For Nasim Alikhani, co-owner of the Iranian restaurant Sofreh in Brooklyn, cooking both allows the world outside to disappear, and to make lost worlds re-appear. It is the thread that ties together her childhood in pre-Revolution Iran, her 20s in New York when she was a student and nanny trying to make ends meet, and now her life as a restaurateur. On this uplifting episode of Speaking Broadly, Alikhani describes her gratitude for early hardship and later happiness, how optimism grows with experience, and how she thinks about the lifespan of a passion project.

Want to stay up to date on the latest Speaking Broadly episodes? To hear more conversations with Dana Cowin and her accomplished yet accessible guests, subscribe to Speaking Broadly (it’s free!) on iTunes or Stitcher. If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate + review us on Apple’s podcast store and follow Dana on Instagram @speakingbroadly and @fwscout. Thanks for tuning in!"

Speaking Broadly is powered by Simplecast.