel, are expressing their culinary heritage with confidence and enthusiasm, and the results are nothing short of delicious. Also on the mic is Fatima Khawaja. She graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 2012, and after working in some of NYC’s most iconic restaurants, is now the Test Kitchen Manager for Saveur, which means she’s edited my work multiple times, and she’s developing her own produce-focused column for the magazine. Together, they explore what it means to express cultural heritage through food from two unique perspectives, and I am joyfully along for the ride. Please note: So you can tell the voices apart, they introduce themselves at the beginning of this audio.