Bangladesh, a country of fifty-six thousand square miles, is a rich deltaic region watered by four mighty rivers, Padma, Meghna, Surma, and Jamuna, that meander through swathes of lush paddy fields before emptying into the majestic Bay of Bengal. Wherever you go, you encounter a variety of food habits, each unique and yet joined by a common strain. Thousands of ingredients are scattered across this mosaic of green.

I have embraced the diversity offered by our traditional ingredients and introduced them into my cooking. It helps to cook a perfect dish with a unique taste. The result is my cookbook, Life on a Plate.

The recipes in this book have been regularly tried and tested. I love creating fusion food. Foods based on one culture, but prepared using ingredients and flavours inherent in another culture, are considered forms of fusion cuisine. Fusion dishes were invented in 1960 by Chef Richard Wing. Try them in your kitchen—you will know the difference. 

Cooking is my passion and has been so since my childhood, perhaps from when I was five or six years old. My father was a food lover and so is my elder brother. I remember those beautiful days when on holidays, Abbu, would go to the famous kitchen market in Dhaka, the New Market Kachha Bazar, and he would bring home the biggest Ruhi fish he could find. Well-known and scrumptious dishes like murighonto, fish dopiaza, fish chop, fish oil cutlet would be cooked. What fun-filled holidays those were for the family! My paternal grandmother was an excellent cook, and I had the privilege of learning some of her signature dishes. Eid ul Azha, or Korbani Eid, was yet another festive occasion when family members would gather at our grandfather’s place for a joyous celebration, which included elaborate feasting. The memories of those wonderful days are still fresh in my mind.

The aroma of fresh ingredients led to my appreciation for fresh herbs and fresh vegetables, especially those grown in my own kitchen garden. That is the reason I prefer seasonal cooking and creating perfect farm-to-fork dishes.

As my sons grew older, I was delighted that they had inherited the love for good food from their grandfather. That inspired me to move away from normal day-to-day cooking and instead experiment with creating fusion foods. It worked. My sons loved the variety. But I felt the need to learn more, and there was a lot to learn.

In 2006, I welcomed the opportunity to do a short Diploma in Asian cooking at New York’s famous Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). In 2007, I learned about the basics of authentic Thai cuisine from Thai Home cook Angsana Andersson in Bangkok. From then on, I never looked back. Emboldened as I was, my sense of self-confidence gave me a firm footing in the culinary world. I completed a two-month course on Thai Master Chef cuisine from the Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy in 2008. All this gave me the courage to start my boutique cooking school in the same year. I named it “Jewels Kitchen.” I get great satisfaction in seeing my students happy.

In 2009, I attended another special training course on Thai-French Fusion Cuisine under the supervision of French and Thai culinary experts Chef Frederic Insisienmay and Chef Somsak Kaew-un. In 2011, I attended a private course on Royal Thai cooking at the prestigious Blue Elephant cooking school in Bangkok under the direct supervision of Thai Master Chef Nooror Somany Steppe, from which I gained immensely. Getting her recognition was a high point for me and very fulfilling. I followed this up with other culinary courses in Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam. In 2014, I participated in a short workshop on French dessert at the internationally acclaimed culinary institute Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

In 2020, I was elected as an Executive Member of the World Association of Master Chefs (WAMC). Presently, I am the President of the WAMC Bangladesh chapter and Coordinator for South Asia. In 2022 I was announced as the Bangladesh Ambassador for Chefs Sans Frontieres (CSF).

Students, friends, and fans have been urging me to write a book on cooking, or at least write my recipes. For me, that was the easiest thing to do, but the question that bothered me most was, “How will I teach the techniques of cooking through a book?” I have always believed that cooking can be learned best in practical classes. This to me was a mental impediment. But I have also discovered that cooking has become a trend and one can take a lot of help from the internet. So, I decided to put my knowledge and experience into writing. I thus feel at ease about bringing forth this book today, my labour of love.

Ultimately, Life on a Plate is an effort to bring to the reader the diversity of traditional Bangladeshi cuisine and infused with my personal touch. I have included in the book what I have learned from my childhood and things that I have picked up while honing my cooking skills in culinary institutions in different parts of the world.

My advice to the young generation who are in the cooking industry is, “Come out from the square world, develop and refine your food style with knowledge. Paint your food with technique, care, love, and hygiene. There is no end to learning. I am still learning. Keep going, you will definitely fulfil your dream.”

I believe that for a culinary curator, it is as important to carefully choose the right ingredients as it is to cook with passion and love. This will make a person a perfect cooking artist.

I have tried to give something to you all. I hope you will enjoy this little endeavour of mine.