London Supper Club Chef Reveals The Most Underrated Cuisine You Need To Try

<p>What does it mean to reclaim your culture through food?</p><p><br></p><p>Sohini Banerjee is a chef, food writer, and the founder of Smoke and Lime, a Bengali supper club bringing London&#39;s Desi community together one dinner at a time. This episode is part of our South Asian Heritage Month season and it is one of my favourites we have made.</p><p><br></p><p>We talk about Bengali culture, the gentrification of South Asian food, the assimilation struggle of growing up British South Asian, and how Sohini built a freelance food business from scratch by simply refusing to shrink herself or her cooking.</p><p><br></p><p>If you have ever been told your food smells, your culture is too much, or that STEM is the only acceptable path, this one is for you.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps</strong></p><p>00:00 Intro: Welcome to Reclaiming Bossy</p><p>01:04 Meet Sohini: Chef and Smoke &amp; Lime founder</p><p>02:01 Exploring the Bengali community and its nuances</p><p>04:18 Unique aspects of Bengali culture and arts</p><p>05:21 The story behind Smoke &amp; Lime Supper Clubs</p><p>07:03 The gentrification of South Asian food and zero waste</p><p>10:38 Misconceptions and the Matcha vs. Chai debate</p><p>11:56 Overcoming the assimilation struggle</p><p>14:06 Growing up British South Asian</p><p>18:10 Rediscovering Desi identity away from home</p><p>20:07 Reclaiming brown womanhood through food</p><p>23:31 How to get started hosting supper clubs</p><p>25:44 Navigating privacy when hosting strangers at home</p><p>29:44 How to price your supper club and know your worth</p><p>32:24 The brown female tax and defending your rates</p><p>35:06 Content creation advice: don&#39;t take it too seriously</p><p>36:56 Letting go of opinions and being authentic</p><p>38:54 Rapid fire: Bengali artists you need to know</p><p>40:05 Why Desi cooking is all about the vibes</p><p>41:22 Stop villainizing carbs</p><p>42:17 Advice to my younger self: ditching STEM stereotypes</p><p>42:46 What it means to reclaim being &quot;bossy&quot;</p><p>43:50 Where to find Shohini and her supper clubs</p><p>45:27 Final thoughts and outro</p><p><br></p><p>Guest Links</p><p>Sohini&#39;s Website: https://sohinibanerjee.com/ </p><p>Smoke and Lime Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smokeandlime/ </p><p>Sohini&#39;s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohini-banerjee-smoke-and-lime-0b5a2215a Sohini&#39;s About Page: https://sohinibanerjee.com/about/ </p><p>Sohini&#39;s Substack: https://sohinibanerjee.substack.com/</p><p><br></p><p>If you enjoyed this episode and learning about Bengali culture, send it to someone who you think would love it. And if you ever get the chance to eat Sohini&#39;s food, do not think twice.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>BUILD YOUR BOLDEST + BOSSIEST LIFE/ CAREER</strong></p><p>Bossy Behind the Scenes: Essays, reflections, resources and all the behind-the-scenes of building a bold, bossy life.</p><p><a href="https://substack.com/@bossybehindthescenes">⁠https://substack.com/@bossybehindthescenes⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>WORK WITH ME</strong></p><p>Creator/Founder Office Hours: Bring me your ideas, questions or whatever you’re stuck on, and we’ll turn it into a plan.</p><p><a href="https://calendly.com/maahika/mentoring?back=1">⁠https://calendly.com/maahika/mentoring?back=1⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p>Founders + brands: Work with me on storytelling, personal branding, content and strategy through Empower Sounds Media.</p><p><br></p><p>Book a Strategy Session : <a href="https://calendly.com/maahika/branding-strategy-session?back=1&month=2026-07">⁠https://calendly.com/maahika/branding-strategy-session?back=1&amp;month=2026-07⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p>Book a discovery call : <a href="https://calendly.com/maahika/discovery-call?back=1">⁠https://calendly.com/maahika/discovery-call?back=1⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p>Join the next personal branding sprint : <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNPFNgdt02CyvYsb6n9i8kmvEJRxQDmTwOVusTxII_tMoJ7Q/viewform?usp=hea