--- description: Find out why Asma Khan is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: Asma Khan: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt783e1392631bde79/698a558b457a528b5bd6a2d7/time-100-2024-Asma-Khan.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 17, 2024 # Asma Khan by Padma Lakshmi  Asma Khan, pictured in her soho restaurant, Darjeeling Express. Picture by Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd 07813022858 14/02/2023Chef Asma Khan has seen Earl's Court evolve in the 30 years she has lived there. She tells why a strong sense of connection still remains. Asma Khan is an Indian-born British chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. She owns Darjeeling Express restaurant in London's Covent Garden. ¬© Daniel Hambury / Evening Standard / eyevine Contact eyevine for more information about using this image: T: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709 E: info@eyevine.com http://www.eyevine.com Asma Khan, pictured in her soho restaurant, Darjeeling Express. Picture by Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd 07813022858 14/02/2023Chef Asma Khan has seen Earl's Court evolve in the 30 years she has lived there. She tells why a strong sense of connection still remains. Asma Khan is an Indian-born British chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. She owns Darjeeling Express restaurant in London's Covent Garden. ¬© Daniel Hambury / Evening Standard / eyevine Contact eyevine for more information about using this image: T: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709 E: info@eyevine.com http://www.eyevine.comDaniel Hambury—Evening Standard/eyevine/Redux I met Asma Khan when she was a guest on _Top Chef._ She cooked a _thali_ meal for our contestants, which they loved. Asma is a ball of energy with a wicked sense of humor. She’s the auntie you would have said was your favorite growing up. Her acclaimed London restaurant, Darjeeling Express, has an all-female kitchen. Most chefs are older South Asian immigrants who lack formal training. Asma is not only interested in doing the right thing, she’s a shrewd businesswoman too. South Asian aunties [know the cuisine best](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/kitchen-diversity "undefined"). Many Indian restaurants in the West have menus where everything kind of tastes the same. But Asma’s food is surprising. It doesn’t taste like restaurant food—and that is the highest compliment. Asma has been featured on _Chef’s Table_ and won all kinds of acclaim for her food, but she’s humble. I’m excited for Asma to start hosting the documentary series _Tiffin Stories,_ which will highlight food from the Indian diaspora. She will be a natural host: she’s hospitable, and genuinely cares about people. _Lakshmi is an Emmy-nominated producer and host_ Asma Khan Is on the 2024 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964956/asma-khan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964956/asma-khan/"},"headline":"Asma Khan","datePublished":"2024-04-17T10:55:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:28:51.305Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964956/asma-khan/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100Pioneers2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt783e1392631bde79/698a558b457a528b5bd6a2d7/time-100-2024-Asma-Khan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt783e1392631bde79/698a558b457a528b5bd6a2d7/time-100-2024-Asma-Khan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964956/asma-khan/","name":"Asma Khan"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 2024 list","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/73p9kgIN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-17T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/73p9kgIN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964956/asma-khan/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964956/asma-khan/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```