Despite being home to one of the largest diasporas in the world, shaped by centuries of migration, trade, and shared borders, Pakistani food remains poorly understood. But that may be starting to change.
Join us for a conversation with Maryam Jillani, author of the cookbook Pakistan; Pervaiz Shallwani, editor, journalist, and chef, and Zainab Shah, food writer and contributor to New York Times Cooking, as they discuss the longstanding struggle to define and represent Pakistani cuisine in the U.S., the cultural shift currently underway, and what the future might hold.
DOORS AT 6:30PM
CONVERSATION AT 7:00PM
Courtesy of our partner bookseller Kitchen Arts & Letters, copies of Pakistan can be pre-purchased in a ticket bundle and during the program.
Bites available from Chaat Dog with drinks from Rupee Beer.
MARYAM JILLANI is a Pakistan-born writer, researcher, and author of Pakistan (Hardie Grant, 2025), a critically acclaimed cookbook praised for its powerful storytelling and cultural insight. She is also the founder of Pakistan Eats, an award-winning blog exploring identity, migration, and heritage through food, selected by the U.S. Library of Congress for preservation. She is currently based in Washington DC.
ZAINAB SHAH is a food writer and recipe developer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Food (print & digital), NYT Cooking, Bon Appétit, and Saveur Magazine. Her pieces, ranging from in-depth essays and reporting on nihari and Eid traditions to practical recipes like crunchy homemade samosas and one‑pot biryani blend culturally specific storytelling with accessible techniques. Her writing about her mother’s nihari was anthologized in Best Food Writing 2015. Zainab cares deeply about how we tell our stories, knowing that the words we choose carry the weight of memory, meaning, cultural critique and pride. She brings both journalistic rigor and recipe innovation to every dish and story she explores.
PERVAIZ SHALLWANI is an award-winning journalist and classically trained chef with over 25 years of experience across print, digital, and TV. His show Feed Me won two New York Emmys and an IACP award. He runs Chaat Dog, a hot dog pop-up, and teaches journalism at The New School. Born in Toronto, raised in Chicago, and based in Brooklyn, he embraces global flavors and family meals with his wife, two kids, and growing cookbook collection.
CHAAT DOG is a Desi-American mashup where a Chicago-style hot dog gets a South Asian twist — topped with chaat, a South Asian street snack. The All-American dog is part of an evolving menu that features Desi-American street food, combining comfort foods from Pervaiz’s Chicago upbringing and his Pakistani heritage.
RUPEE BEER was designed & crafted by a world-renowned master beer brewer and is designed as the go-to pairing for Indian, spicy, & world cuisine. With limited Indian beer options available on the market for the last decade, Rupee beers are slow brewed to traditional Indian recipes remaining all natural and easy to drink