She hated it when her son entered the kitchen. In Nazish Jalali’s home, a man doesn’t enter the kitchen. “But I couldn’t resist his passion,” she says of her son, writer-turned-chef Osama Jalali, best known for his work on the cuisine of Rampur, the princely estate in Uttar Pradesh and his research on dying regional cuisines. The trio—Nazish, Osama and his wife Nazia—travel as a family to curate regional food festivals around the world. Last week, they were at The Westin Garden City curating Rivayaat-e-Rampur festival when we spoke to them.

Osama’s fascination for food stemmed from watching his mother cook meals in huge deghs for feasts at their home. “He would stop crying only if I made him sit on the kitchen counter while I made rotis,” says Nazish. He started his career by writing about food and reviewing restaurants and moved to the other side in 2012. “It was a natural progression. If it wasn’t for this, I’d have been a full-time sportsperson. Even now, I compete professionally at the state powerlifting championships,” he adds.