Weekend with Ayesha Kalaji: ‘It would probably involve food’
The chef and restaurateur on lazy Sunday walks, cooking meals for her best friend and having a fridge full of Korean condiments
Ayesha Kalaji is a chef and owner of Queen of Cups, a restaurant in Glastonbury serving Middle Eastern dishes made using local produce and inspired by her mixed British and Jordanian heritage. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2023.
Prior to moving to Glastonbury in 2021, Kalaji lived in London for 15 years, working at restaurants including The Palomar and Bubala. She later worked at the Michelin-starred Sosban on the island of Anglesey, north Wales, where she grew up. In 2023, she took part in BBC’s Masterchef: The Professionals. She also appeared on BBC’s Great British Menu in 2025 representing Wales.
What do you like most about living in Glastonbury?
There’s something lovely about it, especially as a chef. I have relationships with growers and farmers that I never had living and working in London. You walk to work and you bump into everyone you know. There is a sense of community that is so lovely.
How would you spend your ideal Friday night?
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The reality is I normally work every weekend. Such is the life of a restaurant owner. But if I’m off, Friday night would be a quiet one with a home-cooked meal with family or friends and Saturday would be for going out.
What would you do?
My ideal day would be restaurant hopping in Bristol. I’d go for lunch, then to a gallery or a show. Outside of London, I reckon Bristol has one of the best food scenes in the UK.
Favourite restaurants?
Lapin, Bank and Cor are incredible. Little Hollows for their pasta. I also like Clouds. It’s a dim sum cafe and wine bar, but they have an amazing non-alcoholic selection.
What about Sunday?
Sunday is for a lazy walk. There are some amazing National Trust properties near me in Somerset. I’ll go to Bruton, which has Alfred’s Tower and Bruton Dovecote, for the afternoon to walk around. It would probably involve food as well, if I’m honest with you. That seems to be my favourite thing to do on days off because, as a chef, that’s how I find inspiration. But I might sneak in a trip to the gym.
What do you like to cook at home?
I live with one of my best friends and we love to cook for each other. We’ve been eating a lot of Korean food recently. My fridge is full of Korean condiments. The last thing I cooked for her was a whole roast chicken, cooked on a bed of tteokbokki with loads of gochujang, some samyang ramen and some banchan on the side.
What is your favourite condiment?
I have three types of Lao Gan Ma in my fridge. It is the top tier crispy chilli oil. There is also always labneh on my plate or in my fridge. I know it’s not necessarily a condiment, but give me strained yoghurt or give me death.
What else do you like to cook at home?
An enormous pasta feast. Or, sometimes I’ll do a recipe test for the restaurant. If I really want comfort, I will cook something that reminds me of my grandmother, such as musakhan or mansaf.
Did your grandmother influence your love of food?
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She was this powerhouse of a Syrian lady. Some of my fondest memories are going back to Jordan and sitting around her table. She would sit and spend hours rolling vine leaf after vine leaf and then the whole family came together to eat. For me, that’s a really important food memory. It created that love of showing love through feeding.
What does cooking food from your heritage mean to you?
I grew up in north Wales so I didn’t have a lot of culture around me. Apart from seeing my family during summer holidays, I was always quite alienated from my Arab heritage. For me, the food was a really tangible way to connect with it. Learning about the food, cooking the food and eating it. It made me feel so much more connected to my family and to my grandmother.
You’ve been a vocal advocate for improving mental health in hospitality. Can you tell me more about this?
My chef’s hours are capped to working 45 hours a week and there is always time to sleep between shifts. We also ensure there are healthy, balanced staff meals because you cannot work on fumes. I also love to cook for the team because it’s my way of saying thank you to them and that I care about them.
