Aliya LeeKong is an American chef, television personality and author of the cookbook ''Exotic Table - Flavors, Inspiration, and Recipes from Around the World – to Your Kitchen''.

Early life

Aliya LeeKong was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and raised in

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

. A first generation American, her parents are Indo-Pakistani and Tanzanian immigrants. After graduating from Brown University and Columbia Business School, LeeKong went on to work in New York City, before finding her way to cooking.

Career

LeeKong trained at the

International Culinary Center The International Culinary Center was a private for-profit culinary school headquartered in New York City. In 2020, it merged into the Institute of Culinary Education, also in New York City. It was founded as The French Culinary Institute by ...

and has traveled to over 30 countries in the past 10 years to study under international home cooks. Countries include

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. LeeKong initially worked at New York City's

Jean Georges Jean-Georges is a two-Michelin-star restaurant at 1 Central Park West (between West 60th Street and West 61st Street), on the lobby level of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, named afte ...

, Devi, and

Per Se Per se may refer to: * '' per se'', a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself". * Illegal ''per se'', the legal usage in criminal and antitrust law * Negligence ''per se'', legal use in tort law * Per Se (restaurant), a New York City restaur ...

. From March 2011 until January 2014, she served as Chef and Culinary Creative Director of the Indian restauran
Junoon
A television personality, LeeKong has appeared on

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

’s "
Beat Bobby Flay
'," ''Chef Marks the Spot'',
NBC Weekend Today
CBS New York''
''Men's Health: Guy Gourmet''

' ''Peggy's Kitchen Cures, What Would Julieanna Do, and Nirmala's Spice World on Veria Living''.Leekong was also featured i

To make cooking accessible and educational for children, LeeKong established an app called Issa’s Edible Adventures which allows users to digitally travel around the world to learn about food types and culture in different countries. LeeKong was inspired by games she played with her daughter to teach her about multiculturalism.

Personal life

LeeKong lives in New York City with her husband, her two daughters and two dogs. LeeKong is affiliated with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and The Family Center.

Publications

*
Exotic Table - Flavors, Inspiration, and Recipes from Around the World – to Your Kitchen
' (Adams Media; November, 2013)

References

Sources

Reuters
(July 1, 2014)
Men's Health
(February, 2014)
Harper's Bazaar
(February, 2014)
Vogue India
(September, 2013)
Wall Street Journal
(June, 2013)
Organic Spa
(February, 2014)
Dan's Papers
(August, 2013)
Food Republic
(November, 2012)
Metro Ny
(April 2013)
Brown Alumni Magazine
(Fall, 2013)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LeeKong, Aliya American television chefs International Culinary Center alumni Columbia Business School alumni Brown University alumni 1978 births Living people American women writers Women cookbook writers American women chefs 21st-century American women