Becoming an Armchair Traveler, From Your Kitchen Table

How no-stress home-cooked meals add diversity to your menu

Irene Fassler
6 min readApr 13, 2022

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Photo with permission from Khipi Cooks

I turned from the narrow street into the congested parking lot, not sure where I should go next. After some contemplation, I squeezed my beat-up blue mom-mobile into spot #13 between two towering SUVs. I reached for my phone to text my contact, as I slid from behind the steering wheel. Moments later, I was met by a woman whose smile easily reached her eyes. In her outstretched hand was an unmarked shopping bag which I accepted with great anticipation.

In the bag was my very own ticket to a dinner party in Myanmar where Ohn No Khout Swe and Pork Curry with Green Mango Pickle were served.

Pork Curry with Green Mango Pickle (Photo with permission from Khipi Cooks)

Introducing Brinda

I called Brinda Sen several weeks prior to our hand-off, after hearing about her small food business providing ethnically diverse home-cooked meals. After speaking with Brinda, I promptly placed my order.

Brinda Sen grew up in India, where she didn’t have any reason to find her way around a kitchen until early adulthood. Growing up with a family cook was the norm in her world and it was not until she was firmly entrenched in pursuing higher education that she learned cooking basics.

After studying economics and sustainability, Brinda arrived in the United States for business school. Fast forward some years, armed with a career path and a baby, Brinda set out to learn how to balance work, family, and a kitchen. She soon realized the true value of the family cook from her childhood home. After experiencing the daily stresses of meal preparation while working and caring for a baby, Brinda with her entrepreneurial spirit set out to fill a twofold service gap.

Her idea was to deliver home-cooked meals to our tables, prepared by immigrant women living in our neighborhoods: Khipi Cooks was created.

Introducing Khipi Cooks

Khipi Cooks was named by Brinda’s young son, who coined the word “khipi” to say “I’m hungry” when he was learning to talk. The…

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Irene Fassler

Giving voice to our hunger-to-belong. Finding ways to bring people together. And I just like to write and read and engage! https://culinary-communities.com